Green Smoothie

Hey everyone! This is Isaac, one of the team members. This month, the theme on the blog is getting your greens. 

One of the most important aspects of any person’s diet is vitamins, minerals, and fiber, all three of which come from daily consumption of greens. I'll admit, I'm not always in the mood for a salad or stir-fried veggies. Sometimes I just want something that's less work, or simply something different. There are entire books written on sneaking vegetables into foods that don't taste like those vegetables. Most however require lots of prep work, and aren't always practical for a quick meal. That's where this recipe, which seamlessly integrates servings of vegetables into a delicious and timeless smoothie, comes into play:

1 Banana

1 Cup Blueberries

1/2-1 Cup Milk or yogurt (purposefully vague, I used coconut milk for an allergy, but it can be anything in this category)*

1/2 Avocado

Half of 1 Small Lemon squeezed 3/4 of the way or to taste

1 1/2 Cups Kale (Compressed for measurement)**

*Use less milk if the fruit is frozen for thickness (Ex: 0 frozen fruits: 1/2 cup milk, 1 Frozen fruit: 3/4 cup milk, 2 frozen: 1 cup milk)

**This was pretty much 3 hand-fulls torn off a large bunch of kale

An easy mistake to make with green smoothies is making them too heavy with all of the greens, which also cuts some of the tartness that makes smoothies so good, and is why people avoid greens in smoothies. That's the reason for the lemon; it brings out the flavor of the blueberries which gets lost with the kale.

The reason for avocado is that it gives the smoothie a nice creaminess, and filling quality with some natural fats and protein, without adding a lot of water.

The reason behind kale is that its the highest nutritional value of any green, it is absolutely packed with vitamins, minerals, and great natural fibers. For experimenting, kale is also the strongest in flavor of all of the greens, which comes from all of those minerals/vitamins. Make sure there are big flavors in the smoothie that you put it in.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Make sure you keep up with Teens Can Cook, Too on all the social media sites below:

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Stay healthy!

- Isaac