If you were at our house this past weekend, you would have been enjoying this smoothie. When I suggested them on Saturday before heading out to an early morning soccer game, I was pleasantly surprised that the boys were all in for trying something new. I have added spinach to smoothies before, but I almost always have strawberries in them so the color is not the vibrant green like in this one. It is a little weird drinking something that is so green but the taste is delicious. I have rather enjoyed drinking them and actually find myself wanting another later in the day because they were so tasty during the morning.

The bonus for these is that in addition to tasting great, they are great for us. I hope you give them a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the taste and you have to feel good about getting all that spinach in your diet. This treat is also a great way to sneak some vegetables into your kiddos. Feel free to try other flavor combinations with the spinach but stay away from red fruits if you want to have the vibrant green color. When red fruits are introduced, the color becomes more of a beige or brown (not quite so appealing though it is still delicious).

Proof that the oldest one enjoyed his breakfast. Look, he can't hide his smile!

Tyler would smile, but he is too busy trying to eat his smoothie!

Green Monster Smoothies

Printer Friendly Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 banana
2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen mango

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender in the order listed. Blend starting on low and gradually increasing the speed to high. Once blending on high blend for about 1 minute or until all of the spinach is blended well. You may need to scrap down the sides and blend again. (I use a vita-mix and use the tool to push everything down into the blade to insure proper blending.)

Adapted from Vita-mix instructions.