Recently I had the pleasure of
making smoothies with my daughter’s preschool class. While we chopped
strawberries, bananas and baby spinach, we used all of our senses to fully
experience each ingredient. We admired the bright, grassy green of the
spinach and the crunch we heard when we chopped or chewed it. We noticed
the sweet and tangy juicy burst of the strawberry in our mouths and the
slippery feel of the banana. We learned about where and how each food grows and
which animals like to eat it. —
After experiencing the
characteristics of each of the foods on its own, we blended them together to
experiment with how the color, taste and texture changed when they were
combined. Invested as co-creators, even those who had initially “yucked” the
idea of spinach enjoyed the fruity, green drink.
Entice your little chefs to
prepare these two smoothie recipes with you. Either is great for a quick
breakfast, packed lunch or snack.
Green Monster Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup water or other liquid such as almond milk
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana broken into several pieces (fresh or frozen –
remove peel to freeze)
%uFFFD ripe avocado
1 to 2 leaves collards or kale or one handful of baby
spinach (wash and roughly chop)
2 dried dates, pitted (add more for sweeter taste)
Place the water followed by the other ingredients into
your blender. Blend until totally smooth, eliminating all chunks. For the most thoroughly blended smoothie, a
Vita-Mix is recommended. If you’re using
a regular blender, the baby spinach will breakdown easier than the kale or
collards. Add water for a thinner
texture and more dates for sweeter flavor.
Chocolate
Dragon Shake
Ingredients
1 cup water or other liquid such as almond milk or oat milk
1 ripe banana broken into pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (we like goat
yogurt)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 dried dates, pitted (add more for sweeter
taste)
1 to 2 leaves collards or kale or one handful of baby
spinach (wash and roughly chop)
Optional: for more protein, 1 tablespoon of peanut or almond
butter
