Don’t you love it when you are eating something that is crazy, insanely, ridiculously good for you but still tastes amazing? It’s like when you are eating a doughnut or a cookie and thinking…man, how amazing would it be if eating junk food like this was the heath equivalent of a salad? I love creating recipes that are amazing for you but don’t make you feel like you are making a sacrifice to eat them.
Like this smoothie. This smoothie is about as healthy as it gets…packed with fruit, kale, and green tea. It really doesn’t get much better than that, people.
Like I said in my last post, Seth is in the field again for a few days this week, and even though I do miss him (a lot!), it is kind of fun to make kale smoothies for dinner and watch The Bachelor and Grey’s Anatomy ;). However, I think that even he would like this smoothie. It doesn’t taste as healthy as it is!
So here is the breakdown of this delicious cup of blended health:
Kiwi – as much or more Vitamin C than an orange, considered a “nutrient rich” food based on the combination of high nutrients and low calories. And they taste like candy…delicious, tangy, fruity, rich, candy. I am a big fan of kiwis. And I think the seeds have a super cool texture…not that that’s health related. Moving on.
Green apple – great source of dietary fiber, which will keep your digestion system nice and healthy. Great source of antioxidants – especially green apples. They also increase energy.
Lemon – There are SO many health benefits of lemons, I am not going to list them out here, but my favorite benefit of lemon juice is it’s ability to flush toxins out of your body
Kale – I could write 50 posts on the health benefits of kale…it is considered a superfood, and is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. It has lots of antioxidants, is a great source of Vitamin C, and is all around amazing for your body. It can be a bit tricky though…it doesn’t have amazing flavor or texture eaten raw. It’s a little tough and bland. There are SO many different ways to “hide” it in your food, though! Like in this smoothie for example…or in my Roasted Garlic Kale Hummus!
Green Tea – This is another ingredient that just has too many health benefits to list, but health experts recommend drinking several cups of it a day. It actually has been shown to help prevent many different types of cancer, it raises your metabolism, and is just all around good for you.
So my point is….this smoothie is REALLY great for you, but it doesn’t taste like you are making any sacrifices!
Drinking this smoothie makes you feel amazing immediately. It makes you feel light, energized, healthy, and clean. I love it.
When you are drinking it, you don’t taste kale and green tea, you taste delicious kiwi, tangy green apple, and bright lemon juice. The kale is totally hidden.
If you don’t have green tea on hand, you can use water, coconut water, or fruit juice for the liquid. I just know how great green tea is for you, so I thought it would be perfect to use as the liquid element in this smoothie.
Yum!
Here is the recipe:
- 3 kiwis
- 1 green apple
- 1 cup of kale
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup green tea
- Brew ½ cup of green tea and let it cool (I added several ice cubes to a ziplock bag and let that sit in the hot tea so it would get cold quickly without watering the tea down)
- Peel and dice your kiwis and green apple
- Roughly chop your kale
- This recipe makes TWO smoothies. So for each smoothie, place half of the fruit and kale into the blender along with the juice from ½ lemon, 1 tablespoon of honey, and ¼ cup green tea
- Add about 5-7 ice cubes into the blender and turn it on
- Let it blend enough so that it is completely pureed and smooth
If you make this or any of my other recipes, make sure you Instagram them and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
This looks amazing, Annie! I love smoothies so much, especially ones that taste amazing but are super healthy. I LOVE green tea so much. Whenever I drink it I get so much energy – great idea adding it into your smoothie!
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Thank you so much, Keri! Isn’t green tea tea the best?? Even though it has less caffeine than coffee, I almost feel like it energizes me even more than coffee does. And it gives me an almost clean, refreshed feeling. And it does the same thing in this smoothie!
what type of green tea do you use? i have NEVER made green tea….eeekkkk
I like to use Bigelow, but any green tea will work!