Swamp Thing – Day 5

I can’t believe I made it 5 days in a row drinking these smoothies. Friends, my life is changing. Really. {Really really! as Oliver likes to say.} My goal is to make one a day, but to be honest, I’m going to give myself a break and forgive myself if my new found passion dies quickly. At least I’m not out buying a $500 Vitamix on a whim! (The only appropriate place to purchase one is your local state or county fair, along with a cream puff to counteract the ultra-health benefits of owners; I have until August to decide )

Anyway, I wanted to share these gorgeous photos I took. I am in love, love, love with kale! Take a look:

Isn’t this just beautiful? I couldn’t stop photographing those curly monster tendrils. I took some great photos, which is easy to do when you have such an interesting model! :)

This type of kale is a tad bit more expensive, and it’s called Lacinato Kale. In French it’s, Noir Chou Frise which roughly translates to Black Cabbage Curls, appropriately named. It’s vastly different from the kale I bought last weekend.

So I’m on day 5 of my green smoothie kick, and let me tell you how great this is. As I mentioned in my first post about green smoothies, this concoction will last all day long in your sealed jar providing you keep it refrigerated. I have been averaging about 5 cups of green smoothie actually. I drink one in the morning before I leave for work. Then I drink it throughout the day at work. I haven’t been too ravenous in the evenings either. I think it’s truly helped me to curb my appetite. And having had such a healthy snack throughout my day, I’m so reluctant to eat anything that will be counter-productive to my new efforts. Therefore, this has really been a big shift for me. {Why didn’t I start this sooner?}

I’ve been reading that it’s good to switch your greens around each day as well. So last night I went to my local health food coop and bought another type of green — mustard greens.

I put about 2 cups of that into my blender along with about a cup or two of spinach, and then decided to add this to the mix:

Can you guess what that is? Cilantro of course! This added an interesting taste to my smoothie. I typically love cilantro, but first thing in the morning? It kind of took me by surprise, like a knock up side the head. However, the only time I tasted the cilantro was in the first sip. After that, the taste just disappeared! Very strange....

I opted for an apple for yesterday’s smoothie, but I think I like the taste of pears better. Today I decided to drop in a handful of blueberries in addition to the pear and banana. (Banana’s seem to be a must.)



The blueberries added a richness to the color. I blended the smoothie for quite a bit and that added a lot of air. I like that....



Doesn't that look amazing?

This is how much my blender-full yielded:





Look, just look at how beautiful this Noir Chou Frise is....

I hope you are going to be brave enough to try making one of these. They really do taste good, and it’s amazing that they are so easy to sip down! I cannot believe I’m doing it.

By the way, don’t be shy if you need a little added sweetness. As I mentioned before, feel free to add a bit of Agave syrup, organic sugar, stevia or Truvia. It may help with the palette (altho I certainly did not need it) and if you have kids at home, it may entice them to “drink their veggies” ... :) Good luck! Leave me a comment if you ever end up trying one of these yourself! I’d love to hear from you!

Green Smoothie - Day 5 (taking a break from kale)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups mustard greens
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 sprig cilantro
• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 1 bottle of water
• 1 handful of blueberries

Blend until smooth and all bits are tiny or invisible

YIELD

5-6 cups of smoothie, leftovers can be refrigerated and savored throughout the day