so when i started this blog over a year ago i began with the idea to track my weight loss progress. i’ve been relatively successful. i’ve lost all of my pregnancy pounds plus an additional 10. you can obviously see a difference, and i honestly feel different. looking at my fridge and pantry you see a stark difference in what we keep on hand from what it was a year ago. yes, i still have ice cream in the freezer. but i also have kale, wheat germ, produce galore. of course, i’m not nutritionist or personal trainer, but i’ve made small life changes that add up. one thing i noticed is that i wasn’t eating enough vegetables. so, i started looking for creative ways to incorporate more into our diet. I started to use spinach in just about everything. I use it for salads, smoothies and for dinner last night I even put it in our spaghetti sauce. It doesn’t affect the taste, and if you process it up small enough it is barely detectable. It adds funky colors to your smoothies which kids love, and adds a power punch of vitamins and minerals. Spinach is such a nutrient dense food (for more on that click here) It’s not just for popeye anymore! I know it sounds weird to put it in things like smoothies and spaghetti sauce, but it works.
imperfectly courtney 
Girl I love it! I have always loves spinach. I love when we boil it down and just use a little butter and vineger. So good. I’m so proud of you! Although, I am skeptical of the spinach in smoothies, but my sister raves about it too. I should just give it a shot. Love you!
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it is good, i promise! there are few good recipes on allrecipes.com for green smoothies… i usually just throw a bunch of stuff in the blender and hope it turns out ok. i use almond milk, frozen blueberries, a handful of spinach, and sometimes i add some wheat germ or flax seed…. yummmmmmm
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Court – to make the color of a spinach smoothie more palatable (for some green isn’t fun) just put some berries in it! It will make it purple instead of green and then kids like it better. However, if your kid is like mine, she will be just fine with a green smoothie. My kids eat things “BECAUSE they are good for their bodies” and tend to like just about anything because of that. In fact, if they decide they are going to gorge on something NOT so good, they usually come to me after and complain of stomachaches, “Because I at too much junk”… I never lie to my kids (nope, there’s no onions in that, or something like that)… they eat what’s served (not always without protest) and are not given anything else -snacks, etc… unless they eat what’s in front of them. and no, they don’t always have to eat it ALL.
Kids WANT to grow big and strong, so work with that knowledge and teach them the foods that will aid in their goal! tricky, huh? but it works. Especially if you start them early.
I am so proud of you. You are such a good mommy and taking care of yourself is a huge part of that. **SMOOCH**
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such good words! i often pair my spinach with frozen blueberries. although apple spinach smoothies are good too. I hope Payton turns out as good as your little ones!
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Question… what kind of spinach do you use in smoothies? I recently bought a bag of baby spinach leaves for the purpose of putting it in smoothies, but I am not sure if I should just stick it in the blender? Or cut off the stems first? Or process it first? :-
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i just buy the bag of spinach leaves and throw a handful into the blender, it turns out great, kinda does the same thing as a processor would, but without the extra dishes (hallelujah for that!)
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Awesome thanks! 🙂
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