New Food of the Month-Spinach Kiwi Smoothie

There's something about 90 degree days that makes you want to give up all hot foods with a Lent-like passion. In perspiring desperation, many people turn to smoothies. With the desire to start posting about one new food I try every month as my motivation and this recipe from Cooking Light as my inspiration, I developed this surprisingly tasty and refreshing concoction as my own way to beat the heat!

Now, believe me, even as a dietitian I was not among the first to jump on the veggie smoothie bandwagon...hence this being classified as a "new food" for me. However, it is an excellent way to pack an extra serving of vegetables into your day!

The primary ingredients of this recipe are spinach and kiwi...so if it helps, just tell yourself it's green because of the kiwi. At least that's what I did. I used some spinach I had purchased at the farmers' market and a probably not quite ripe kiwi. But it turned out for the best, because the tartness of the kiwi ended up as the most prominent flavor, masking any earthy greeniness (which I do like tasting in salads...but not in smoothies).

Spinach-Kiwi Smoothie
Serves 1

1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 rather large handful of spinach
1 kiwi, peeled and chopped haphazardly
1/4 cup milk of choice (I used plain nonfat soy...less calories than skim but more protein than almond)
3-4 ice cubes
1/4 banana (preferably frozen)
Sweetener of choice (I used a packet of Stevia to keep it light...so if you use sugar, agave, or honey just remember to add those calories and carbs to the total I have below for accurate nutrition info)

Place in blender. Blend.
(Do I really need to give you instructions on how to blend a smoothie?)

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		133.1
Total Fat		1.0 g
	Saturated Fat	0.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.2 g
Cholesterol		2.5 mg
Sodium		94.7 mg
Potassium		734.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		23.7 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.6 g
	Sugars	6.6 g
Protein		9.9 g

Vitamin A	90.0 %
Vitamin B-12	12.5 %
Vitamin B-6	16.3 %
Vitamin C	149.7 %
Vitamin D	7.5 %
Vitamin E	8.9 %
Calcium	20.4 %

Check out that vitamin A and calcium! Some fiber even snuck in there. There's a decent amount of protein...you could add more yogurt to up that number a bit. But all in all, a wonderful snack that I will repeat soon!

P.S. Ryan even gave it the thumbs up! :) That's success in my book.