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MJ's Gingery Green Goo Fruit and Veggie Smoothie

Updated on May 26, 2013

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Close Your Eyes and Enjoy!

My husband has the dietary preferences of a five-year-old boy. A particularly picky, obstinate, stinker of a five-year-old boy, to be exact. Me, I love greens -- the fresher and darker green, the better. I've found a way to entice the five-year-old boy in the relationship to expand his nutritional horizons -- home-made smoothies. As smoothie-lovers know, they can give you an entire meal in a glass, and they provide all the fiver and nutrition the whole fruit or vegetable will offer. Because they are uncooked, they are handy for dorm rooms, traveling, or mixing up to drink on the way to the office in the morning.

Although this smoothie is a funny shade of green that may take some getting used to, it is absolutely delicious. If you've ever indulged in a "grasshopper" cocktail or a pistachio ice cream, you'll get along just fine with the shade of this smoothie. If not, don't look -- just drink.

Because of the texture of the broccoli, you'll want to whip this one up extra smooth. If you like a more milk-shakey texture, add some heavy whipping cream (unsweetened) and you'll have a creamy green julius! I sometimes indulge in some light whipped cream on top as well.

Check out the Nutritional "Punch" this Smoothie Packs!

This meal offers iron-rich spinach, broccoli and kiwi mixed with some "yellows" for vitamin C and flavor. The vitamin C helps those who require more iron, like my husband, to absorb the iron in the vegetables. Iron is a funny thing: get it from red meat, and it's easier for your body to utilize it. Get it from the healthier vegetables that contain it, and you'll need to make sure you have vitamin C at the same time to boost your ability to assimilate it. Vitamin C also boosts collagen production -- and you probably already know how good that is for your skin! I used Dole Tropical Gold canned pineapple chunks and juice for this recipe as they have three times as much vitamin C as "regular" pineapple -- 1/2 cup (as this recipe calls for) contains 70% of your US daily requirement!

Here are some of the other nutritional highlights of this smoothie, ingredient-by-ingredient. I have included the US RDA percentages for the amount of the primary ingredients required for this recipe; you do not need to do any math -- if I included one banana, you'll see the nutrition information for one banana below. I am not a nutritionist nor a doctor but have researched these particular ingredients accordingly. This is not a compete list of nutritional values for these ingredients, but highlights the best values. I've bolded those values of special note.

  • Banana: Vitamin A: 2%. C: 17%. Iron: 2%. Potassium: 12%
  • Kiwi: 21% fiber. Vitamin A: 3%. C: 273%. Iron: 3%. Calcium: 6%. Potassium: 16%.
  • Spinach: 7 calories! Vitamin A: 56%. C: 14%. Calcium: 3%. Iron: 5%. 0 fat!
  • Broccoli: Vitamin A: 5%. C: 65%. Calcium: 2%. Iron: 2%. Vitamin K: 56%.
  • Pineapple and juice: Vitamin C: 39%. Vitamin A: 2%. Iron: 4%. Manganese: 140%. Potassium: 9%.
  • Lime juice: Vitamin C: 22%.

Even a quick skim of the ingredients will reassure you that you are getting a healthy dose of C, iron, potassium, K, calcium, and manganese. As for the ginger? It has long been in use as an immune-system boost and a digestive aid, among other benefits. It is also the "secret ingredient" that gives this smoothie such an appealing tangy kick.

Now the bad news: this smoothie has a lot of naturally-occurring sugar in it! Pineapple, banana, and kiwi are all sweet fruit. If you are watching your sugar intake, you will need to be aware of the fructose content. I have not calculated it here as I am recognizing that, although there is no sugar added (no processed sugar, no corn syrup, etc.) it remains a sweet smoothie.


The Foundation of a Healthy Smoothie
The Foundation of a Healthy Smoothie | Source

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min
Ready in: 15 min
Yields: 1 large "meal-size" or 2 "snack-size" smoothies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup firmly measured (packed) fresh baby spinach, well rinsed
  • 1/2 cup pineapple chunks, chilled
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 whole soft banana, the softer, the sweeter!
  • 3 fresh broccoli florets (about 1/2 cup), with stalks chopped off
  • 1 large fresh lime, juiced
  • 1 fresh kiwi, peeled
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened heavy whipping cream, (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground dried ginger

The Primary Ingredients

Everything You Need for a Blended Meal.  (Note:  the kiwi is not shown in this photograph!)
Everything You Need for a Blended Meal. (Note: the kiwi is not shown in this photograph!) | Source

So Easy, Even an Anemic Caveman Can Prepare It!

  1. Wash the spinach and broccoli. Drain. Put it right into the tall mixing cup of your Magic Bullet blender (or into the jug of your blender of choice).
  2. Peel the soft banana and the kiwi. Here's the easy way to prep the kiwi: cut about 1/4" off each end. Insert a spoon with the rounded side out to follow the shape of the kiwi. Slide the spoon around the inside of the peel and you'll easily pop that peeled kiwi right out! Add to your blender.
  3. Cut your lime in half, remove the seeds, and squeeze or ream the juice into your blender.
  4. Add the pineapple and juice and the ground, dried ginger. (You can substitute fresh ginger if you have it -- just peel it first and remove the more fibrous strings.)
  5. If you want a milk-shake consistency, add 1/2 cup of whipping cream.
  6. Blend until smooth! Again, because of the broccoli and pineapple fibers / texture, you'll want to blend this one until it's extra smooth.
  7. Chill and enjoy.

The Finished Product

An unusual color, perhaps, but what an utterly delicious -- and even more nutritious -- treat!
An unusual color, perhaps, but what an utterly delicious -- and even more nutritious -- treat! | Source

Do You Dare to Go Green?

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Copyright (c) 2013 by MJ Miller

All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, in part or in whole, without the express permission of the author. However, links to this page may be freely shared. If you are reading this article anywhere but on Hubpages, you are reading stolen content. Thank you for reading, sharing, tweeting, linking, voting and commenting on this hub!

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