How Do I Make Kale Taste GOOD in a Smoothie?! (FAQ Friday)

This past summer I learned a really great secret about kale and smoothies.  I was talking to my neighbor about how I try so hard to enjoy kale in smoothies, but I can't.  Spinach blends so well and fits into smoothies like a charm, but I want to enjoy kale in smoothies too, because kale contains less oxalates (which can reduce calcium absorption) and it also may positively effect serum cholesterol levels (this is especially true for steamed kale).  I also want Nick to get some kale in his diet, but kale is impossible to hide in a smoothie because it has a slightly bitter taste that can make a good smoothie unpalatable.


So...what's the secret?? FREEZE YOUR KALE!  Yep, you read that right, freeze it.  Take a freezer bag and put a head of washed, dried, and chopped kale into the bag, and allow it to freeze for at least 10 hours.

After that you can add it to your smoothie just like normal.  I promise you it will be less bitter and slightly sweeter!  Now you can feed yourself and your loved ones kale (both young and old), and they won't taste the bitterness in their sweet fruit smoothie. And what's not to love about kale? Aside from its ability to bind bile acids and help you excrete them (along with cholesterol), it's also been shown to have some anti-carcinogenic properties, reduce chronic-inflammation, and is an excellent source of vitamins K, C, and beta carotene.

Here is your "all fruit smoothie" Nick.....Muahaha

The smoothie in the picture above contains 1 large handful of frozen kale, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 banana, and enough unsweetened vanilla almond milk to cover the ingredients.

And sometimes the smoothie just looks ugly.  In that case, put it in a pretty martini glass, it helps :)

Aside from frozen kale and fresh spinach, two other vegetables I love to add to smoothies are pumpkin puree and cooked sweet potato.  Both are delicious additions to smoothies and add great texture and natural sweetness.

QUESTION:  Do you ever add veggies to your smoothies?  Have you ever tried frozen kale in your smoothies?


Next week I'll be posting a delicious citrus kale salad recipe.  So, I hope you love kale as much as I do! Until then, I'm off to work for the day then tomorrow Nick and I are off on a romantic trip up north.  Yep, we've got a heart-shaped jacuzzi in our room.  HA!  I'll be sure to post pics on INSTAGRAM (The Candid RD)!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your weekend!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.

Foods I'm Lovin' Lately

While doing a demo in the demo kitchen the other day, I noticed that one of the chefs was making whipped cream.....with vanilla bean paste! She poured two containers of heavy whipping cream into a Kitchen Aid mixer and started whipping the cream until "stiff peaks" formed. Next she poured some vanilla bean paste into the whipped cream and incorporated the paste into the whipping cream for about 30 seconds.

VOILA!
Delicious

I've been lovin' it with canned pumpkin (my last can!) and butternut squash.




I've been loving it with orange juice popsicles and 2% plain Greek yogurt.



And of course I loved it many times with homemade ice cream, but I don't have pictures to share. When my whipped cream was gone I thought about making more, but then I quickly decided it was slightly dangerous to have a constant supply of a treat that sounds so healthy (sugar-free!) but is secretly not (lots of saturated fat...).

So now I'm lovin' plain 2% Greek yogurt + butternut squash + walnut butter....


Smoothies with frozen blueberries (~3/4 cup) unsweetened almond milk (enough to cover the blueberries), and 2% Greek yogurt....without whipped cream. Oh well! It's still fantastic.


I'm lovin' making popsicles. I haven't done anything really creative yet, but the other day I added yogurt to the popsicles. They were pretty delicious! If you don't have a popsicle maker, just use an ice cube tray and make mini popsicles. They taste just as good.


And to move away from the sweet foods, I'm LOVIN' eggs lately!! Nick is lovin' the fact that I'm lovin' eggs because he's finding that my love for eggs means we eat them more often for dinner. So easy! Most of the time I do one egg, lots of egg whites, and of course tons of veggies on the side or mixed into the egg creation. Or we'll do dipping eggs....


Many people still think eggs are really unhealthy, but I beg to differ. Check out my post about the benefits of eggs if you need some convincing. Clearly you should watch how many you eat per week (I say no more than five, depending on your health status) but give up on the idea that eggs are bad for you. They are a cheap and delicious protein choice.

Oh yeah, I'm also lovin' Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheese. And unfortunately, now that Nick has tasted it, he's lovin' it too. Darn it! I wish it wasn't so expensive.

QUESTION: What are you LOVIN' LATELY?! Something else I'm lovin' is broccoli sauteed with EVOO and rice vinegar. Is that random or what?!

Have Pulp? Make Smoothies!

Can you tell what this is?



It's one of our Orange Juice popsicles dipped in some plain yogurt and whipped cream. This was the perfect late night snack one evening. And as I mentioned in this post, we did not discard our orange juice pulp.



As Nick and I become more comfortable with our juicer, we're beginning to play around with other types of produce, thus producing more pulp! We recently made carrot juice. Half a bag of baby carrots made about 3/4 cups of carrot juice.


And of course the other half of the carrots went directly into the pulp container.


Discard the pulp? Heck no! That's all the fiber and other important plant nutrients that help fight chronic diseases. So what in the world have we been doing with our pulp?? Adding it to smoothies!


Starting from the bottom we have orange juice pulp, followed by carrot juice pulp, romaine lettuce (yes, romaine!), frozen blueberries, and one whole banana.


Before mixing the smoothie I added unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a dash of V8 Fusion Light.


Question: I know I've asked this already, but what are some fun juices you've created with or without a juicer? I would like to try some fun creations, but keep in mind I cannot eat apples, mangoes or pears.