Tags
bananas, easy, fruit, gluten-free, healthy, kale, kiwi, kiwifruit, orange juice, pineapple, quick, recipes, smooth, vegan, vegetarian
What’s all this fuss about astrology lately? I’ve never really been into it, but will admit that when I found out my sign would change, it made me sad for some reason. Of course then I read that it only affects those who aren’t out of diapers yet, so hooray. (poor babies.)
This post can be an example of why I’m a total Aquarius. You’ve probably seen some kale smoothie recipes floating around on the blogosphere, right? Being a somewhat recent kale fanatic who loves smoothies, I was instantly on board. I decided to try out a few of these recipes and make my own, then report to you. Consider it my contribution to making the world a better place.
Annnd I had to be weird and make faces out of food again. I can’t help it.
First up, I tried Tracy‘s Green Energy Shake! Hers was actually the first that I ran across and was super excited because she’s always making these crazy good sounding juices with her juicer. (I don’t have a juicer. sad face.) Here’s what gets blended up: kale, orange juice, dates, pear, and frozen banana.
YUM. I didn’t use enough kale which is why mine didn’t come out as green as hers, but did make it a second time with more: success! I had never had dates before, but thought they were a great touch.
Next up, I made Joy‘s Kale and Spinach Pear Smoothie, which was inspired by Tracy’s. This one is almond milk-based with honey, frozen banana, and obviously kale, spinach, and pear.
GREEN! Using almond milk instead of OJ made this a very different tasting concoction. It was good and less sweet, and I will definitely make this one again, too.
The third one I tried was randomly tweeted by Whole Foods. They call it Double Green Smoothie because it also contains both kale and spinach. With dates, almond milk, and banana, it’s a bit of a cross between the previous two, only this time there are berries.
Uhh, as you can see, the berries made this one look like bubbling mud. Probably the frozen mix of cherries and blueberries that I used had something to do with it. This one was the least sweet, but at the same time, the dates didn’t seem to get blended very much because I was eating big chunks of them at the end. Yes, it was still good enough to drink it all, but I’m not sure I’ll come back to this one.
Since I liked the citrusy-ness of Tracy’s, I used OJ as the base for mine. Here goes!
TropiKale Smoothie (ahaha, I crack myself up.)
What’s in season right now? Kale, citrus, and kiwifruit….right? And what’s available in the freezer section (at least at my store)? Frozen pineapple! There’s a ton of goodness in this smoothie. Kiwifruit is loaded with vitamin C, which you already get from the OJ, and in case you are in need of a reminder about kale, here you go. Of course pineapple and bananas are full of goodies, too. :)
1 cup kale, washed and roughly chopped with stems removed
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 kiwifruit, peeled
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks (I almost went for mango!)
Dump the kale and OJ in a blender and puree until the kale is completely obliterated (no bits!). Add the rest and blend until smooth.
This makes about 3 cups. That’s enough for one person, right? :)
SO good, hon!! If you are sensitive to kiwi seeds, I guess you could pour this through a sieve….but that’s no fun, and it’s an extra dish to wash. :P
Those with any doubts about kale smoothies, I promise these are all tasty in their own ways! They’re perfect if you don’t like eating greens because any bitterness is completely disguised.
Obviously, you can put whatever you want in them. If any of you have tried other tasty combos, let me know!
I saw a million posts on Facebook about astrology and was confused too. This smoothie looks fantastic though…regardless of astrological signs!
Ive already started planning my summer garden and have decided to grow a few rows of kale this year. Your smoothie recipes sound delicious and are a great way to get more raw vegetables into the diet. Thanks for the great post.
holy cow! you’re on a roll!
