Part of National Nutrition Month 2014
How many times have you been told to eat two or three
servings of vegetables every day? If you’re anything like me, you probably hear
that message all the time. Unfortunately, most people just don’t like the taste
of those green, leafy veggies.
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| Image by Jordan Zelenky |
What’s so special about
greens? Take spinach, for example, which is an excellent source of Vitamins K
and A, and is very low in fat (Palmer, 2009). All of those benefits
are great, but because spinach has such a bland taste, it is often excluded
from my meals. I knew I had to start eating spinach because relying on broccoli
and carrots to get enough veggies doesn’t provide enough variety, so I thought about
adding spinach to smoothies.
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| Image by Jordan Zelenky |
Smoothies
are so versatile, which makes them an easy way to add new foods to your diet if
you’re unsure about a new food’s texture. The thought of an overwhelming
spinach taste in my smoothie made me nervous at first, but after my first try
combining the ingredients the flavors were nothing but strawberries, bananas,
and soy milk! The spinach blended into the flavors of the fruits perfectly, and
I was left with my normal smoothie, just a little more green in color.
To make my smoothie, use
2 large strawberries, ½ ripe banana, a couple of ice cubes, ½ cup of soy milk,
and a ¼ cup of spinach. Next, cut up the strawberries and banana, then combined
all of the ingredients into the blender. Pulse the blender for 30 seconds, but
you can adjust that time depending on the thickness you prefer. Try to come up
with your own combination of flavors and veggies! I’d love to hear new ideas to
mix up my routine ingredients.
References
Palmer, S. (2009). Spinach Flexes Its Mighty Nutrition
Muscle. Environmental Nutrition, 32(3), 8-8.
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