Recipes
Use these recipes as guidelines. Try them out,
then make them your own. Use the provided tips + variations to fit your preferences or pack in the nutrition. Tweak them to suit your lifestyle or swap out ingredients to make them allergy-friendly. I’ve taken out the nutrient guesswork by adding whole food ingredients with extra vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants & omega-3s.
Check out more free recipes or order The DIY Kitchen Cookbook on Amazon. This Kindle book contains 62 recipes to craft your own make-ahead mixes, seasoning blends, snacks, breakfasts, condiments, dressing & drinks. The included do-it-yourself, copycat recipes are healthier, cleaner versions of what you'd normally buy.
Download a free Kindle app for any device.
Green Smoothies and Popsicles
October 22, 2011 by Melanie Zook
Why would you want to give this recipe a try? Here are a few reasons:
You or your child could use some more vegetables (especially of the green, leafy type) in his/her diet. (And, well, that’s just about everyone.)
You just don’t know what to do with that kale or other greens you got from your produce delivery, CSA or at the Farmers’ Market.
You’re sick of sautéed greens, and you want to try something new.
You’re looking for ways to get more iron, fiber, or phytonutrients in your diet.
You need ideas for quick & healthy after school or post-workout snacks.
You’re looking for an easy, nutritious breakfast idea that you can take on the run.
Ingredients
1 cup (approximate) milk of your choice
1 cup (approximate) plain yogurt (you can use vanilla if you prefer sweeter smoothies)
Baby spinach and/or kale (Plenty of it. Baby spinach especially will blend right in…you’ll hardly notice it. So use a lot of it!)
Frozen mango chunks (available at many grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s & Target)
1 banana
Method
Put all ingredients into a blender* & blend. (Or, use a hand stick immersion blender & blend it right in the yogurt container.)
Pour into a glass & enjoy!
*My go-to machine for smoothies, juices & other recipes is the Vitamix.
Variations
My daughter loves chocolate green smoothies. Use chocolate almond milk as half your milk. Or, add some chocolate syrup. Check out this recipe for homemade chocolate syrup that’s free of high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors.
Looking for the perfect breakfast smoothie? Add uncooked oatmeal & natural peanut butter (& omit the mango). This is a great way to boost calories & healthy fat.
The green smoothie is the perfect workout recovery drink!
Any version of this smoothie is an ideal high-energy snack for adults or kids.
Green smoothies are a great way to use up other veggies, frozen or not. Try tossing in broccoli, carrots, or even beets. (When I added beets, my daughter called the popsicles her “purple ice cream”!)
You may have to “start ’em young” on green smoothies. If your older kids won’t drink them, simply because their green, add frozen blueberries.
I’ll often have frozen cubes of kale, spinach, carrots, turnips, etc. prepared as baby food. Add those to the smoothies too for some extra nutrition.
Add avocado for extra creaminess & an extra serving of monounsaturated fat. (Keep in mind that fat helps your body absorb certain vitamins.)
Using a popsicle maker, make popsicles out of the green smoothies for a healthy frozen treat that’s (almost) waste-free. No artificial colors or flavors either. (Have you read the back of a box of popsicles lately?) When frozen, store them individually wrapped in snack-size Ziploc bags. Keep the used, empty bags in the freezer & reuse them.
Or, freeze them ahead in these push-up frozen pop makers. Then just grab one on your way out the door.
