I have a couple of good friends who, whenever I post a kale recipe, immediately reply with “and try it in a smoothie!”
Ugh…a kale smoothie? Really? That seems so…crunchy granola eater. And, while I like my granola, and tend to hug trees, kale smoothies were too out there for me.
Until my youngest son started asking for them. This must come from my wife’s side of the family - or be a recessive gene or something that skipped me entirely. Green? Smoothie? In the same sentence? He loved the idea.
So, I made one. I thought I was taking one for the team, but, much to my surprise, I enjoyed it.
Even better? My son drained the glass in one gulp. His smile looked like The Joker, a green kale grin up to his cheekbones.
Recipe: Green Monster Smoothie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Equipment
- Powerful blender (I love my Vitamix)
Ingredients
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 2 packed cups kale leaves (6 ounces, thick stems removed, rinsed if sandy)
- 3 kiwi, peeled
- 1 banana, peeled
- 1 cup apple juice
Directions
1. Blend it all
Pack everything in the blender. (The kale takes up a lot of space until it starts blending - it’s OK if you have to squeeze it in there to get the lid on). Start the blender on low, slowly bring it up to high, and run it at high speed until everything is completely smooth, about 1 minute. (If the blender is having a hard time processing, add more apple juice to keep the blades moving.)
Notes
- You can replace the two cups of ice cubes with a frozen banana (for a total of two bananas in the smoothie). When our bananas are on the edge of going bad, we peel them and throw them in the freezer to preserve them for smoothies down the road.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Blue Moon Smoothie
Kale Chips
Road Trip - Vitamix Factory Outlet Store
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Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Thanks for sharing, Rhonda!
Rhonda says
My daily morning kale drink goes like this: Lots of kale, 1 tbs chia seeds, water, cup of frozen fruit,or whatever fresh fruit is on hand. 1 minute in the Vitamix. Pour into glass and drink in car on way to work! I used to use plain greek yogurt instead of chia seeds, but am cutting back on dairy and still wanted protein. Kale rules!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Kefir sounds interesting - thanks for sharing
mayceegreene says
OMG! This looks absolutely awesome! I wish I had a ripe banana to freeze right now!!!! Thanks for sharing!
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Autumn says
I've been blending up home cultured Kefir with frozen berries and a baby green mix (including kale). With frozen berries, you don't even need ice, and my toddler chugs the things. A great use for the vitamix
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
That does sound delicious!
Paula Neal Mooney says
I LOVE LOVE LOVE green smoothies and drink them every morning. I get mine from Robek's (because I'm not a super cook like you!) and they taste so good with kale and spinach and bananas and acai berries and coconut and I could go on and on and on…