Getting My Green On

Lately I've been attempting to eat more greens. Like most of us - at least I hope it's not just me - I don't get enough vegetables in my diet. As a busy student/stay-at-home-mother of two, I find that I eat a pretty decent breakfast in the mornings, but then things go downhill after that. I tend to have a couple of bites of the discarded pb&j's after lunch time and am constantly being handed crackers or bits of banana rejected at snack time. Not bad, but not the verdant color I'm going for. So I've been adding greens to my dishes as much as I can.

I'm doing great at breakfast. For the last several mornings, I've added greens (kale or a mixture of kale and spinach greens) to my scrambled eggs and seasoned them with a touch of salt and red pepper flakes. Delicious. I've also been very excited about a smoothie I've been making for a mid-morning or afternoon snack. I found the recipe in one of the many magazines lying around my house. I'm excited about it because a) I like it, b) I'm getting my greens, and c) my kids enjoy it too and are, shocker!, consuming something GREEN!

Here's the recipe for you to try.

Kale, Pineapple Smoothie (adapted from Whole Living)

• 1 cup packed chopped kale
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup diced pineapple (optional)
• 1 banana (frozen makes the smoothie extra creamy and cold!)
• 1/2 cup milk (soy, rice, almond, cow, whatever)
• 
  Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth and enjoy the green drink that, yes, even your kiddos will enjoy!

[Added later: I found a great resource for more green smoothies here.]