I think kale and I have made our peace.  After a somewhat disastrous first encounter with overdone kale chips on Monday, the last 2 nights have redeemed the leafy green in my mind. 

Last night’s Garlicky Kale was delish, but I decided to go a completely different way tonight.  Outside, it’s hot, humid, and stormy, so I was really in the mood for something cool and creamy rather than a hot meal.  I found my answer in the form of a Kale Green Monster! 

Typically, I use spinach in my Green Monsters, but since I have so much kale on hand and I hate to waste it, I thought I’d give it a try in a smoothie.  I was a little concerned that the raw kale flavor might be too overwhelming, but after consulting the web, I was pleased to find that kale does in fact work in smoothies!  A couple of different sites recommended freezing the kale beforehand.  This makes it easier for the blender to really pulverize it, which cuts down on the strong flavor. 

I’m no smoothie expert, but I think my Kale Green Monster came out pretty fantastic!  Take a look!

Kale Green Monster

2 cups kale, stems removed, frozen for at least 30 minutes

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (you could use a full scoop, I just prefer 1/2)

2-4 T. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze (or whatever milk you have on hand)

1 T. peanut butter

1 T. cocoa powder

1 frozen banana, chopped into pieces

2 handfuls of ice

Start by putting the protein powder, 2 T. milk, cocoa powder, and peanut butter into the blender.  Add the kale on top and blend away until no bits of kale are left.  Your mixture should be smooth and bright green.  I let the blender run for a good 2-3 minutes to make sure it’s totally pulverized!

Pre-blend

Then, add in the frozen banana, and blend again until the banana is fully incorporated.  Do the same with the ice.  The longer you blend up the ice, the smoother and creamier the smoothie will be.  Again, I probably let it run for a solid 2-3 minutes. 

Ta-da!

A bowl-worthy smoothie!  OK, so it may not be the prettiest smoothie I’ve ever made, but it tasted phenomenal!  No raw kale taste at all!  Look out, though–the kale makes for a thiiiiiick smoothie.  So thick, in fact, that I ate it with a spoon!  Yipee! 

My throat is trying to be sore, so a cold smoothie for dinner was just what the doctor ordered.  I’m hoping it’s just allergy related and will go away soon.  Cross your fingers for me—it’s no fun to have a sore throat when your job requires you to talk all day!

I’m off to pump myself full of zinc and rest up!