Are you getting your five?
As a foodie, I’m always looking for ways to add fresh, healthy, tasty food to my diet. The current recommendations say to get nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables — five vegie and four fruit. The fruit part is easy — you can always grab an apple or banana for a snack, but it’s kind of a challenge to eat that many vegetables. I love them, and at this time of year when everything is fresh from the garden it’s a joy to eat them — it’s mostly just a time thing.
This month, Culinate, a web site for people who appreciate good local food, is running the Vegetable Challenge to encourage people to eat their five a day, so I’ve been making a more conscious effort to work enough vegies into my meals. I discovered a secret ingredient for my morning smoothie that gets me started with a big green kick and gives me five of my nine servings in a glass for under 400 calories. It’s easy, tastes great, and fills me up until lunch.
Power-Up Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 container low fat yogurt
2 scoops protein powder
1 cup spinach leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup ice cubes (if using fresh fruit)
Add all the ingredients to the blender and puree until well-blended. Pour into a large glass and drink.
You can substitute any berries you like and you can also use peaches, cantaloupe, or any other fruit in season. You can’t really taste the spinach — I gave this to my spouse the other morning and he had no idea what was in it.
How about you? Do you get enough fruit and vegetables in your diet on a regular basis? How do you do it?
I’ve had smoothies before, but never with spinach. At first the spinach seems a bit weird, but like you said, it doesn’t really affect the flavor. I don’t eat enough fruit unless I’m doing a long bike ride, then I usually have a banana, watermelon and grapes during the ride. I am a vegetable NUT and usually grow many of my own veggies in my organic garden.