Monday, September 26, 2016

"Shrek" Spa Smoothie

MenuMusings.com  "Shrek" Spa Smoothie
My employees were drinking this God-awful looking drink in a water bottle one day and I questioned them... "What in the world are y'all drinking?!  Ughhh!!!"  It was green with flecks of what looked like someone had just mowed the grass next to an open drink next to a pond.  They assured me that it was indeed delicious AND nutritious and that I MUST try it.  After telling me what all was in it, and telling me that one of my main cooks, Brenda, came up with the recipe, I decided to give it a shot. Brenda is an excellent cook, so it couldn't be bad.  After one sip of the drink, I'll admit, I was hooked.  

I had most of these ingredients at home so I decided to try it out on my little ones.  We typically have most of these fruits and honey as well as the baby spinach already on hand.  We had leftover kale from a soup we had just made... and I keep bananas frozen in chunks in the freezer just for making smoothies when they get ripe. So I think I really only had to purchase a kiwi and the tea.  All in all, I figured I didn't have much to lose by trying it out. 


Ingredients:
  • 1 ripe kiwi
  • 1 handful of fresh pineapple chunks
  • 1/2 apple cut into chunks
  • 1 ripe banana
    • I used frozen banana chunks so I didn't use ice
  • 1 handful of kale with spines removed
  • 1 handful of fresh baby spinach
  • 2-3 Tbsp local honey
  • 1 cup light colored tea steeped and cooled for a bit
    • I used lemon ginger because I enjoy the taste
    • (could also use green tea)
Step-by-Step:
Full disclosure.  I've not measured anything out properly any time I've made it.  I've truly made it by the "handful" or the size of the fruit.  
1 ripe kiwi
1 ripe banana (preferably frozen, but not necessary)
1/2 apple cut into chunks with core removed (skins on)
1 handful of fresh pineapple chunks
1 handful of fresh kale with spines removed.  (3 leaves total)
1 handful fresh baby spinach
1 cup lemon ginger tea, steeped and cooled
2-3 Tbsp local honey 
Phew!  Stuff it all down and try to squeeze the lid on!  :)
 Give it a whirl until it is well blended.
We affectionately call it a "Shrek" spa smoothie for obvious reasons.  HaHa!  The kids wonder how something that looks so "disgusting" (their words) can taste so yummy.  :D  I'll have to tell you that it took quite a bit of convincing to get them to taste them, but once they did, they admitted that they were definitely "Yummy!"
Here's one little girl who likes to drink them before school with her breakfast.  She says they give her a lot of energy and she doesn't get sleepy on the bus.  Score!!!  I even started getting notes left by the coffee pot in the evening (that's when I fix the pot for the next morning)... "Green smoothie for Lily in the morning, please."

Method:
Add ingredients to blender and enjoy!  If you are iffy on the amount of "green" stuff, cut it down a bit until you are more sure.  It really helps to have frozen bananas on hand.  You know how you always tend to have a couple of bananas that get super ripe that nobody ate?  Well cut them into pieces and throw them into a ziptop bag.  They are SO PERFECT for smoothies!  

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