Spinach Smootie

We make smoothies all the time in our house, but I never did it with spinach! Thanks for the idea!

If you are adding dairy, we go with plain yogurt and milk. What I found is that adding vanilla extract gives a fuller flavor; otherwise, the smoothie tastes boring.

When we skip the dairy, we use a berry juice (i.e. pomegranate or acai). Usually the vanilla isn't required in this case, but I sometimes have to blend again with it if I'm not happy with the taste.

Our typical smoothie:
*Frozen blueberries (from Sams)
*Frozen peaches/mango/strawberries (from Sams)
*Carrot (I sneak it in if I have it on hand... shhh, don't tell my hubby)
*Plain yogurt
*Milk
*Ground flax seed
*Honey and vanilla to taste

I don't have a recipe but my son eats a baby food mix of spinach, broccoli and apple and he loves it. Maybe it's worth a try? What did you put in the one you made at home?

Was it a dairy free smoothie? What a great way to get calcium as well, because spinach has a lot of calcium in itself. If you mixed in yogurt and fruit it would be even better. I would think oranges, raspberries or strawberries would be good. I've had them together in salad, but never blended them as a drink. But I'm looking forward to trying it-thanks for the idea!

We eat this daily!! After 3 years I finally broke down and got the vitamixer. It's awesome. I don't measure this is approx:

Handful spinach, one thick slice pineapple, 1/2 apple w/skin on, 1 bananna, 1 orange, ice & water. For the demo, they also add one or two mini carrots, and a little pineapple orange frozen juice concentrate. I usually don't have those on hand. It turns out fine without them.

We drink green smoothies daily as well, and I have to say that so far this winter, we (myself, husband, and son) have not been sick and I really believe it is because of these smoothies! They are great.

A typical smoothie for us is a big handful of spinach, two bananas, 1 cup of any other kind of fruit (fresh or frozen), 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2 cups of water (or more), and a handful of ice. I also add flax seed when I have it around. I have never added carrots, but I think I will try it this morning!! :)

It is seriously the only way I can get my 2 year old to "eat" his veggies and I feel good when he drinks his smoothie, then I don't worry about how well he eats the rest of the day. He's gotten very picky, but he chugs his smoothies!