I don’t really like vegetables.
I mean, they’re ok, and often quite good prepared certain ways, but I can’t say I get excited about them. I do see the irony in this, yes: a vegetarian blog by someone who doesn’t love vegetables? If I had my druthers, all the vegetable nutrition in the world would be contained in russet potatoes, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. Carrots and celery are acceptable if they have been cooked long enough to take on the flavor of whatever they’re in–soup, pot roast–i.e., they must not taste like carrots or celery. My husband happily munches spinach straight from the bag. I kind of want to punch him.
I want to make it clear that I do not lead a vegetableless existence. I do eat salads, last night’s dinner had eggplant, asparagus is great in frittatas, and so on. But my vegetable consumption, especially greens, is too low for any reasonably health-conscious adult. So how could I get the greens without needing to sit dejectedly in front of a pile of kale?
Smoothie-making, and its cousin, Juicing, are getting a bad rap, and in some ways they deserve it. Sugar is sugar no matter how you slice it, and fruit has a lot of sugar. So, smoothies can be a glycemic disaster, and juicing is even worse, because you’ve lost the regulating benefits of fiber. And the fat content can vary wildly, in either direction: add fruit to frozen yogurt and you might as well have a milkshake; add only fruit to water and you’ll be hungry in an hour.
So how can you avoid a monstrous concoction that will give you nothing but trouble? Keep a few things in mind:
Is there fat or protein?
Fat and protein = full. Most smoothie recipes use banana to make them, well, smooth. But try avocado instead. Yes, it’s high in fat, but not that kind of fat, and it’s lower in sugar, which means you’ll feel satisfied longer. Avocados do require a little planning to give them time to ripen, and once they’re ripe they need to be used quickly, but it is possible to freeze them for ease of use. Just puree in a blender with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per avocado, and then use an ice cube tray to freeze individual portions. The cubes should be good for about three months.
Plain greek yogurt or protein powder work well too–you’re unlikely to notice the “grit” that protein drinks made with water have. And for heaven’s sake, none of that Dannon or Yoplait stuff if you go the yogurt route. Avoid added sugar in whatever dairy or protein you decide to incorporate (plain yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, plain nut butters, etc.).
Is there fiber?
Fat and protein and fiber = a smoothie that will keep you going until lunch, or dinner, or whatever. Don’t forget that even a “good” smoothie has as many calories as a meal–they’re not snacks. (Unless you can allot 350 or so calories per snack, in which case you are probably hanging around the Olympic pool this week.)
Is there sugar?
Trick question. Unless you’re doing an all-veg smoothie, your fruit is contributing plenty of sugar. I do find that some frozen fruit (pineapple, raspberry) is less sweet than fresh, so I sometimes add a little raw honey if I’m using a greens mix that is particularly…assertive. I can’t comment on things like stevia, as I haven’t branched that far into alternative sweeteners.
So, there are about a million green smoothie recipes floating around the internet, some good, some bad, but here’s what I’ve been drinking these days to help myself feel a little more like a responsible adult. Would I be better off with a salad? Sure. But what should happen and what is likely to happen, are, as we all know, two very different things.
color-coordinated green straw poking up Loch Ness style
Green Monster Smoothie
- 1 granny smith apple, diced
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple bits
- 2-3 cups greens (Trader Joe’s just came out with a kale, collard, and spinach mix!)
- 1-2 cups water (start with one and add more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
Roar.
Great post — you got me laughing, then you got me interested. And the truly odd part: I’m not a smoothie/juicy fan.
Yet…
You know, that first sip is hard to take (it’s green!) but once you do, you’ll be hooked.
This looks like something I could try. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Thank you! And even though I don’t have kids yet, I really enjoy blogs like yours!
I love the map
That’s what I was thinking too! Haha
For some reason this actually sounds delicious. Sort of like when I discovered avocado boba tea on accident (I’d ordered strawberry but it was there and I was thirsty). My mind is confused and excited right now.
Well, boba tea is something I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around yet – now I’ve got a challenge.
Oh, do try it! You’ll either love it or hate it. My favorite is Thai tea with boba.
Well, I live close to something like five restaurants that offer boba, so I really don’t have an excuse now!
I like to much on kale chips when I feel the title green monster knocking. So every day.
I feel like I’m the only person who hasn’t made kale chips yet! Time to get on board I think.
You are not the only one
I have not try to make it yet. Love the smoothie. I have been doing this kind of smoothie for couple months and loving it.
“My husband happily munches spinach straight from the bag. I kind of want to punch him.” LMAO – mine does the same and it irritates me that he likes it so much and I just can not seem to enjoy veggies like that.
He does the same for carrots and celery – I’m so jealous.
I would be willing to try this! I’m not much of a veggie girl either. The current problem is that the cross blade from my Magic Bullet is AWOL. I can’t smoothie anything at the moment! Arg!
I’ve always wanted a Magic Bullet! I hate hauling out the blender or food processor for small jobs.
You speak for me about vegetable. I am eating plenty of fruit but veggies; blah!
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.
Thanks! Your photos are amazing–really beautiful stuff.
Hilarious! Love it…and I will have to try that smoothie. I just bought a juicer, so I’ve been making a green apple/celery/kale/ginger juice, but I really would like to mix it up a little! Cheers!
Oh, ginger would be so great in a green smoothie – I have to try it soon!
