Is there a food that you know you should be eating but absolutely positively cannot bring yourself to eat it? For me, that food is spinach. Well, I will eat it in Spinach Artichoke Dip. And that’s about it. It just sort of grosses me out. Especially cooked spinach. The texture of it. Its tendency to clump. All of it just makes me gag.
But I just finished reading the book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life and I was reacquainted with the nutritional powerhouse that is spinach. Rich in fiber, Vitamins A, B, and K, lutein, calcium, iron, and magnesium, I knew that I wanted to make my relationship with spinach right.
Luckily for me, the food blogosphere has been exploding, bursting, buzzing, popping, and screaming with tales of the deliciousness of the Green Monster Smoothie. The recipes vary by blogger but most use an almond milk, kale, banana, and blueberry base.
I was intrigued so I whipped out my little Bella Cucina Smoothie Maker (sooo perfect for making single servings of smoothies. I am incredibly bad at operating blenders. Everything sticks to the bottom. I do not have that problem with this little thing!) and threw in those ingredients. And…discovered that smoothie-fied kale is incredibly sharp. It was like drinking tiny little green razor blades. It tasted good but it was not a fun drinking experience.
So I took a deep breath and bought some spinach last weekend.
And threw that with almond milk, banana, and frozen blueberries in the smoothie maker...
...and you know what, it was delicious!!!! It tasted like a berry smoothie. The almond milk gives it a nutty taste and I could not taste the spinach at all and most importantly, there was no spinach clumpage.
And if this pic does not convince you , I was watching Batman Begins last weekend (I am not a fan of action movies, but I do love the Batman!) and I think Christian Bale was drinking a Green Monster. If it's good enough for Batman....
The Green Monster has now become a dinner staple. And before you gasp and say, “That’s all you have for dinner!” hold your breath. Just because of my schedule, I tend to front load my calories and eat bigger breakfast and lunches rather than a big dinner. By the time I get home from work and the gym, it is usually 7 or 7:30. And I go to bed at 9. So the thought of eating a big meal in that short span of time and then going to bed is just not a pleasant one. So I have been doing a Green Monster and a vegetable side for dinner.
What is your challenge food (a food you know you should be eating but aren’t) and have you found a way to make it work for you?
7 comments:
That sounds interesting! I've never had almond milk before (I'm allergic to almonds!)... perhaps I will try the recipe with regular or soy milk and imitation almond flavoring. I will let you know how it goes!
Definitely try it! I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and I think they make a comparable flavor in soy milk. I have not had soy milk in a long time but if I recall correctly, it also has a similar nutty taste.
Oh, I think an almond allergy would be so hard for me. LOL, I eat/drink them in some form almost every day!
I'm with you on the spinach gag factor, but even your rave review of this smoothie, the fact that I'm trying really hard to eat healthier, and the fact that Batman (aka the hottie Christian Bale) drinks them, I just don't think I could do it. :0(
Word on the street is that if you add strawberries to the Green Monster, it tastes better (thanks, Erin!)
And Christian Bale is definitely the hottest of all the Batmans (and really, can you see Val Kilmer drinking a Green Monster and making it look hot? I think not). I wish Chris O'Donnell would come back as Robin and then I would be in heaven. :)
sean even liked my green monster + strawberries (purple monster?). definitely no spinach taste!
Do you think we could trademark the pink+green monster and sell it to the Lily P. loving crowd? Maybe sell it in paper cups with a toile print?
you could coordinate the toile color to the smoothie--there may be an entireline of products--evenc elasti-backs! j
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