The Green Scene

Summer is behind us, but leafy greens are still readily available at most grocery stores, produce markets – and even some farm stands.  An easy way to include raw greens, such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard, into your toddler’s diet is by adding it as the “special” ingredient in any smoothie.  (By making it a “special” ingredient, most kids will eagerly remind you that it needs to be included.  Sometimes it’s easier to skip calling something “healthy” – a word that seems to push kids in the opposite direction!)

My family’s typical smoothie ingredients range from fresh to frozen organic fruits (blueberries, strawberries, mango, pineapple, banana) with the addition of raw organic spinach, Swiss chard or kale, rice milk and/or orange juice, probiotic powder, ground flax seed, and, during flu/cold season, lemon-flavored cod liver oil.  The greens will turn the smoothie a grassy color, even though you can’t taste them.  If you use blueberries, the added greens almost turn the smoothie black.

If it’s still hot where you live, you can modify the recipe slightly by nixing the cod liver oil and freezing the smoothie mix in popsicle molds.  I ordered some online last spring and we used them throughout the summer.  It’s important to leave out the cod liver oil since, once frozen, the oil separates from the rest of the smoothie (taste-wise, not appearance-wise), and you are left with one fishy-tasting popsicle! 

Raw Food Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1-2 large leafs of raw Swiss chard, kale or 1 large handful of raw spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh/frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen/fresh pineapple
• 1 banana
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1 tablespoon probiotic powder
• 1 cup (or more) of rice milk

Place in blender. Blend. Enjoy. Repeat the next morning.

Author Biography:

Kristen A. Schmitt is self-proclaimed health nut, keeping her family in nutritious balance while sticking to a gluten-free, dairy-free diet.  She enjoys healthy living, eco-friendly products, thrifty finds, and reading a sentence or two in a good book (during her 90 seconds of downtime). She currently writes a healthy eating blog for Bodies in Motivation.