It’s one of the wonderful oddities of exercise that you often feel less hungry afterwards. That’s a great time to take advantage of a healthy post-workout smoothie like this one. Yes, it’s green, thanks to the kale. But it’s also sweet because of the pineapple and mango.

By now, nearly everyone has heard of the health benefits of kale. It’s low in calories and high in calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K. It’s also a good source of minerals, including copper and potassium. To be honest, though, I find kale a bit hard to eat in salads. The texture can be tough unless you give it time to soften. But kale works like a charm in smoothies.

I’m a big believer in the health benefits of whole food smoothies. I honestly can’t think of an easier way to get all of the fruits and vegetables into my diet on a daily basis. So while I do primarily drink green smoothies for the health benefits, that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the taste. I’ve tried dozens of recipes and I like some more than others. This is one of my favorites. Try it and judge for yourself!

Ingredients:
1 banana
Few chunks of pineapple (fresh or frozen)
Few chunks of mango (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup of coconut or almond milk
1 handful of kale
1 TBSP of ground flax seed
Crushed ice and additional water, if needed

Directions
Place all of the ingredients into a high speed blender, adding your liquid first and frozen items last. Mix until you reach the consistency that you like. You may need to add more water.

I’ve mentioned this in earlier blogs, but it probably bears repeating. You really do need a high speed blender to make green smoothies. It has to be powerful enough to pulverize the fruits and vegetables. Otherwise, you’ll have unappetizing bits of green leaves in your smoothie, creating a not-so-appealing texture.

I gulped hard about a year ago and purchased a Vitamix. I’ve never regretted that purchase; I use it almost every day. There are other brands out there as well, so you may want to do some research before you plunk down serious change on a high-speed blender.

If you do try this recipe, drop me a line and let me know what you think.