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    Home » Recipes » Gluten-Free

    Banana Beet N' Greens Smoothie

    March 23, 2012 by keepinitkind 9 Comments

    Do you ever wish there was a way you could stick your head inside your blender so you can clean, with your tongue, the last traces of whatever it was that you made?  No?  Just me?  Huh.  Forget I mentioned it.

    I was informed recently that I would be going to Maui (yay!!!) in May.  After the initial excitement, reality set in: My body is not quite Maui-beach-ready.  Don't get me wrong, I love my body and it is perfectly ready to go lounging about on most beaches.  Maui beach, however (though I've never been there, and this whole concept has been fabricated in my brain), requires my body to have a- how shall we put this- slightly more exercised physique.

    I studied kinesiology and nutrition in college and I was a personal trainer for about 8 years.  I know how to kick people's butts into shape.  I know how to kick my own butt.  I'm very thankful for my years as a trainer, because when I'm feeling lazy or weak during an exercise, I can say to myself "Well, Gordon would do this," or "Mary could do this with her eyes closed."  My past clients provide a lot of inspiration for me and it is because of them, I can usually hang in there and get it done at the gym.  Lately, though, I've been in this "I don't really like doing squats and bicep curls and all this weightlifting crap anymore" phase.  This phase makes it pretty difficult to achieve the aforementioned goal, and I decided I would need to take a different approach.

    I'm used to hard-core workouts and strict diets in order to achieve goals.  I decided to switch it up, doing something the exact opposite of what my comfort zone is.  I did increase my exercise level, but with yoga, rather than with more weightlifting.  It has been so good to spend time focusing on just being in my body, letting it work the way it was meant to.  It is a great challenge to just focus on nurturing my body rather than forcing it in order to get results.

    It may be because of this  whole nurturing-my-body attitude that my sudden craving for smoothies came about.  Replacing a meal with a smoothie is something I would NEVER have done before.  I actually used to say "I don't like to drink my calories."  Even when I became vegan, I was like "I'm not going to be one of those hippies that drinks green stuff."  Fast forward to right now, me sipping on the most delicious smoothie or shake I've ever tasted.  And it's so good and nutritious for my body.  My mouth body is loving this Banana Beets N' Greens Smoothie lunch and I never want it to end.

    My first green smoothie was just banana and kale and a few other things, and it was pretty fantastic, though I wanted to make a smoothie where I didn't have to add a sweetner like agave or stevia, something that was sweet enough on its own.  Staring into my refrigerator, I saw the golden beets and suddenly knew what had to be done.

    I like to keep some bananas in my freezer so I can use them at a moments notice for baking or now, smoothie-making.  When it comes to freezing bananas, though, make sure they are really, really ripe and make sure that you peel them prior to freezing.  It is no fun to remove the peel from a dark-poopy-brown-colored frozen banana.  You can use raw or roasted beets (I've tried both), both will be pretty sweet, but the raw will have more nutrients.  You can also use red beets if you want.  I used golden because that's what I had.  There are also a ton of nutrients in the beet greens too (TONS of vitamin A), the flax meal provides fiber, and the nut butter and almond milk provide protein.  It is incredibly filling, but it's so delicious that even after you've finished, you will be wishing there was a way you could get your tongue to reach all corners of your blender.  Or you might just make more.

    And to answer your question, I do drink my smoothies from fancy goblets.  Because I'm a fancy hippie.

    BANANA BEETS N’ GREENS SMOOTHIE

    makes 1 big smoothie or 2 small smoothies

    Ingredients:

    • 1 banana, frozen, peel removed
    • 1 large or 2 small golden beets, peeled
    • 1 cup tightly packed beet greens, stems removed
    • 1 cup almond milk
    • 1 T ground flax seeds
    • 1 T nut butter
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • about 3-5 ice cubes

    Instructions:

    • Add all ingredients to blender, and puree until smooth.  Scrape sides as needed.  When it’s done, there should be no little pieces of leaves floating around- it will be completely smooth.
    • Pour into drinking container of choice.  Enjoy!

    All photos taken by Kristy Turner

    © Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Pixie

      March 26, 2012 at 10:31 am

      I've just discovered the incredible addictive properties of green smoothies. So, when I read your first paragraph about sticking your head in to lick out the blender I just laughed! I was SO there today. I use my rubber spatula to scrape out every drop I can....and then I think about making another.

      Tomorrow is grocery day and I will be looking for beets. My family thinks I've lost my mind! LOL But the joke is on them as I feel healthier and happier every day.

      Reply
      • keepinitkind

        March 26, 2012 at 11:28 am

        I'm so glad to see I'm not alone (or crazy)! It's amazing how great green smoothies make you feel on top of being super healthy, delicious, and filling! Let me know how you like it! 🙂

        Reply
        • Pixie

          March 28, 2012 at 10:31 am

          Okay, I'm drinking my lunch today with a double batch of this smoothie. The store had the beets in a bunch of 4, so I just threw it all in. Overall, I don't think I'm a fan of the starchy beets in it, though. I must still be too new at green smoothies! 🙂 I doctored it with frozen mango and Silk mango/peach Fruit and Protein milk. (I'd omitted the cinnamon, too.)

          I did buy some red curly kale yesterday to put in smoothies. I'd been using Italian kale, which I liked, but this was less than half the price. When I pulled stuff out of the grocery sacks, I smelled "flowers" and started looking for the smell's origin. It was the kale! My cat had his head stuck in the bag, too, sniffing. I can't wait to try one with that kale.

          Reply
          • keepinitkind

            March 28, 2012 at 11:31 am

            I love kale smoothies! I keep flavored fruit soy yogurts in the fridge for my step-kids and I tried using a blueberry one with kale, a banana, and less almond milk. It was pretty spectacular! I need to find that Silk fruit & protein milk- sounds pretty great!

            I'm finding that it's all about balance- when you have too much of one thing, it kind of throws it off. I once used way too many greens, and no matter what I added, it was still a little off.

            Let me know if you find any more great combos! 🙂

            Reply
    2. Lauren

      April 24, 2012 at 8:08 pm

      LOVED this smoothie! Thank you so much for the recipe! I made it a few weeks back, and with this week's SavRaw box, I can't wait to make it again. I passed it along to a few other SavRaw members, too. 🙂

      Reply
      • keepinitkind

        April 24, 2012 at 8:38 pm

        Oh Lauren- It's so good to hear from you and I'm so glad you liked it! Totally just made my day! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Desma

      December 28, 2013 at 12:11 pm

      Can you substitute the nut butter for something else? Will it taste good without it?
      Thanks

      Reply
      • keepinitkind

        December 31, 2013 at 12:41 pm

        You could substitute it for a seed-based butter or omit it completely. It will lose a little bit of it's richness and it's protein content, but it will still be good. 🙂 Enjoy!

        Reply
    4. Lana

      December 07, 2014 at 4:10 am

      This sounds delicious! Can I substitute the packed beet greens with something else?

      Reply

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    Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Keepin' It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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