Did I just eat that?...and Like it?

I'm not vegetarian, vegan, or even what I would consider "health conscious" but with the recent health concerns of my son occupying most of my thoughts lately, I am trying to make some baby steps in the right direction.  No need to check if I'm feverish, I'm not about to give up butter or meat, or even the occasional take out.  What I am trying to do is be more quality conscious.  Meaning, that I'm trying to make sure what I buy is the healthiest version, and that I try to pack as much healthy stuff into something we already eat and enjoy.  This is where my latest and most shocking addiction comes in.  Green Smoothies...that's right Green.  As in, a smoothie that's green with vegetables, not Sour Apple Schnapps.  If you've never heard of green smoothies, it's probably because like me, you are not a part of the Raw Food Movement, you do not wear Birkenstocks, or dread your Caucasian hair, and you don't think ground up vegetables formed into patties can be called "burgers."  My homeopathic pediatrician (maybe I should get some of those charming sandals) told me about a machine called a Vitamix, which is basically just a VERY high powered blender, and after doing some research online, I was sold.  This is not a sales pitch for this pricey machine, so I'm not going to go into detail about it, but when I started looking into it, almost everything wrote about it included a recipe for green smoothies.  I love smoothies, and I knew my kids would drink them, so this was one of the first things I tested out when I got the Vitamix.  I've made all kinds of fruit smoothies, and they were all very good, but the green smoothies are definitely my favorite.  They are basically just a way to get more raw leafy greens into your diet.  I'm going to share my recipe, because it really was that good, and you can feel a little better about that Jar of Nutella you ate for dinner the night before. (What?...just me?)
I'm sure you can do these in a regular blender, but you may just have to blend a little longer to get it really smooth, and I suggest that you blend the greens first to ensure that they're properly "hidden."

Green Smoothie

1 banana
1/4 of a small to medium pineapple
1/4 of an apple
1/2-1 cup of frozen mango (you can find at Trader Joes)
1 Kiwi
1-2 big handfuls of baby spinach or a few leave of kale
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup ice cubes.

If you have a Vitamix, you can just chuck it all in and use the tamper to push it into the blades until it's blended and let it go on high until it's still very cold, but not frozen.  If you're using a regular blender, peel and core the apple, and blend until it's smooth.

This recipe really is kid and husband friendly, and I promise if you like fruit smoothies you will love it.  The nice thing is that you can substitute any fruit you want, just be aware that if you put anything red or purple in there it will come out brown, which may bother some people.  You can also use any greens you like, but keep in mind that some of the more bitter or stronger tasting greens will break through the flavor of the fruit, and God forbid we should taste your vegetables, right?! (I really do love vegetables, but I'm not sure I'd love tasting them blended with bananas and kiwi.)

So give it a try, and let me know if you like it as much as I do...pretty soon we'll all be nixing the deodorant, and growing out our leg hair!