POD's Healthy "Fuel" of the Month

In the interest of fun and nutrition - and showing that yes, you CAN combine the two sometimes - we are going to be featuring one healthy meal a month that can be used to help fuel up before a game or to recharge afterwards. Every once in a while, we'll probably also have a recipe or two for some fabulously tasty treats...because what Derby girl doesn't love treats??

This month, we're going to feature a simple recipe that can be modified in a lot of different ways to satisfy different tastes and to mix things up so that you can make it frequently and not get bored! All you really need is a blender...

GREEN SMOOTHIE

Raspberry Kale Smoothie
from Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

10 cashews or plain almonds

1/2 cup frozen baby kale

1 cup fresh baby spinach 

1 medium banana

1 medium bartlett pear

6 frozen strawberries 

1/2 cup water

Directions: 

1. In blender, add ingredients in this order (for easiest blending) - yogurt, nuts, greens (kale and spinach), fruits (frozen first, then fresh), and lastly water

2. Place top on blender and puree ingredients. 

3. If necessary, pause blending and push ingredients to bottom of blender (BEFORE replacing top and restarting) if blender seems to be working too hard to puree. 

4. If consistency seems too thick, add a little more water and reblend. 

5. Pour into a cup and enjoy! 

The green smoothie I had for breakfast
this morning - yogurt, cashews, kale,
spinach, broccoli, blueberries,
strawberries, banana, and pear.

This is the quick recipe that I use for my morning breakfast shakes.  Really, though, you can use any combination of fruits and veggies to make a green smoothie.  What's important is that you start with some kind of liquidy base - you can use yogurt, milk, almond milk, cottage cheese, then add in the fruits and veggies, and some sort of healthy protein option - like peanut butter, nuts, chia or flax seeds. If you remember those three key components, you can use any multitude of options in your smoothies and still have a healthy meal replacement or "recovery" meal after a tough bout. A good smoothie will taste great and not only give you a burst of energy from some protein, but help keep your immune system up and running with all the vitamins and antioxidents you're intaking. 

AND...even though this shake looks green and like it should probably taste like a salad, let me tell you bananas and berries make it taste fruity! They're really delicious, I swear.

Let me know if you try this and what modifications you make...I'm always looking for new options!!

- Nikki Tesla #134