My First Green Monster

Today I drank spinach. And I liked it. (Sung to the tune of Katy Perry's "I kissed a girl"...can you hear it? Use your imagination)

That's right people, today I had my very first Green Monster. Have you heard of this? Out in the world of healthy living blogs, there is a movement- The Green Monster Movement. It's basically a smoothie that includes either spinach or kale, plus whatever else you want to put in it. For months now, ,I've been reading about all the different Green Monsters that people have tried, but I've always been too afraid to try my own.

I like spinach. I love it raw...you may recall my Strawberry Spinach Salad or the Apple & Bacon Spinach Salad that I ate about 27 days in a row this fall. I also like to put the frozen kind in my lasagna and sometimes I cook the fresh kind into my pasta dishes like the Pasta with Chickpeas, Spinach & Squash...ok, I think you get the point. But putting spinach in my drink was presenting a road block that I just couldn't seem to get past.

That all changed today. I bought a big bag of spinach at the store last week and needed to use some of it up. There is a Virgin Green Monster recipe for first time drinkers and I based my creation off of that...but I made a few changes. As you probably know, spinach is a GREAT source of iron...what you may not know is that Vitamin C enhances iron absorption! So instead of putting milk in my smoothie, I used orange juice. Plus I left out the flax and added some strawberries.

So here's what to do:

Wash and dry about 2 cups of baby spinach and put it in your blender. Pile some frozen fruit on top (I used blueberries, a frozen banana and strawberries). Top with orange juice and blend away. Then add some ice cubes to thicken and blend some more. Make sure to put the spinach in first so that the fruit weighs it down.


One of these things is not like the other...

 At this point I was thinking, "I must be crazy"

Now it looks a little better...still weird though

Here goes nothin'

 

 I ended up with something that looks like this:

I just left in in the blender for a while and stared at it...still very unsure. Then I took a deep breath, poured it into a glass...and stared at it some more...

And finally I tried it. 

And it was good! As was the case with the broccoli in my Broccoli & Mushroom Turkey Burgers, you probably wouldn't even know the spinach was in there if you weren't looking at it. The fruit flavors shine through.

I do have to admit though, I only made it through 1/2 the glass before I gave up...what the hell was I thinking making a smoothie with ICE and FROZEN FRUIT when it's 20 degrees outside? I put the rest in the freezer for a warmer day!

But let me tell you, come summer...I'll definitely be making this again. It's supposed to give you more energy, better skin and healthier nails...all of which sound just grand to me :)

Give the Green Monster a try if you're brave! It's another great way to sneak in those veggies.

--Lindsay--