The Green Smoothie

I know how it sounds.

But really I am not a crazy with a juicer. I’ve never even juiced anything. And I hate V8. I do realize a green smoothie sounds questionable, but if it wasn’t good I can tell you I would not have one everyday for breakfast. And I do! It’s delicious and such a good start to the day.

A few weeks ago I posted about leafy greens and how crazy good they are for you. Green = vitamins, minerals and all that good stuff. I’d heard of people who made green juice drinks as a way to squeeze in extra fruit/veggie servings. It can be part of a healing or a cleansing diet, or just a way to start the day off right. We all have those days when it’s just easier to pick up a sandwich. But when I have this smoothie in the morning I know that no matter what the day might bring (read: Chick Fil A lunch), I’ve already had my green.

I make it in the Magic Bullet. I’m sure you’ve seen the infomercial. It’s perfect for smoothies because you can just throw all your ingredients in one of the single serving cups, blend it and go.

Yes, it looks like it glows in the dark. But I swear all you taste is the mango. It’s sneaky like that. I used mangos here, but you can mix up whatever fruit you want. I like it with strawberries and blueberries too (and the darker fruit hides the green). I always use a banana because it gives it a soft, creamy texture. Frozen fruit makes a thicker smoothie too. Also, I add flaxseed for a serving of Omega-3s with its anti-inflammatory benefits.

What you need:

1 banana
a handful of frozen mango chunks
orange juice
1 tsp flaxseed (grounded or flax seed oil)
2-3 leaves kale, torn

What you do:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend, adding more orange juice as needed to facilitate blending.