The Green Monster

I have a hate/hate relationship with vegetables.  There is never a time that I enjoy eating them.  Well, I shouldn't say never.  Maybe there was this one time in my entire life that I had a good experience while eating veggies.  I can recall sitting at the table in my younger years, disdainfully eyeballing a pile of cauliflower on my plate.  I threw up after that encounter.  I haven't touched a piece of cauliflower since, and it seems that the experience somehow managed to cloud my perspective on all vegetables.  That being said, I found a recipe for a Green Monster Smoothie, once again, on faithful Annie's Eats.  It sounded normal enough, until the spinach part.  I swore I would never EVER desecrate a smoothie by adding veggies to it. 

Several weeks later I realized that I was in for it because my 20 month old daughter pretty much screams whenever she sees something of a vegetable hue.  I decided I would make the smoothie and even add the spinach to it, and she could drink it.  I made the mistake of letting her see the color before I tried to coerce her into drinking it.  (Which she never did, by the way.)  I hate letting things go to waste, so I sucked up my vegetable pride and took a hesitant sip.  It was actually quite delish!  I have since made several adjustments to it and now find it quite delectable.  So, if you are like me, and find your skin becoming whiter and whiter for lack of vegetable pigment, drink up!  I promise you, I actually enjoy these things - which is saying a lot, coming from me!

Nic's Hate Veggies Smoothie (Makes 1 serving)

1/3 banana
1/3 cup frozen pineapple (I also used mango when pineapple wasn't available)
1/3 pear, coarsley chopped
1/3 + 1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 heaping cup yogurt - flavor of your choice (I used peach)
5 ice cubes
Small handful of spinach leaves
1 Tbsp. ground flax

Combine all ingredients in blender or Magic Bullet and pulse until completley smooth.

It looks so gross, but is soooo good!

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats