Juuuuust the right amount of kale to your morning smoothie is quite the slippery slope. Like you add one square inch too much and you’re DONE FOR. Say goodbye to the twenty dollars worth of localorganicvegan ingredients you just pulverized. You killed it with kale and now it tastes like wet dirt. You know how much I adore my blueberry chocolate green smoothie and it’s not like I want to be in a relationship with a different smoothie, but sometimes I want something less creamy and decadent and more refreshing in the a.m. This is kind of my official goodbye to summer smoothie, as sad as that sounds. It’s super simple and definitely less complicated than my normal smoothies, which have vanilla and dates and cacao and all kinds of annoying add-ins. Sure, this smoothie tastes like a tropical dream, but the real reason I’ve been obsessed with it is because it’s like drinking a salad.
So basically I can eat a vegetable-less (does salsa count?) chickpea flour breakfast pizza for breakfast every gosh darn day and then chase it with this gorg glass of fruits and veggies and feel all kinds of great about it. I don’t like not starting my day with fruits and veggies. Or should I just say I like starting my day with fruits and veggies? When I’m running around and my meals turn into Amy’s burritos for lunch and eggs for dinner, I have to be able to count on my breakfast for getting in some fruit and veg. Whether you add a big leaf of kale or a huge handful of spinach, you’re getting a hot shot of pre-blended, easily digestible, super nutrient-dense veggies early in the morn. The majority of the veggies I eat are cooked (roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, etc.) so I love knowing that I can slurp down three servings of raw fruits and veggies for breakfast without even thinking about. That, my friends, is precisely why smoothies rock my socks off. I make my smoothies in the Nutribullet. It’s by far my favorite kitchen appliance, followed closely by my big food processor. You really don’t need a Vitamix or Blendtec to make super smooth smoothies.
Yes, I would give both of my thumbs and maybe my pinky for a Vitamix, but hashtag budget cuts, ya know? Now as far as the kale in this smoothie goes, I just get a big bunch of organic kale at the store and use one leaf per smoothie. It’s critical that you take the leaves off the stem, unless you want to drink a dirt smoothie. Up to you. If kale isn’t your jam, just throw in a huge handful of spinach. Hakuna matata. Or maybe even some swiss chard. Or dandelion greens. Or beet greens. Change it up, yo! For the fruit, I use the frozen pineapple chunks from Trader Joe’s. My mom had given me a few extra ripe peaches so I sliced and froze them for this smoothie. Feel free to buy good old frozen peach slices or just slice and freeze fresh ripe peaches in an even layer on a baking sheet and then throw them in a baggie once frozen. I also added my beloved hemp seeds for a bit of a protein punch, but if you don’t have them on hand, simply leave them out. Let’s chat for a hot minute about coconut water and why we love to love it. First of all, it tastes dreamy. Second of all, it’s naturally sweet, low in calories, and a fab source of potassium (more than a banana) and other electrolytes to help balance fluids in the body and regulate blood sugar. Think of it as nature’s Gatorade. Boom shaka laka. Cheers to summer and all the bright green things Print