Congrats on the FP. I love roasting veg, though I do admit its usually it’s with a chicken. The importance of veg and indeed fruit (I grow apples, logans, raspberries, gooseberries, rhubarb, black currants, plums and cherries) is often missed in everyone’s diet.
Thanks! I hear you on the roasting – I can’t wait until it cools off and I can crank the oven again. Oven-roasted broccoli is one of my Acceptable Forms for Green Things.
I’m a big fan of smoothies, so being able to drink my greens is a great idea. I’ve never thought of “smoothie-ing” (smoothing?) an avocado, though I do bake with them.
Congrats on a great post and a FP!
Cheers,
iRuniBreathe
Thanks! And yep, the avocado didn’t occur to me at first either–and I admit I was half expecting something guacamole-flavored with that first sip…
It looks delicius! but u can eat vegetables in a 1000 ways! don’t lost the hope!!!!!!!!. Try Escalivada or Samfaina. Amazing
fuetimate.wordpress.com
Great idea! And I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks, and congrats on being FP!
Thank you!
This looks very good. I’ve always loved smoothies with spinach, this looks better.
And, congrats on being Freshly Pressed. You deserve it.
Aw, thanks!
I’ll try that. Thanks for your post and congrats on being freshly pressed.
Thank you!
How funny. I just made my first green smoothie today in an attempt to get my toddler to consume some chard. He was not a fan. I added another couple trendy ingredients: flax seed and chia seed. The smoothie turned into a green mousse. I’m the only one who will eat it. As my stepson astutely said, “when smoothies have vegetables in them, they aren’t smoothies. They’re…something else.”
Haha! Your stepson is on to something. I can’t get anyone on board either. As for the mousse-y texture, I’ve had that happen: ground flax or chia blended with water is an egg replacement for vegan-izing recipes. So I think if you whip the seeds into a smoothie with a high water content, you can end up with that mousse-like texture, as if you’d added egg whites. (Appetizing, right?
)
Inspired a lot by you. I am thinking about make one like this…
I liked everything in the green monster smoothie, especially the name! Can you taste the veggies quite strongly?
I don’t think so. It definitely doesn’t taste as sweet or fruity as the green juices available in grocery stores, though (Odwalla, Naked Juice, etc.). But it sure doesn’t taste like a salad, either.
Dear fellow bloggers,Where do you get such interesting name for your blogs????
Anyway,A great read and congrats on being Freshly Pressed!!!
~ this is good. before i have done a similar concoction then i added some spirulina
cheers to ur healthy drink! 
Spirulina would be a great addition to this – thanks for the tip!
~ haha yep
stay healthy & fit. more power! (:
Mushrooms are forever, and sometimes a stick of white cellery.
Nice map, but there’s no mushrooms in it !!
I appreciate your down-to-earth treatment of this subject. I love that you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t like veggies–in some ways I am the same. I have a complicated, narrow diet and veggies is the hardest part for me!
I don’t think I’m read for that smoothie, but I hope you can continue to consume them to the extent that they are beneficial to you!
I try to tell myself I’m one of those “super tasters,” but I think I’m just picky.
Haha! I like that “super taster”!
It’s not that I hate vegetables but i eat only some of them. I would love to go pure-veg for a week or something. Just to feel how it would be. But as long as my mother is here she keeps on making non-veg and of course, I will have to eat! I have still not let go of my idea. Some day or the other, definitely, I am going to try being a veg. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
I’m too lazy for smoothies…I wish they made one that would clean up after itself! Although our magic bullet DOES make it a little less painful.
Great post! I may try your smoothie (and make Husbandio clean!)
Oh, the cleaning is the worst part – I barely used my blender until I could upgrade to a one-piece model rather than the kind with the blade you had to screw off…ugh.
I have to say I clicked on your post because it was a quote from “Pirates of the Caribbean” which I love. Turned out to be totally different, but you already had me here, so I read it. I’ve been meaning to try either juicing or incorporating greens in smoothies… I’ll have to try this! Thanks!
My wife can come up with some smoothie concoctions too.
That smoothie sounds delish! It looks thick enough that it doesn’t even need the addition of raw oats (the same ones I use in oatmeal) to add bulk! Awesome. May just have to check it out. Love smoothies – always looking for new combos.
Yep, it’s pretty thick. This is one of the only smoothies I don’t add flax to, since a few of the ingredients are so high in fiber. It’s not one of those smoothies you can polish off in seconds.
oh wow – looks like limonana – how I miss it!!!
I laughed when I read this. Thanks for that. Green smoothies scare me. Don’t punch your husband.
He’s safe so far.
I love your quirky words, lady!
And about wanting to punch your husband..I get that way when my boyfriend picks out all the onions from the pea and ham soup I made for him and throws it in my bowl. Gah!
I knew someone who made a seriously icky green smoothie..the kind with pickles in ‘em. Bleeeerrrggggh!
But Brocolli is amazeballs lightly salted and with melted butter. <3
Hey, thanks!
Pickles?! I have never heard such a thing. Cucumber, sure, but pickles? Oh dear.
Pickled cucumbers to be exact. With spinach, kale..The super duper green kind that makes you wanna gag.
Delicious! Can’t wait to follow this blog
Great drink with perfect photos… Looks vet delicious… We will try it…