I drink this similar green juice here..with Kale and I really do like it, I really like eating Kale, which has MASSIVE nutrients, right?
i bow down!! those faces are soooo stinkin’ cyooooot! I have all the ingredients for the tropiKALE…..hmmm…
Sarah – I know, people were going nuts about it! And yes, super yum!
dragonfly – Ooo, growing kale would be awesome! You could throw your backyard into a blender. :)
Joy – I wonder if it’s possible to OD on this stuff? Think I’ve had about 12 cups of kale smoothies this week….
Bailey – Yes, it’s amazing!
Tracy – hehe, thanks! I keep myself entertained. You should make it!
this looks great! I love green smoothies but I’ve never tried them with kale.
I remember making a kiwi smoothie from a Roald Dahl (inspired?) cookbook about 10 years ago, and I was way overpowered. I need to rethink my green smoothie making.
Also, I need to go back and try to read more of this post for content (instead of just looking at the pictures and laughing at your sad face). Sorry, but I’m most of the way through my wine (and cheese) party. Please don’t give me a quiz on this post.
I’m super impressed with your green smoothie streak (and thank you for your contribution to human-kind!). I’ve seen all the kale smoothie business going on in the blog world, but have yet to make one myself. I should definitely consider throwing some kale into my typical banana-blueberry-vanilla yogurt smoothie…but I have to admit I love its blueish-purple hue :)
And I’m SO an aquarius as well! I was devastated when they first broke the news last week, but relieved to find, as you mentioned, it won’t apply to us :) I’m not much into astrology, but I must admit I’m kind of attached to my sign!
Liz – Thanks! You should…it’s crazy good for you.
Jill – A Roald Dahl cookbook?? I need to find this. The kiwi wasn’t overpowering because of the OJ and pineapple, but it looked like a liquid kiwi with that color and the seeds. And haha, I kind of hope people don’t really read what I write, so no quizzes.
Kylie – Oh yeah, kale might make your go-to smoothie look like a chocolate shake with those colors! You should give it a try sometime though. haha, I’m the same way with the sign thing. You must have a birthday coming up too then! :)
hahahahaha that cutting board face is TOO cute
I approve of the smiley faces in this blog (:
IHeartVegetables – hehe, thanks!
(: – I thought of you while I was making them! :)
I’m proud to say that I had full intentions of jumping on the kale-train last year; I went out and bought a bunch of kale for the express purpose of making a kale recipe you’d posted previously. I’m embarrassed to say that the kale may or may not have gone bad in my produce drawer waiting to be used. >.>
While I still fully intend to give kale a srs try (srsly), I think I draw the line at green smoothies. I HAVE NO TRUST FOR GREEN DRINKS! =.=
Also…Am I still a Libra?
My kids raved over it and demanded more and they were getting plenty of healthy stuff in it..Tiffanys Organic Kale Carrot and Flax Fruit Smoothie.1 cup homemade almond milk .1 cup water.2 medium Kale leaves.A handful 6 baby carrots.8 fresh strawberries.1 cup frozen berries blueberry raspberry and marionberry .1 4 cranberries.One half of a banana.2 tablespoons freshly ground flax seeds.Mix up in a blender I use a – and LOVE it! and it makes enough for the whole family. The smoothie is a muddy orange color with flecks of green from the kale and flecks of red from the cranberries.
Witaj Jessika . dziękuję za ” loves smoothies”. umieściłem to na moim blogu PYCHA!
http://kochanezdrowie.blogspot.com/
Ok, let’s see – 1) a Belated Happy B-Day 2) Hope you enjoyed Florida – I grew up in Fort Lauderdale; my mom lived outside of Jacksonville and we’d visit St Augustine often 3) KALE SMOOTHIES ROCK! They definitely seem to work no matter what – we like to throw in everything but the kitchen sink and there ya go – bam! instant deliciousness for breakfast. We’ve actually got a review for ours coming up soon.
PS – my tiny, plastic co-writers like your photos, too.
I have been adding greek yogurt and honey to my smoothies, makes ‘em creamy! I will have to try the kiwifruit and I’m a bit jealous you have frozen pineapple at your grocery store.
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