Spinach in Smoothie... I am a believer...

[jpamama]

Well, I just needed to write in and let all of you 'put spinach in your smoothie, trust me they won't taste it' ladies that you are right... they don't. I have read all these threads before and thought there is no way... well, today I made a smoothie with mangos and blueberries and had some fresh spinach, so I tossed a few handfuls in - well, low and behold, all my kids have drank it right down! I am a believer - thank you all so much, this will certainly help with the leafy green vegetable part of our diet, that can be a struggle at times

[LemonPie]

how did it affect the color?

[lil_earthmomma]

Yay!!! Green smoothies are definitely my favorite way to get some dark leafy greens into the boys!


As for the color, I just toss in a few extra berries if the color is green or murky. Blueberries work great to mask color, but I usually just buy the frozen mixed berries, which turn the smoothie a pleasing shade of purple.

My kiddos are used to green smoothies that are green in color too though. The tropical ones I make with pineapple, frozen mango and coconut milk are definitely a beautiful shade of green, and delicious!

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by LemonPie

how did it affect the color?

I usually do berry smoothies. I do find the colour slightly less appetizing, but not badly so. It's a somewhat browner shade of purple, instead of being really bright, as it is when I leave out the spinach. The kids don't even notice it.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

The tropical ones I make with pineapple, frozen mango and coconut milk are definitely a beautiful shade of green, and delicious!

Oh - that sounds good. I'll make that soon. I think I have all those tings in the house.

[Drummer's Wife]

Glad you liked it. I was skeptical, too, until I tried it. Fresh spinach turned it green, of course, but didn't mess with the sweetness the fruit provided. My kids love them.

[sunnysandiegan]

I made a green smoothie today, too!

I had beet greens from our CSA to use up. I used: tomatoes, carrots, beet greens, frozen cherries, frozen strawberries, fresh/frozen (we purchased fresh and then froze) blueberries, and fresh/frozen raspberries. I added a splash of organic, not-from-concentrate grape juice in order for the Vitamix to blend it all together. It turned out like a berry sorbet and both DD and I gobbled it up! We both have sore throats and this smoothie/sorbet felt sooo good....

[marimara]

Heck ya! I discovered this myself this week too! I even woke up early to make one for my dh (which is a rare treat indeed). Dd likes them. I read somewhere that kids like them if you give them funny names too, like Dragon Smoothies, or Alligator Smoothie, or something like that. If you put blueberries in it, it will be more purple. I am drinking this for breakfast nearly every day now. I am transitioning to a raw diet and these smoothies are amazing. I also put romaine lettuce in one and it tasted ok. Spinach tastes better.

[Koalamom]

I took me a while too to put greens in a smoothie. I just was so wrried it would ruin it, but it is great!

Here is what I have tried green wise:

Spinach- The mildest tasting and you can use alot because of that. I got alot on sale organic once and froze huge amounts on baggies, and they were great in the smoothies still and even ground up in my non fancy blender very well.

Kale- Don't use too much or it will be way too strong. But a small amount is fine.

Lettuce- Great and just about as mild as spinach!!! Our newest favorite. Pack it in the blender!

Mesclune mix- Depending on the one you get it could be too bitter and don't use too much. Could be even stronger than kale.

Swiss chard- Another mild one surprisingly. We love this and can use way more than kale. Note- leave the stems out.


Please review your greens. Next to try is beet greens...

[Arduinna]

ok but was at least raw spinach? No way am I trying that cooked stuff.

[MoonStarFalling]

LOL I use raw spinach but my dad cooks it and then puts it into his smoothie I can only imagine what it tastes like.

[LilacMama]

Do you think frozen spinach would work? It seems like it would be more cost effective.

[h@ppy mama]

That's great! My daughter (17 months) also loves green smoothies. I've been making them for about a year now and our whole family loves them. They keep my energy up.

[h@ppy mama]

Originally Posted by LilacMama

Do you think frozen spinach would work? It seems like it would be more cost effective.

You can use frozen but jsut watch the amount you put it. Frozen gives a very strong flavor. Also, fresh is always best when it comes to getting all of the nutrients you possibly can.

[Koalamom]

I don't think I would buy pre-frozen spinach, and the spinach I have used frozen wasn't frozen for that long (only a few weeks).

[claddaghmom]

What if you don't have access to organic spinach? I heard it can be the most contaminated green?

[Koalamom]

I personally wouldn't use non-organic spinach. I would check out what greens are available and if all are non organic, I would see which ones are on the dirty dozen list as safest.

[Koalamom]

Here is the guide, and it looks like there are no good non-organic greens:
http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

[WorldsBestMom]

That sounds kind of interesting. I am surprised it didn't affect the flavor of the smoothie.

[amma_mama]

Yeah, after much doubt about the drinkability, I made our first green smoothies a few months ago. DD did not even notice, she just gulped it down as usual. DD even caught me in the act the second or third time and still drank it. We used frozen spinach as that was the quickest for us to do back then, so I will have to try fresh. Also, we got a new blender so hopefully they will be even better now - our last blender did not do a great job of smoothing the green part of the smoothie (which made it harder for me to drink).