My Coconut-Kale Smoothie

Whooee! Let’s kick this Vegan MoFo off right!

Kale Smoothie (Photo credit: kingdesmond1337)

Though I’ve been a vegetarian for 20-plus years, I started my journey toward vegan bliss one year ago this past July and I’ve never looked back. I’ll fill you in on all the details of my transition in another post. Right now I’d like to share this very simple recipe for a Coconut-Kale Smoothie, right after I thank my father for aiding in my nutritional transition.

My Dad, a dedicated carnivore, would probably balk at the suggestion that he had anything to do with adapting my palate for vegan blends. But in my teens it was Dad who introduced my sister and me to a cabbage-orange juice blend he’d make us after running in the mornings. Acquiring a taste for the citrus/tart blend that always had little bits of cabbage floating around that the blender didn’t puree wasn’t difficult for me to get used to. It was the perfect beginning to what has now become my lifestyle, so THANK YOU DAD!

And with that prelude, here you are! Enjoy!

To make this smoothie, I use my Magic Bullet and in the future, I’ll be using my newly purchased Nutribullet. However, if you don’t have those gadgets, your blender will do just fine.

You will need:

• Fresh kale, rinsed thoroughly and torn into smaller pieces
• Banana
• Frozen blueberries, about a cup or if you like more help yourself.
• Chickpeas, about a cup drain and rinsed from can
• Coconut Milk

For single servings in your Magic or Nutribullet:

Place a handful of kale into one of the cups. Layer that with a half cup of chickpeas, a half cup of frozen blueberries, half of the banana sliced into smaller pieces. Fill the cup with coconut milk and blend following the gadget instructions.

In a blender, increase your portion sizes of the ingredients, and then blend til creamy.

It’s not necessary to have exact measurements of the ingredients. It’s all a matter of taste.

And don’t worry about the green color of the smoothie! Bananas are an excellent source of natural

sugar and blend well with the kale for a creamy, flavorful blend. Choosing a dark green like kale or spinach boosts the nutritional value of this drink which gives you protein (chick peas), antioxidants (blueberries), and calcium (coconut milk.)

DELICIOUS! 🙂