Don't judge the food photos. Food photography is difficult stuff! Ha! Okay, so you've heard of Kale, right? What about the health benefits? Kale is low in calories, high in fiber, and has no fat! How great is that? Kale is also full of antioxidants which help protect us from cancer. I started drinking Kale shakes after I read Dave Asprey's Article: The Kale Shake is Awesome - So Updgrade It. Good information there so have a look.. I don't consume kale everyday, but try to incorporate it at least 3 times a week. Also, if you have thyroid problems, it wouldn't hurt to steam your kale, and then freeze it to reduce the oxalic levels from the raw kale. Some folks steam it, puree it, and freeze the kale in ice cube trays so it's ready to use. Kale can be goitrogenic to those with thyroid problems if consumed in high quantities since kale is from brassica family. I love the kale recipe listed below because it contains foods that are alkaline which are great for our body as often times we eat a high acidic diet. Alkaline foods help your body maintain a healthy blood pH. The smoothie also contains avocado which is a fantastic source of our healthy fats. And just in case you're wondering, you can't taste the avocado at all. It really helps create the smooth texture we're looking for in our smoothie.
Now on to the recipe...
1 cucumber
1 juice of a lemon
1 avocado
1 pear
2 cups of dino kale (stems removed, I eyeball the 2 cups amount)
8 oz of water
(Yield: Approx 32 oz, enough for two people or two smoothies)
Calorie Count: 404, Nutritional data pulled from : nutritionaldata.self.com
We recently purchased a Ninja blender, but I have found others have been able to use their regular ol' blender they have stored in the cabinet. You will know if your blender works best for you depending on how smooth you want your smoothie, and if it will hold the volume of ingredients listed in the recipe. First thing I do is add the water to the blender. Then add the juice of a lemon. And then I slice the cucumber in half, and then take those halves and quarter them like below and then add them to the blender.
Then I chop up the pear. Self explanatory I think. Right? Just make sure you cut out the core, seeds and stem. Then move on to the avocado and remove the seed. Scoop the halves into the blender. Your blender should look like something like this.
Now on to the kale. I do not like the thick stem in the middle of the kale leaves. You can certainly leave them intact, but I choose not to as I would imagine they would be hard on the digestive system.
Here's a kale leaf.
I fold the leaf in half, and take my knife and slice the stem off all the way across.
I do this until I have a thick handful, and then I stuff the blender.
I blend it for about 30 seconds. Maybe longer if the kale needs more time to reach the blades.
All finished. The entire process takes me about 10 minutes. The jars are Ball Pint and Half Jars. They hold 24 oz each. I'm estimating the yield at 32 oz total. Try it out. We love the shakes with pears, but if it's too "green tasting" to you, try adding a banana or any additional fruit of your choice.
P.S. We have been known to make a batch the night before to take to work the next day, and they still taste great. Let me know what you think!
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