Geaux Green

The crops of summer fruits & vegetables are overflowing in gardens & stores right now.  You can't turn a corner without seeing locally grown peaches, tomatoes, blueberries, watermelon (my personal favorite), & countless other summer delights.  My newly retired mother gets no greater joy than calling me every morning to share how many pounds of peas she has picked from her garden & how many peppers & squash will make their way to the lunch table.  I'm not sure about you, but all the fresh finds at the farmers market excite me so much that I often times buy more than I can eat & end up letting some food go bad.  I found myself in one such situation this week.  I got carried away with the buy-one-get-one-free baby spinach at Whole Foods.  Rather than waste a whole container, I decided to make a 'green' smoothie.  I had some fresh kale, raspberries, & frozen blueberries.  I took a handful of each, tossed it in a blender with a splash of no-sugar-added apple juice, & had a refreshing (& nutritious) liquid breakfast.  Before you turn your nose up & say how disgusting this sounds, do yourself a favor & TRY IT!!!!  In fact, you can turn anything into a smoothie.  Look in your fridge & see what needs to be used now.  There are so many tasty choices:  figs, apples, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, celery, kale, spinach, blackberries, peaches, avocados, & the list is endless.  Flax seed, whey, & peanut butter could always be added for a kick of protein.  This morning, I made myself an avocado smoothie & finished up the last of my kale (I got two weeks of smoothies out of one bunch).  I will leave you with the recipe & a challenge to go green.  Your body & wallet will thank you.  And, as always, send me your feedback & new favorite smoothie combination. 

GEAUX GREEN SMOOTHIE

one avocado, peeled & cored
one handful spinach
one handful kale
one banana, peeled (you freeze it for a thicker consistency)
one cup no-sugar-added apple juice (more or less, depending on the desired thickness)

Toss all ingredients in a blender & blend until it reaches the consistency you want.  Enjoy!