Sandee's Super Amazing Green Chocolate Smoothie

My friend Sandee in Florida sponsors healthy living challenges periodically, and she is a health guru.  She recently shared this recipe on a blog. I've tweaked it just a bit to better work with what my family normally has on hand.

A little backstory - I've been making smoothies for YEARS, and my kids hate it when I "nutritionalize" everything (their words not mine).  If you ever come to visit they will share their favorite story of when I tried to add arugula to a smoothie. Yes, the results were a disaster, and now we know... Anyways..

I didn't get a photo of this smoothie because they inhaled it - I present the empty glass as evidence. My husband even asked for seconds and took it with him to work, and asked me to make sure that I let Sandee know how much he loved it and thank her for the recipe. That never happens. EVER. My daughter finished all of hers - with no complaints. Needless to say - this one is a keeper.

Ingredients

Power Greens - kale, chard, and beet greens (can be found at Costco)

5 medjool dates (for natural sweetening), pitted

3 T. cocoa powder

1 T. chia seeds

1 T. flax seeds

1 T. hemp hearts

2 cups almond milk or coconut milk 

1 c. ice

Stuff blender full of greens. 

Add additional ingredients. 

Blend and serve.

Serves 4

There you go - super healthy greens, cocoa powder, and those awesome omega 3 super food seeds that are all the rave - and it tastes good! 

Superfood summer smoothie

I love smoothies.  And, while I've experimented with smoothies over the years (believe me, I've had to drink a lot of them on my own) - this is the smoothie that my kids get the most excited about.  

I love that it is made from simple ingredients.  Spinach, blueberries, strawberries, bananas and soy milk.  

The blueberries, spinach, and chia lend their "SUPERFOOD" powers to it,  and it is a great way to get some fruits and veggies into my family first thing in the morning.  

  

1.5 cups frozen blueberries

3/4 - 1 cup frozen spinach

6 fresh strawberries (frozen can be used)

 1 frozen banana

3-4 cups soy milk (or any other milk on hand)

1 T. agave nectar or sweetener of your choice

1 TBSP. chia seeds

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Combine in blender and blend until smooth.  Add milk or ice as needed to adjust for desired consistency.  

A few tips:   

I love to use fresh spinach, but it always gets too slimy in my fridge.  To alleviate this, I buy large bags of spinach (Costco carries a very large inexpensive one) and sort  it into sandwich baggies and then freeze it. 

Bananas do two things at our house.  Get eaten immediately, or go brown. 

I have started freezing ripe bananas, and just grab one to throw into the smoothie.  

I use a knife to peel it (frozen) and it works great. 

I find that if I use frozen ingredients, I don't need to bother adding any ice to the smoothie.  If I don't use frozen ingredients - it needs approx. 2 cups of ice. 

I add cinnamon and nutmeg because of their amazing health properties - google them, you'll see!

Serves 4, and each serving has approx. 160 calories