Kale Shake

Nutrition: Kale Shake

Recipe A bunch of Kale *** Or any greens of your choice, the darker the better (i.e. mustard greens, spinach, bok choy, etc) Apple Juice *** Also can use any 100% juice of your choice Almond Milk (unsweetened, plain) *** This can be left out or replaced w/ any non-dairy milk of your choice (i.e. soy, rice, coconut, coconut water, etc) Fruit *** I use honeydew, cantaloupe or mango chunks A good blender Optional: Add honey or peeled ginger Optional: Add Ground flaxseed, protein, etc

Directions Grab a stalk of Kale. While washing it, pull the leaves of the stem. Drop into the blender. *** These directions are based on a 7-8 cup blender. Repeat previous step until the blender is about full. Do not press the kale down, let it sit loosely. Drop in 3-4 large chunks of the fruit of your choice. *** About 1/2 to 1 full cup of your fav fruit. Place about 1 cup of Apple Juice into the blender. *** Double this and skip step# 5 if you choose to not use any type of non-dairy milk. Place about 1 cup of Almond Milk into the blender. Cover blender top & start blending slowly. Gradually increase speed every 5-10 seconds until you are using your highest, most powerful setting. We want to completely break down the kale into a smooth mixture. *** If your mixture is still grainy on its highest setting, you need a better blender. Pop open the blender & pour. Enjoy!

Review This is a great way to get your greens, especially if you're not big into vegetables in general. You can tweak the balance of the recipe to make the shake as sweet as you need it. Dark greens are good for your immune system, they contain anti-oxidant & anti-inflammatory properties and lots of other good stuff. Optional ingredients can allow you to get your protein or omega-3s into this shake as well. My blender is good but not strong enough to totally blend my leafy greens into a smooth mix but I don't mind a bit of grit. It's kind of like the difference between no pulp & some pulp orange juice. I like pear juice & almond milk but others usually do not use milk & go with straight juice. Tips: *** If you have animals, they may like the stems if you don't want to waste them. *** If you make a large amount, you may want to do a small blend upon refill as the shake will settle a bit. *** The shake may have a semi-strong vegetable smell when you crack open the blender but generally the drink itself in a glass smells good.