Can you help me find a good way to get veggies into a shake?

[coloradomama1]

We've been seriously lacking in the veggie department lately and I'm looking for a way to get them into all of us via a shake. It's got to taste good since I'm the only one in the family that will gag something down even if it tastes bad but is good for me! Should i go with a hemp shake for the protein and omegas and then use a greens powder of some sort? I've tried a few different protein powders from different sources lately and they all tasted bad!
I really like to juice veggies and get them that way but i'm looking at incorporating a shake so it's more of a snack that will keep 3 yo and i full.

[sarahn4639]

Well I call them smoothies but I think we're talking about the same thing! I have this for breakfast a few mornings a week and it's very filling. I always have to make enough for the kids (2 & 4), they love them!

I have a fill the Vita Mix (blender thing) with fresh spinach, add about .5 cup plain yogurt, and about .5 cup water. Blend that until liquified. I then add .5 cup frozen blueberries and 1.5 cups frozen strawberries. Sometimes I add a banana, but 1 of my kids doesn't like that so I don't very often. I find that this combo offers enough fruit to hide the spinach, but you may want to add more fruit at first while you are getting used to them.

[jimblejamble]

I like to put greens and/or carrots into smoothies with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or half a pineapple and a couple bananas. Carrots need to be juiced (ask me how I know this ) but spinach, kale, etc. don't.

[coloradomama1]

yes i meant smoothie! i don't know why i called it a
"shake" just then. that's what my sisters family calls them and it always puzzles me, how funny that that's what came out of my brain. how would i change that in my post title?

[bandgeek]

I put spinach in mine. You can't taste it, but it does look green, unless you load it up with blueberries or blackberries. Not sure if the color would be a problem for your family. It's unappetizing for some. I usually do spinach, berries, a banana, and some almond milk. If you freeze the banana and berries, it makes it a really nice texture. I don't worry much about protein. I get my protein elsewhere. My smoothies are to get my greens in!

[Llyra]

I always just steamed the veggies until they were a bit soft, and then pureed them in the blender with some yogurt. You get kind of a green juice. Then I add that to just about everything-- sauces, shakes, smoothies, etc. You can even hide it under the cheese in a pizza. If you're using stronger tasting veggies, you can put a tart fruit in there, too, to disguise the taste. When I'm putting kale in a smoothie, I always use strawberries too, because the taste of the strawberries dominates enough that you don't even notice the green stuff.

Our favorite smoothie consists of a banana, strawberries, a heaping spoonful of honey, yogurt, crushed ice, and "green juice." (Usually kale or spinach, since we raise those ourselves and always have too much, but any leafy vegetables or root vegetables will work.)

I wouldn't use protein powders. We avoid overly processed "health foods" and rely instead on honest, "old-fashioned," whole-food sources of nutrients.

You can crush ice yourself by putting it in a cloth bag and whacking it with a hammer.

[*bejeweled*]

[kereplussome]

Ditto what has been said above. The beauty of berries is that they make the smoothie such a brilliant beautiful color noone knows they're also downing kale or spinach or kelp or whatever else you put in it. (In my case I usually substitute homegrown kefir instead of yogurt). Also, I found that all the things I freeze in icecubes for my babyfood work really well in the rest of our smoothies...like sweet potatoes, etc.