Necessity is the mother of invention, and that is exactly how this recipe came to be. A while back, when large cups of green juices became a respectable lunch, I decided that I would get on the smoothie bandwagon. I went to my local overpriced “natural” grocery store, waited in line for 20 minutes, and shelled out my $8 for a cup of whatever the kid behind the counter was serving up that day. Now, I always ordered the same thing. What I received was an entirely different matter. There were apparently no fixed proportions and good grief was there an unacceptably wide range of possibilities! Two bananas one day, no bananas another. Two cups of apple juice or no juice at all.
The last straw for me was a smoothie that I simply couldn’t drink because it hadn’t been blended long enough and chunks of greens kept getting stuck in the already huge straw. It was far more chunky than smoothie and nobody in their right mind would wait in line to spend money on a giant cup of fruit juice with pieces of kale floating in it. Consistency is the key in food service, my Dad always said, because if they know it will always be that good they will keep coming back. This particular establishment had missed the consistency boat by a very large margin.
Clearly, it was time to take matters into my own hands. I did some research and purchased a NutriBullet. I recouped the investment in under a month, and at least two years later, that thing is still a workhorse. I have tried a whole bunch of combinations of greens, fruits and juices and this recipe is my absolute favorite. Not to mention that these ingredients make fantastic smiley faces 🙂
I am completely partial to Fresh Express’s Baby Kale Mix with baby kale, baby spinach and chard. In a jam, I will use an equal blend of spinach leaves and kale (with stems – including the smaller ones – removed). You can’t beat the convenience of the Fresh Express Mix which is prewashed and already mixed together in the perfect proportions.
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- Juice of half of a lemon
- 4 cups Baby Kale Mix (or 2 cups spinach and 2 cups kale [torn off stems])
- 1/2 cup chopped mango (fresh or frozen)
- 1 c Simply Apple Juice (not from concentrate)
- 1 cup ice (cubes or crushed)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except ice in a blender or NutriBullet.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add ice; can be stored covered in refrigerator for up to 8 hours, just shake before drinking.
Enjoy!
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