How to make any green smoothie yummy

     Hi there and welcome to tip #82907. Seriously though, when my mother in law tried this little trick on me, I not only thought she was joking but turned up my nose. To my pleasant surprise she was right about getting some super green veggies in a shake, and I even learned a thing or two (after experimenting with new versions of super green smoothies all week) about how to make just about any combo of fruit and vegg taste good when pureed together to form some little punch of compact nutrition. Check it out...

One Version of the Super Green Shake

1 1/2-2 c leftover green salad from dinner (yes, cucumbers, tomatoes, even a little red onion doesn’t hurt!)
1 banana
1 apple (pear is a sweet substitute too!)
large handful any variety frozen fruit (my current fave is Costco’s smoothie mix complete with peaches, strawberries, melon and blueberries)

1/2 c. vanilla lowfat natural yogurt (try Mountain High Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt, mostly natural sweeteners and no RBST hormones. Super yum too!)
1/4-1/2 c juice or water depending on ingredients. (The little cans of pineapple juice are a cheap and yummy way add pineapple to a morning smoothie, especially one that might have onion etc in it, orange juice is great too)
Puree the heck out of all the above ingredients. Even the kids will love it! Makes over 4 c at our house which is enough for the 3 kiddos and me and the hubs.


The real beauty of this is how flexible it is. Don’t have frozen fruit? Add ice and a half can of peaches, or some leftover strawberries. No leftover salad? Try with handfuls of spinach, spinach and kale, even spinach and raw zucchini or squash. The key is the banana, and in my opinion the yogurt. You can use a little milk if that is all you have, make sure you use juice for the sweetner if you do though. The frozen fruit or ice goes a long way to chill and help with palatability. Experiment a little on your own and find your personal fave. Drop me a line if you do, tell me how it passes the kid test (mine think green drinks and funny colors are cool luckily!)
Truly, this is a perfect start to your day! Add a piece of multi-grain toast (or in my case 2 bowls of cereal!) and you are good to go. Enjoy! (And thanks mom for making me a believer!)