If you follow me on (and you should), you may have seen this photo the other day. I asked people to guess what this green concoction was. Some of the responses were pretty funny to me!


- Pea soup?
- Green tea smoothie?
- Cucumber ginger limeade? (Boy, that sounds good!) 

Well, nobody guessed the right answer but that just confirmed what I already suspected. Nobody would ever guess what was in this pale green concoction. I'm betting that, if you tasted it, you probably still couldn't guess that it the main ingredient is kale.

Yep, kale.

You see, in the summertime, my mid-afternoon slump hits pretty hard. When the sun is high in the sky and I'm cowering in the shade, I reach for foods that will not only cool me down but also give me the energy I need to brave the remainder of the day. That's when I turn to smoothies like this one, that combine the healthy benefits of dark greens with the natural sweetness of fruit. Try it, you'll like it!



Kale-Pineapple Smoothie
Yield: 1 serving

1 frozen banana
2-3 big handfuls of kale leaves (stalks discarded)
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
2-3 Tbsp pineapple juice
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. (I find it helps to use the order listed.) 
2. Pulse a few times to break up the frozen banana.
3. Puree until smooth and drink up!

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