Whole Food's Glowing Green Smoothie

My kids make me laugh.



There was the time that my little boy said this:

Jeremiah: Mom, why can't I say "damn it?"
Me: Because that's a bad word. It doesn't sound nice
Jeremiah: Oh man. Well can I at least say "damn?"

After I said no, he says:

"But mom, what about a beaver damn? I can say beaver damn, right?"



And then this conversation just took place the other day:

Jeremy: (sniff, sniff) Who farted?
Everyone: not me
Isabella: It wasn't me! I swear! Watch, Jeremiah, come here and smell my butt.
-Jeremiah starts crying-
Jeremy: What's wrong buddy?
Jeremiah: Isabella made me smell her butt and...and...she ACTUALLY FARTED!
Jeremy: (very, very seriously) Jeremiah. Don't you ever, EVER smell anyone's butt ever again. That is the lesson here. I mean it. Ever

Then, just weeks ago when Isabella was upset about her hair:

Isabella: Daddy, I look like a WHORE! 
-Jeremy stares at her stunned-
Isabella: I don't know what that means but that's what I think...

He told her what it meant, appropriately enough, when she got extremely embarrassed and said: 

"Oh, I thought it meant, like an ugly rat...or a horses liver" 

What?!

And...we bought her a hat.

I don't know if my family has problems or if everyone has stories like this, but I figure a little extra spinach in their diet couldn't hurt to help make them saner in the cabeza. Enter the Glowing Green Smoothie transformed into a popsicle. 



My kids don't even care that it's green. They know it has spinach in it, and that doesn't faze them in the least, probably because it tastes like a sweet tropical vacation with all that pineapple, peach, mango, and creamy coconut goodness contained within than pop mold. They propped themselves up in their outside chairs, feet up and flip flops on like it was summer out (it's not summer out) and slurped them down after a dinner of tomato and arugula pasta. I may have heard mention of "the good life" as this was happening.  Since then they have begged me for these as an after school snack almost everyday.

Here's the thing. The Glowing Green Smoothie does indeed make a mean green popsicle, but I prefer it in it's original form -smoothie style- for lunch or breakfast. Except who am I kidding? I get hungry for "real food" 45 minutes after downing this drink because that's the sad reality us eight and a half months pregnant women have to face. Bravely. With a tear in our eyes, shaking our fists, and wondering when we will ever feel satisfied. I digress.



I drank this smoothie 3-4 times when we visited Whole Foods. I'm learning that each Whole Foods with a smoothie and juice bar has their own specialties and this was the one I happened upon. Lucky me. I cannot stress this enough. Ready? I LOVE this smoothie. The taste is creamy and tropical with a slight hint of nuttiness, probably from the flax seed which I adore that they sneak in. At home I pretty much nailed the recipe. It tastes exactly like the Whole Foods version. Jeremy sometimes can get up in arms about smoothies like this because even though every single ingredient is very healthy, it's still high in sugar because of all the tropical fruit used. Not added sugar, mind you, but he still prefers his spinach smoothies blended with berries which are lower on the glycemic index, but hey, all fruit is good for you! I just don't drink this everyday. It's more like a twice a week thing. Luckily for him the Whole Foods had another smoothie that used the same base but subbed kale for the spinach and berries for the tropical fruit. Everything else was the same if that's more up your alley. I'll say mine tastes better though. 

Whole Foods Glowing Green Smoothie
adapted from Whole Food's Market
makes 1 large smoothie or two smaller smoothies

I only use organic fruit for my smoothies, but that is optional. Also, if you have fresh fruit instead of frozen you could use that as well; just make sure to add a couple ice cubes to keep everything cold. You also won't need as much almond milk if you are using fresh fruit, but keep in mind it won't be as thick. Do use both the "unsweetened" milk and coconut flakes. Trust me, it's sweet enough as it is. 

2 cups packed baby spinach
1 cup frozen organic peaches
1 cup frozen organic pineapple 
1/2 cup frozen organic mango
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 
1 tablespoon flax meal or flax seed (I use flax meal because it blends better)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if needed to blend)

Blend everything together well and drink.