How to Drink Your Salad (and love it!)

Today I will teach you how to drink your salad. I’m quite sure you will love this idea as much as I do!

See, here’s the thing:

Matt and I like to eat a big salad every day. Scratch that. Matt and I know we need to eat a big salad every day. It’s amazing for our overall health as leafy greens are so incredibly nourishing! But shucks if eating a big salad isn’t actually as much fun as we all wish that it was.

As our family has grown and my hands have become more full of little ones again, I’ve been known to frequently grab greens out of a container in the fridge and eat them on the fly – no dressing, no extras – simply because I rarely have time to build a salad in a bowl and then sit down to chomp it down. Does it takes good, these greens straight out of the fridge? Well, it doesn’t taste bad. But it’s not as fun as eating other food. Again, I just do it because I know my body needs it. Every single day.

Most of us have heard about throwing leafy greens in smoothies. I’ve done it off and on for years, but I never really bought into it as a great daily habit until last summer.

Our three littlest boys and I would go on super long walks every day (before our girls moved in). We’d come home and enjoy chilled smoothies to refresh us. I loaded them with frozen fruit and greens. The boys drank them without hesitation. Matt and I loved them. And finally it hit us: Why should we ever eat salad again?

Well, we did wonder: Would smoothies made with frozen fruit and greens be as wonderful during the cold winter months? Would we get burned out on green smoothies? Was this only a temporary wonderful idea?

Many months and hundreds of smoothies later, I’m happy to report that we are still so very happy with the fact that we can drink our salad every day! It goes down easy. It tastes like fruit. We can drink it on the fly, which is incredibly important during this very busy season in our lives full of both big kids and many little kids.

How to Drink your Salad (and love it!)

1. Stuff as many leafy greens into your blender as you dare. I put in way more greens than we would typically eat in a regular bowl of salad and our bodies are very happy about this. I also have and highly recommend a Blendtec blender as this will blend your greens into complete smoothness and oblivion.
2. Add your choice of frozen fruit. I buy big bags of mixed fruit for a fun variety. It includes berries, peaches, and pineapple. Super delicious!
3. Pour in milk to fill the blender half-full or whatever liquid amount is recommended for your blender so that your smoothie doesn’t explode to the ceiling of your kitchen. Whole milk yogurt is also an awesome “liquid” to include.
4. Add sweetener or protein powder if you like. Matt and I have found that the fruit alone makes the smoothie sweet enough, so I don’t add any maple syrup or stevia anymore. During the summer we added protein powder to make the smoothie more like a meal. But this winter we’ve left it out.
5. Put the lid on and blend until smooth. Drink your salad and love it.

And just like that, you have one or two days worth of salad to drink. Perhaps you’ve been doing this all along. Perhaps this is a new idea for you. Perhaps you knew about it but needed the reminder about what a great idea it is!

Here’s what my blender looks like before I get all the goodies mixed up. :)

Give this a try and let me know how you like it!