Green Smoothie - "Mixi"

3 leaves lacinato kale
Large handful baby spinach
1 cucumber
1 small ruby red grapefruit
1 small handful raspberries frozen
1 handful mango frozen
3 T ground flax seeds
Water

I love the way a bit of citrus can really liven up a smoothie. The acidity balances out the bitterness of the greens and the sweetness of the cucumber and mango. This was a great blend.

Juice - "Red Pear"

5 leaves red kale

2 packham pears

made ~2 cups

I just love the way red kale looks. Purple veins in dark green leaves and a stem that's purple on the outside and light green on the inside. Red kale is less bitter than other kales making it a great choice for juicing.  You don't have to use as much fruit with this. If you aren't used to green juice though, I'd recommend adding an extra pear.

That's Dax--she didn't atually drink any--I knew she wouldn't though. Our cats were fed kibble (AKA crapple) for the first year of their lives (before we had them) so they don't know what real food is. It's very hard to get them to try food that's not in kibble form.(Thankfully we've got them to eat canned, pouch, and rehydrated raw food.)

Dessert - "Kale 'n Fruit Ice Cream"

6 leaves lacinato kale

1/2 cucumber

16 oz frozen pineapple

Handful black seedless grapes

4 T ground flax seed

1 c soy creamer

1 c unsweetened almond milk

It was the middle of summer and I was really hungry and hot. I knew a green smoothie wouldn't fill me up so I decided to make ice cream from greens and fruit. The main difference between this mix and a green smoothie is I used soy and almond liquids instead of water and it had a higher fruit ratio. I added 1 more tablespoon than I usually use of ground flax seeds so it would be thicker than usual.

If you are eating raw, you could make your own nut milk and use that instead of the soy creamer and almond milk.

I was so excited about it I had forgotten to take a picture of the ingredients so I took one when I remembered. Once blended, I added to my ice cream maker. I have and earlier version of this one and I really like it.

I thought it tasted great--filling and cooled me off but my husband didn't like it at all. I'm not sure why. Maybe because he expects ice cream to have a certain flavor? 

This made a lot! It completely filled up the ice cream maker. I tried freezing what was leftover but it got rock hard and didn't thaw evenly. It was inedible after that. If you make this, make sure you have enough people to eat it just after it's made. 

Juice - "3 Kale and Apple"

4 leaves lacinato kale

3 leaves curly kale

3 leaves red kale

2 pink lady apples

1 granny smith apple

Made 3+ servings.

Not exactly the most creative name but any kind of kale + apples makes a great juice. If you add more apples (or less kale), this would even be a good starter juice for most people--even the vegephobic. (I probably wouldn't tell them it's kale until after they drank it.)

This was the first time I tried red kale. It's supposed to be sweeter than the other kale varieties. I would say it's slightly less bitter than the others.

I'm almost done uploading all my old juice recipes! I have a bit to go for the green smoothies still.

Green Smoothie - "Swamp Thing"

3 leaves lacinato kale
Large handful baby spinach
Large handful frozen blueberries
1 small orange
Small handful frozen mango
Dulse
3T ground flax seeds
Water

This sure was ugly but nutritious!

I put a few pieces of dried dulse in water before I start chopping the produce. Then I add it to the blender along with the water it soaked in. This ensures that no minerals are lost.

I grind the flax seeds in this coffee grinder and add the powder in at the very end of blending.

Juice - "Bloody Grass"

1 small beet
1 tray wheatgrass
1 bunch red kale
5 fuji apples
1 granny smith apple

Made 4 cups

I'm not personally a huge fan of beets but my husband loves them so I make sure I add them to my juice recipes from time to time. If you're not careful, they can add an overwhelming earthy taste. For some reason, my husband doesn't notice the earthy taste (or likes it) but just the sweetness that is inherent with root vegetables. I do love the intense red/pink color of the juice though. They will turn almost any juice red, even if you have a lot of greens in it.

This juice wasn't too earthy for my taste because the sweetness of the apples and red kale, and the green flavor of the red kale and wheatgrass helped cover it up. So both my husband and I were happy with this concoction.

Juice - "Apples on the Lawn"

~7 leaves curly kale
1 granny smith apple
3 small fuji apples
1 tray wheat grass

made 3+ servings

You can't really see the wheat grass in the picture but it's there! I cut it up so it exits the juicer easier. Cutting it also prevents the grass from getting tangled around the auger.

This was a very crisp, green tasting apple juice. Would be perfect after spending a hot day outside.

