Recipe: Beginner Green Smoothie

I don’t make New Year resolutions anymore, but I do keep mental notes of things I’d like to try to do more of each year. Green smoothies have been on my mind for a while, and to be honest, I’ve been trying to work up the courage to try incorporating them into my daily routine. Although we make lots of smoothies in our house, they are not usually of the green variety. Somehow, the idea of drinking something green doesn’t quite appeal to any of us.

However, a few years ago, while we were on vacation, we were served complimentary shot glasses of green smoothies. It was the perfect chance for all of us to taste this green concoction. We were all pleasantly surprised that it actually tasted good. It was just the greenish color we had to get over.

I’ve always liked making smoothies for my family since they’re an easy way to incorporate lots of fruits into one glass. One serving has at least 2 servings of fruits. Although fruits are easy to eat for breakfast, vegetables are not always on the forefront of everyone’s mind at seven o’clock in the morning. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been wanting to start adding green smoothies to my breakfast – to get that extra serving of vegetables in early in the day, served as a drink that goes down easy.

I’ve seen all sorts of greens used in green smoothies – romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, and broccoli. I’ve tried romaine lettuce in smoothies before, but didn’t really like the taste (I’d rather eat it in a salad), so I decided to try baby spinach, another mild tasting leafy green vegetable. Kale and broccoli sounded like they might be a bit strong tasting for a beginner green smoothie.

As a Beginner Green Smoothie drinker, I added sweetness by using grapes, apples and bananas. And to give my green smoothie an extra boost of antioxidants, I used green tea as the liquid. A slice of ginger gave it extra zip and hey, it’s good for your digestive system.

Beginner Green Smoothie Ingredients: