Kale Berry Smoothie Recipe

My son loves vegetables.  He will eat pretty much everything we put in front of him.  A short period in his toddlerhood withstanding, he has always been a really good eater--and thank goodness for that, because when he never slept easily for the first two years of his life, we could console ourselves by saying, "Well, at least he's a good eater."

My daughter?  Not so.  If there's a hint of something green on her plate, that's an excuse for her to avoid eating anything at all.  She has been known to pull a stray piece of parsley out of her mouth from a bite of some otherwise inoffensive pasta, declaring, "Not this."  I have had to be verrrry sneaky about getting vegetables in her system, and this yummy smoothie is one way that I do it.

I start by putting the kale in the blender--I find that it gets smoother and more hidden when it's at the bottom.

The bananas go on top of that, broken into chunks, then I dump in the frozen berries. You could use fresh too, but I like the bit of iciness that the frozen berries add.

Although, I usually microwave the berries for about 30 seconds before putting them in, because if they are frozen solid I end up with big chunks of frozen berry in there.  Not as big of a problem as big chunks of unblended kale, but still not ideal.

I like to throw in a tablespoon of flax seed meal, because it's healthy for anyone with the added bonus of reducing constipation in the girl--big shock that it's an issue, given that all she wants to eat is bread and cheese, right?

Anyway, I top the whole thing off with apple juice, blend until smooth, then pour into glasses and drink.

It makes about one large glass and two little ones.  You can always slightly increase your amounts if there will be two grown-ups drinking these.

And then here's where I get really sneaky...

I make the leftovers into popsicles! I always feel like an evil genius when I serve kale for dessert, am I right?

This recipe is totally adaptable--you can add yogurt, mix up the fruits, use spinach instead of kale, add carrots, use a different kind of juice or substitute water, etc, but here is a good general recipe for a kale smoothie in which very discerning toddlers cannot taste the vegetables.

Kale Berry Smoothie:

Note--I measured my ingredients this time to make sure it came out the right consistency and everything, but usually I just throw in the amounts that look good!  It's a very forgiving recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups kale, stems and stalks removed, broken into small pieces.
2 ripe bananas (also a good use for over-ripe bananas)
2 cups frozen berries, slightly defrosted in the microwave
1 Tbs flax seed meal (optional)
1 cup apple juice

Directions:

Place kale in the blender and add banana chunks.  Pour in the berries and a tablespoon of flax seed meal if desired.  Top with apple juice and blend until smooth.  Pour into cups, then pour remaining smoothie into popsicle molds and freeze.

Wait, is this thing good for me?  Blech!