Healthy Green Smoothie

I have about 4 other posts I need to write, but I made this smoothie for breakfast this morning and immediately got to snapping pictures so I could post it today. I was a little leery of the green smoothie craze circulating around the blogosphere lately, but I've been feeling a little under the weather lately, so I wanted to get some nutrients into my system, and fast. A smoothie seemed like the fastest and most efficient way to do that, but I was concerned that the smoothies/shakes I had as a kid had so much sugar and dairy that it would completely negate the benefits of the included fruits.

Enter this fantastic little beauty. If you've read this blog for more than a week you know about my love affair with spinach... it's practically in every dish I make. So naturally I was heartbroken when the Japanese government halted the import of fresh spinach for the last 2 months this summer-- for whatever reason they decided it was necessary to deprive me of this fresh, nutritious leafy vegetable which I so loved. I was thrilled the other day when I finally saw it back on the shelves at the commissary and promptly snagged a bag. I would have preferred to grab 5 and save them for a rainy day/halted shipping, but then they would just rot in my fridge and not only would it be a waste of money and food, it would be incredibly sad for me to see those poor little leaves become slimy and stinky and moldy.

I was so surprised at how good this actually tasted that I'm probably going to make it for breakfast the next few days to help get my immune system back on track. What better way to get 2 servings of fruit, 1 serving of vegetables and lots of vitamins and fiber in ONE glass?? Like with basically everything I make, it's completely versatile and able to be tailored to your tastes and whatever produce is available in your area. I only added a little bit of dairy to incorporate a creamy taste, but it'd still be yummy if you left it out. While I would have also preferred to add blueberries for more antioxidants, I've had mixed results in the past with other smoothies-- they seem to have so much pectin in them that the smoothies end up congealing and becoming very unappetizing, so I left them out this time.

Healthy Green Smoothie

makes 1 very large or 2 smaller sized smoothies
Inspired by several recipes

1 ripe banana, cut into chunks
1 cup frozen strawberries
3 large handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and spun dry
3 ice cubes
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons low fat milk or low fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon agave syrup

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Taste and add more water or agave syrup to your taste. Serve immediately.