Happy Monday friends. I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was nice with tasty Indian food on Friday night (at the new spot in Carytown, Curry Craft) lots of wedding planning stuff, a trip to the farmer’s market, a visit from my mom and a little baking/cooking. Not too shabby.
Some green goodness was involved as well…
Sunday morning I woke up craving something green for breakfast but I didn’t feel like breaking out my juicer. I decided to try making a green juice smoothie in my Vitamix. I usually use frozen bananas and almond milk as a base for all my smoothies but I wanted this one to be more like juice so I stuck with a pear and water.
The Vitamix did a great job of pulverizing everything which resulted in a smooth textured drink that’s not only detoxifying, but alkalizing and energizing as well.
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If you don’t have a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec), you can still make this smoothie, the texture just won’t be as smooth. Feel free to use an apple in place of the pear if you’d like — both pears and apple are sweet and will give the drink a nice flavor. If you’re about the drink tasting too “green” you can add a splash of coconut water to sweeten it up.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw kale
- 1 large pear, cored and sliced into large pieces
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup ice
- 3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, adding additional water until the smoothie is the texture and consistency you enjoy.
I know there are benefits to both juicing and blending, but this type of green smoothie is great for a few reasons:
- You don’t have to clean a myriad of juicer pieces (Score!)
- You get all the fiber from the fruit and veggies so your blood sugar won’t spike
- The smoothie is thicker and a bit more filling than a juice (IMO)
I paired the smoothie with a few mini protein muffins for breakfast and it was the perfect boost of energy to start my day, but I could also see this being a great mid-afternoon snack. And for all of you that may have indulged in one too many margaritas yesterday in celebration of Cinco De Mayo, this would be a great recovery drink this morning. Just throwing that out there. 😉
In going to use this to convince the hubs to get me a vitamix!
I would love to give this a try! I too, typically use almond milk and banana as the base of my green smoothies.
This look sooo amazing!! I love smoothies like this. Such a beautiful color!
Thanks Beth!
Smoothie, smoothie, smoothie…if too much of anything was not bad for the body I would drink smoothie all the time. This is a great looking smoothie!!!
Wow! I can’t wait to give this a go, look so delicious. Do you have the recipe for the protein muffins too?
Just looking at this makes me feel good. Great twist on the traditional lemonade and low maintenance too. I hate cleaning those juicer pieces!
I will definitely try this at the weekend. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★
looking for new drinks to enjoy this summer on the patio. This is on my list
That smoothie looks deliciuos. Such a vibrant color of green! I can’t wait to give it a try!
I am anxiously waiting the recipe for the Protein Muffins!!!! They look Delish!
Mmmm this sounds so good, but the ingredients are so surprising! I would not have guessed pear and cucumber to be on the list. I will definitely have to try it 🙂
I am making this today! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ve always been a little weary about incorporating kale into smoothies, but I need to give it a try!
I have been advised not to eat raw kale or spinach for issues with my thyroid. What about steaming them then blending them and putting them into ice cube trays. Is that a bad idea or any thoughts. I love kale and spinach and green smoothies so trying to find a good solution. Also in the summer such an abundance of kale no possible way to eat it all so this might help with that too. thanks
This looks so, so good!
I love putting kale in my smoothies! This one sounds awesome!
That smoothie looks so refreshing! I wish I had a Vita-Mix… My Ninja blender is fine with spinach, but leaves kale somewhat chunky.
Hi!
I live in China and, although there are a lot of veggies, there is no kale. Yes, amazing, but true. Can I make the smoothie with regular lettuce? Or do you suggest another green like spinach?
THanks!!!
Love, Love, Love Kale! This smoothie sounds great!
I’ll definitely be trying this one out! Thanks!
Where can I find the recipe for the mini protein muffins.
Here’s the recipe for the mini protein muffins http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2013/05/mini-strawberry-chocolate-chip-protein-muffins/
I love spinach, cucumber, grape, apple, carrot and lime smoothes. I did it with a lemon by mistake but it was great. Has anyone tried it with frozen spinach? Since I use frozen grapes and pineapple I thought it might be cheaper and have more vitamins. Have to say, I don’t love kale as much unless it’s in soup.