I realize in this chilly weather that an ice-cold smoothie probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind, but since we’re still in cold & flu season, this one may…
I was feeling a little run down the other day and in need of a big blast of Vitamin C to ward off any approaching sickness. So, I blended up this little concoction to help the cause.
I call it Tropical {Vitamin} C Blast Green Monster Smoothie.
I picked fruits {and some other goodies} that I had in my freezer and kitchen that I thought were good sources of vitamin C: pineapple, mango, orange juice, bananas, spinach, and…wait for it…parsley.
We’ve talked about the health benefits of spinach before, but did you know parsley is a good source of vitamin C? Yup, it’s not just a pretty face…er…garnish.
Here’s a snippet from whfoods.com:
“In addition to its volatile oils and flavonoids, parsley is an excellent source of two vital nutrients that are also important for the prevention of many diseases: vitamin C and vitamin A (notably through its concentration of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene).”
Tropical {Vitamin C} Blast Green Monster Smoothie
This smoothie takes me to the tropics flavor-wise, but it’s good for you, too. The smoothie contains a few ingredients that are good sources of vitamin C to help fight off colds and the flu: pineapple, mango, bananas orange juice, spinach, and parsley. Yes – parsley! Just a wee bit. I will warn you – parsley has a strong flavor. If you don’t really like it, you may be better off leaving it out. If you want to add some, err on the side of less-is-more. And if you’re a regular juicer, then, you’ll probably think lots of parsley is delicious. 
Total Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach (or sub 1/4 cup frozen spinach)
- 1 small sprig parsley (about 3 leaves) – see note above for suggestions, optional
- 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
- 5 small pieces of frozen mango, about 1/4-1/3 cup
- handful of frozen pineapple pieces, about 1/4-1/3 cup
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- soy milk (or milk of choice, but dairy may curdle with the acidic fruits), as needed to reach desired texture
- sweetener of choice, to taste, optional (but you probably won’t need it – the pineapple and bananas are very sweet naturally)
Directions:
- In order: place spinach, parsley (if using), banana, mango, pineapple, and orange juice in the blender.
- Cover and blend until ingredients are processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes (if you need, stop and add milk and blend again until smoothie starts blending and/or reaches desired texture). Taste test and if desired, blend in sweetener of choice to taste.
- Enjoy!
***
How’s everyone doing with Eat in Month? Things are going pretty well on my end, especially since hubby is really into the challenge this year. With my work hours being pretty insane right now, he’s really been helping out with cooking and cleaning. Bless him!
I’ve updated the Eat in Month Challenge post (click) with links to blogs for those who left comments on the challenge page saying they were participating. I added names (sans links) for those who are playing but do not have blogs/web sites. I noticed a couple other people playing who left comments on other posts here on TCL, so once I find them, I’ll get you added.
If you haven’t commented yet, but you’re playing and you want to see your name in the EIM Challenge participant list, just leave me a comment, and I’ll add it! 
Ooh, and fun news on the food front…I saw a neat feature in Real Simple where they did 5 take-out style meals you can easily re-create at home, and I’m working on some of my own so help you EIM-ers curb your take-out cravings.
What are your favorite things to order for take-out?
{ 4 comments }
So, we picked up a couple things instead.
