It’s that time of year again. If you have known me for a while, you know that my “thing” for the last several years is to force my way into my kid’s’ class and bust out my basic green smoothie recipe for them.

Making spinach drinks for a bunch of first graders? Can’t think of a better way to spend my Friday morning.

Green smoothies have been around for years and really there are 1000 variations, but spinach seems to be the most versatile green to throw in so as not to alter the taste too much. The recipe here that I use seems to be the least “scary” recipe for some of the biggest skeptics, KIDS.

Although there are plenty of closed-minded adults out there too. 🙂

I began using this recipe years ago when I did the Green Smoothie Taste for the My Foodie Call family.Check it out how we decided on this basic recipe.

Gearing up.

I explained about spinach and its nutritional components. Every time that I have come in to class, I have picked a specific nutrient to focus on. For the green smoothie lesson, I focused on spinach and fiber. I told that it was nature’s toothbrush for their intestines. They think I’m weird.

We got to work.

We peeled, measured, and poured.

Although some kids were horrified, one boy had no problem stuffing in extra piles of spinach.

Where the magic happens.

Love when a blender gets 1st grade encouragement. These kids did not disappoint.

Such a vibrant green. Love it.

Empty. The Green Smoothie test yields excellent results.

Lots of cheers and thumbs ups. Can we keep them this age?

Green smoothies are important for pretty obvious reasons. A veggie in your drink? Duh, healthy. But what’s more important is that when put in a blender, the spinach leaves are just flat-out pulverized. This action really helps break down the cell walls of the spinach and makes these micronutrients more available to your body. I guarantee none of us are chewing our spinach near as much as we should.

Get blending.

• 3 cups organic spinach
• 12-16 oz  orange juice
• 1  banana
• 2 cups frozen peaches (or frozen pineapple)