Best Healthy Smoothie Ever!

Hi all:

I must confess.... I am addicted to Kale smoothies.  I started making these a couple of months ago and now I can't stop drinking them.  I actually crave them now and have a mini panic attack when I am out of one of the ingredients. Every day, I mentally juggle how much of each ingredient I have left in my kitchen and I plan out when I need to go back to the grocery store, so I don't run out. Yes, it is that bad.

How did I get hooked, you might ask?  Well, let's rewind a few months.  My husband, the uber athlete who runs marathons and thinks nothing of going for gruelling 12 km hikes on a whim, came home one day with a smoothie from one of our juice joints here in Canada; Jugo Juice.  It seems one of his running buddies told him about their Mighty Kale smoothies so he bought one and brought it home.  I had to try it.  One sip and I was hooked. It was delicious!

Now, for my husband to even THINK about consuming anything remotely close to a green vegetable, is a miracle.  You might think he is very health conscious, given that he runs long distances; you would be very wrong.  The closest he gets to eating vegetables, is eating  potato chips with his meal. ( In his mind, they are potatoes, after all.) Yes, he really is that bad and it was so unlike him to come home with one of these healthy concoctions.

Well, I have never enjoyed a smoothie so much as that.  I went back to Jugo Juice several times, but it became expensive to feed this kale smoothie habit so I started making them at home.  They are much cheaper and just as flavourful. You only need 6 simple ingredients and a good blender.

Here is my recipe:

Kale Smoothie

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6-8 ounces (about 1 cup) of pure unsweetened apple juice (not from concentrate)

2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) of pure unsweetened orange juice (not from concentrate)

1 handful of clean, washed spinach - stems and all

1 handful of clean, washed kale - stems and all

1 handful of frozen pineapple

1 handful of frozen mango

In a blender, add the apple juice, orange juice and the spinach.  Mix on the purée setting until the spinach is broken down. (Puree the spinach first and then add the kale. This will help your blender from clogging up with too much vegetable matter all at once) Add the kale (it works best to tear up the kale into smaller pieces) and blend on purée until well blended.  Add the frozen pineapple and use the Crush Ice button until smooth.  Add the frozen kale and use the Crush Ice button until smooth and all is incorporated.  That's it!

Here's the apple juice.

Here, I have added the orange juice.

I use spinach that is pre-washed. I wash it again anyways. You never know......

Add the spinach, stems and all.

Spinach is blended.

Add the kale, stems and all.

This is about how much pineapple I use; about 1 large handful. I just reach into the bag and grab some.  No fussy measuring for me.  Blend on the Crush Ice setting, to make it smooth and break up the ice chunks.

Next, add the mango. Use about the same amount of mango as pineapple. Just reach in and grab some. I tend to like more pineapple flavour than mango in mine, but you can decide.  Blend on the Crush Ice setting again, until smooth. Et voila!

I have to say, I am loving my Kitchenaid blender. I bought it on sale a few months ago. I struggled for many years with a cheaper blender that never blended well, so this is a real treat to use.  Too bad it doesn't match my lavender Kitchenaid mixer. I have to say, I love Kitchenaid appliances! You can always count on them!!

Cheers!  I have to say though, after I drink one of these, I  get really thirsty, so I often have a glass of cold water after I drink one.  It must be the spinach.  I think it dries out your mouth??? Not sure.

Enjoy and let me know if these become addicting to you too.  Who woulda thunk that drinking kale could be so delicious??  And think of all those nutrients!

Bye for now,

Rosie