Tropical Greenery Smoothie
This smoothie is GOOD. And not just good for a green smoothie - it’s sweet, smooth, refreshing, and the perfect morning pick-me-up!
I don’t know if it’s just me, but green drinks just never looked appealing to me. Whenever my friends would get matcha lattes, or my husband would get an algae smoothie, I’d wonder what could possibly be appealing about consuming a beverage that is the color green.
Green smoothies we’re definitely something I’d avoid because I knew the ingredient making them green was leafy. I felt like every green smoothie would taste like a blended fruit salad? Like who wants that?
But then I got on a summer health kick, and figured, if I’m not doing a celery juice cleanse or having green smoothies at least weekly, my commitment isn’t to health isn’t legitimate. I started experimenting with kale because of vitamin content and quickly learned some tips and tricks to make a green smoothie without tasting any of the greens!
So easy, delicious and quick! It takes all of a couple minutes to throw everything into a blender and blend - what do you have to lose? And you’ll feel healthier, trust me, and that’s always a good feeling.
Kale: Make sure you stem the kale before blending. I use curly kale and noticed that the taste is a lot more prominent with a slightly bitter edge if the stem is blended alongside the leaves. This step is barely annoying unless you buy pre-shredded kale, which I wouldn’t recommend because you’d have to spend time plucking the stems off each little piece, and that doesn’t qualify this smoothie to be a quick, easy morning treat.
Blender: For green smoothies, having a high-powered blender is a life-saver. I currently use a Vitamix 5200 and 100% recommend it, but I’ve also made this smoothie in my old $35 400-watt Ninja Blender. It’s totally possible and comes out just as thick and creamy, but I would have to blend for a good 8-10 minutes which was not good for my schedule or my ears (especially in the morning). If you don’t mind thinner smoothies, you could add more liquid and easily blend in less time. I would also make sure you layer your ingredients correctly for optimal blending - liquid, greens, dates, frozen fruit.
Coconut Water: I love coconut water because of nutritional properties and the subtle sweetness it adds to this smoothie. However, you can totally omit it without compromising the taste. You can use water or fruit juice as the liquid, and if you prefer something more rich, you can use your milk of choice. I personally haven’t tested any milks, so I’d recommend sticking to water, juice, or coconut water to maintain the refreshing taste and texture intended.