Kale & Spinach Smoothie

At the young age of 56, my mom started a health food kick. More so than she was already on. She came to visit last week, and brought a bag of spinach with her.  When I asked her what it was for, she said her morning spinach smoothie, which just sounds awful.  Don't get me wrong, but pureed spinach does not sound enjoyable.  But between all the weight she's been losing, and my boyfriend trying to lose weight too, I thought I'd give this a try.  That and the fact that my rabbit eats more veggies than I do.

Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh kale (chopped and tightly packed)
- 2 cups fresh spinach (chopped and tightly packed)
- 1 banana
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (I used peaches and mangoes)

1. Put it all in a blender and press on.  Up to you how smooth or chunky you want it.

I made this one a little chunky, so I still have bits of raw veggies that I have to chew.  But with the banana and fruit mixed in, the bitter leafy greens aren't as powerful.  While looking out at my backyard while enjoying this uber healthy drink, I saw my herb box and thought that a little mint next time around would be a nice little kick.

I did some research on this green smoothie craze.  Apparently its one of the best ways to get leafy green into your diet, short of eating raw leafy greens.  But many health food people recommend against daily consumption because you'll soon overload your body with too much of what makes this stuff good.  But they did all recommend mixing up your greens (switching between spinach, chard, kale, etc.) and even trying some wild edibles like dandelions.  

Either way, it was a yummy mid morning treat.  But I think I'll still have my daily cup of coffee to get my day started.