Not so Green “Green” Smoothie

When I offered a taste of this smoothie to my husband, he was enthusiastic.

“Oh! You put chocolate in it?” he asked.

“Um, no.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want me to tell you what’s in it, or do you want to try it first?”

Pause.

“I’ll try it first.”

He ended up liking it. I just share this exchange to illustrate that I know this smoothie doesn’t look supremely appetizing. But really, it’s my current favorite. If you’re feeling adventurous (or if you don’t mind that it’s an odd color for a smoothie that does not contain chocolate), my recipe is below.

Not so Green “Green” Smoothie

makes 5 cups

Place in your blender (mine’s a VitaMix. I don’t know how other blenders handle this concoction):

1/2 bunch dandelion greens (I used organic red dandelion from the grocery store. I don’t use dandelion greens from the yard. They’re a different variety from the ones at the grocery store.)

1/2 pineapple (leave the core, cut off the spiky peel)

1 banana

3 frozen plums (These are probably optional. I use them because we have a golden plum tree in our yard, and I have a bunch of plums in my freezer.)

10-15 frozen strawberries (I’m pretty sure it’s these that change the smoothie from green to burnt ochre. Perhaps if you used something with less color, like yellow raspberries or something, the smoothie would stay green)

Turn that baby on and crank up to High and jam everything into the blades with the approved tamper. Blend for 30-60 seconds. I usually drink about half of it and leave the rest in the fridge for lunch.