Gettin' in the Greens (smoothie recipe)

I do like vegetables.  I promise.  Sometimes they are just harder to grab on the go.  Or you have prepare them somehow.  And who likes eating chard in the morning?

In 2007 a friend told me he tried to eat 5-9 fruits and vegetables a day.  I laughed.  How hard could that be?

Then I started to count. . .

Breakfast: 0/9
Lunch: 1/9
Dinner: 1/9

Yikes.  At most I was eating 3 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  Oh the shame!

So I made a mid-year resolution:  I will eat 5-9 fruits and vegetables a day!

I was passionate about this.  I almost felt as though I needed a cape every time I reached for some green beans.  A theme song began to play as I zealously proclaimed my quest for the home grown.

In the midst of my dietary rampage I went to have my yearly physical.  Yay.  Did the obligatory blood work and left wishing they passed out suckers to emerging young professionals.

A week later I got a call from the doctor.  "Hi Lauren, just following up on your blood work.  You have pretty high levels of potassium right now.  Are you taking potassium suppliments?"

"No,"  (and I don't like bananas either, I thought about adding).

"Are you eating a lot of fruit."

Pause.

The caped fruit eating crusader slowly backed away leaving me to have to explain my new food revolution.

"Well, yes.  I mean, I'm trying to eat 5 to 9 fruits and vegetables a week."

"Ok, well, how many of the 5-9 are servings of fruit," asked my doctor.

Well shoot.  No one told me 5-9 didn't include 8 servings of fruit and 1 serving of veggies.

"You're going to have to stay away from fruit for a bit. . .and things that have potassium in them to get these levels evened out.  Try incorporating more vegetables in your diet."

And there you have it.  More reasons not to trust guys who give food advice and my opinions on nutrition.

Since my potassium incident I really do try to incorporate vegetables wherever possible, or palatable.  Like throwing spinach in eggs, or spinach on a sammie, or spinach with chicken, or do a little switch-a-roo and replace spinach with kale.

I didn't say I had a huge repertoire.

Recently a friend of mine told me she put spinach in her fruit smoothies. . .and you couldn't even taste it!

Baffled and in unbelief I tested this out the very next day!

I am always looking for ways to eat more vegetables and not have to taste them!

She recommended two cups of raw spinach at most. . .three cups starts tasting like a liquid salad.

So here you go:  Gettin' in the Greens (you know, to balance out that 5-9 ratio!)

Add some spinach

Add some frozen fruit and fresh fruit (I had cherries, blackberries, and blueberries).

I love summer.

Add some ice if you don't have a lot of frozen fruit.

Add some juice (I usually use frozen juice and add water).

Blend to perfection.

Now you can eat your veggies with a cherry on top!

One last note. . .I tried doing this with broccoli.  Results not desirable.  I'm sticking with the spinach.