If you’re still reading, then I haven’t lost you with the idea of frozen kale and spinach.  They certainly are an acquired taste, but much less than you would think.  I use them in my smoothies, partly as a way to ensure that I try to get all the nutrient value that kale has to offer.  Kale is very high in beta carotene,vitamin K, vitamin C and rich in calcium, but as my husband like’s to point out, it’s a garnish.  It’s a super-veg and wonderful in smoothies.

As is spinach.  All you have to do is watch an episode of Popeye and you know how incredible spinach is.  And I do love a spinach salad, but not every day.  So I add spinach to my smoothies as well.  I have very green smoothies :-).

I love this blog post from the Rowdy Stroudy’s about freezing pureed vegetables because for quite a while I bought spinach and kale with the best intentions of putting them in my shakes and I would for a while, but then I would miss a day or two and the spinach and kale would go bad and end up in the waste bin.  This is such a simple solution that keeps me in green smoothies every day.

It’s really straight forward:  I put a cup of water in the blender, add a bunch of kale or a bag of spinach, puree away and freeze.  I use plastic bottles with squeeze lids to pour the kale/spinach into the ice cube trays to keep it neat.  It’s important to add the water so the mixture doesn’t end up too chunky.  When it’s chunky it won’t squeeze through the spout of the bottle.  Once the cubes are frozen, I transfer them to Ziploc bags, date them and store them in the freezer.

To make my smoothies, to 1 scoop of protein powder and once cup of water, I add 4 cubes of kale and spinach each, a handful or two of frozen fruit, a Tbsp of flax seed oil and a Tbsp of chia seeds.  It’s simple, but chock full of vitamins and good omega fats and keeps me full for hours.  And miraculously it doesn’t taste like spinach or kale ;-).

Enjoy! 

“I really can’t approve of your smoothies.  Carrots and zucchini aside, I don’t like stuff that smells like earth.”