Green Smoothie - "Tart Thanksgiving"

1/2 cucumber
2 handfuls baby spinach
2 leaves lacinato kale
1 handful frozen cranberries
1 thin slice watermelon
1 small handful raw pumpkin seeds
Water

I call this Tart Thanksgiving because of the ingredients--cranberries and pumpkin (seeds) not because I made it for Thanksgiving. I kind of figured I'd have to add more than just the cranberries for the fruit part but wanted to see how it tasted alone. As expected, it was way too tart so I added the watermelon (more than you can see in the picture--it had already sunk down). The smoothie was very tart (but in a good way) after that.

Cranberries add flavor, tartness, but not sweetness. If you use cranberries, you will need to have another fruit that is sweet enough to balance out the bitterness of the greens.

I added the pumpkin seeds at the very end so that there would be something to chew on. Something to change things up.

Ingredient Spotlight: Kale

Used In: Smoothies* and Juice

Other Preparation Methods: Raw, Steamed, Sauteed, Dehydrated, Baked, Boiled, Braised 

ANDI Score: 1,000

Kale--an amazing green--beautiful, nutritionally dense, and tasty. There are quite a few varieties of kale but the most commonly available is lacinato (dinosaur), curly, and red kale (pictured). It's packed full of flavonoids for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. It lowers your cholesterol and possibly your risk of cancer. Not to mention many health benefits that haven't even been studied/realized yet. It is truly a super-food!

One cup (67g) chopped raw kale is very high in Vitamins K (684% DV), A (206%), and C (134%). It's also worth noting that it contains 1.3g Fiber, 2.21g Protein, and only 34 calories. And that's just for one cup! Your green smoothie could easily contain 2-3 times that!

Kale is on the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen List, which means you should only buy it organic.

The variety, age, freshness, source, any many other factors affect the flavor. Sometimes kale can be bitter. Sometimes it can taste very "green". Sometimes it's a bit sweet. I've found that lacinato kale is generally less bitter than curly and red kale can be a bit sweet. And by sweet, I don't mean fruit-sweet, just sweet as far as greens go. 

*Lacinato kale blends up smoothly but unless you have a high-powered blender such as the Vitamix or Blendtec, you won't be able to completely blend curly kale varieties.

Other sources: USDA National Nutrient Database, FDA, WHFoods, The Vegetable Bible, and my own experience

My Recipes with Kale

Green Smoothie - "Green Melon"

1/2 cantaloupe
1 cucumber, peeled*
2 leaves lacinato kale 

2 large handfuls baby spinach
2 leaves red chard 

Water

*I didn't know it at the time but you do not need to peel cucumbers.

It looks like there is less greens then there really is because the cucumbers are sitting on top of all of it. This is the first green smoothie I made that didn't need major tweaking. The only thing I would change knowing what I know now (other than not peeling the cucumbers) is add ice and less water to compensate. The ice (or frozen produce) keeps the foaming to a minimum. 

Juice - "Healthy Limeade"

1 lb baby carrots
2 large leaves curly kale
1½ beurré d'anjou pears (the ½ because the other ½ was bad)
1 lime
Made two servings.

I had some produce that I really needed to use because it was about to go bad so this is how this juice came about. And I'm glad it did--it tasted like limeade--seriously! The carrot and pear sweetened it and I couldn't taste the kale. Definitely a lot healthier than a regular limeade. I can't wait to make this again!

Green Smoothie - "Purple Leaves"

~5 oz frozen blueberries

2 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed*

2 large handfuls baby spinach

1 handful of purple/red leaves from packaged spring mix

1 stalk celery

Water

*I didn't need to remove the ribs but didn't know it at the time

I love how purple this one turned out! The combo of purple leaves and blueberries overpowered the green colors. However, the greens overpowered the taste. I now know that blueberries are not sweet/strong tasting enough to be the lone fruit. I should have added mango or watermelon if I wanted more sweetness without a strong fruit flavor or added pineapple for strong flavor and sweetness. 

Juice - "The Ole Standby"

This is what make when I want something I know will taste good and be very healthy: kale + apple + carrots.

3 granny smith apples

6 large leaves curly kale

Handful baby carrots

Of course, you can change the amount of each--it's really up to you.  Nothing wrong with starting out with less greens--just don't drink a lot of fruit/root vegetable juice if you are trying to limit your sugar intake.

Green Smoothie - "Green Pine"

1/2 pineapple
2 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed
2 large handfuls baby spinach
Water

This is the first green smoothie I ever made. I had no idea if my Oster Beehive blender would work on greens (I had only used it on frozen fruit before). I didn't blend it long enough at first so it was chunky. Ended up pouring it back in to blend longer and it was fine.

I now know that I should have added ice or frozen fruit to keep the foam to a minimum. I hate foam! Also, There is no need to remove the ribs from greens. It's a waste of time and food and nutritional value.

But overall, it wasn't bad for a first attempt. I hope my experiences will help you make excellent green smoothies.