I’m not going to lie, I’m about 1 kale leaf away from turning into a Green Monster.
We have a serious overgrowth issue going on in the garden.
Meet MONSTER kale…just in time for Halloween…
Flashback to May 2011:
Madness.
The peppers continue to grow even despite this cool and rainy weather!
As well as the cucumbers and onions.
Eric likes to surprise me by picking colossal garbage bags full of kale and leaving them on the kitchen counter. “Look what I picked for you!!!”
I don’t have the heart to tell him I’m about to hurl at the sight of kale right now. All I could think about was that I had to eat all of it.
“This will be great for freezing, thank you!”
I quickly stuff the bag of kale into the freezer, heaving my body weight against the door so it would shut.
The door pops open, exploding with kale. This could be an issue.
While the kale waits for me to love it again, I’ve been experimenting with some other greens in my smoothies. Greens I’m not sick of at the moment.
Like Parsley.
Much like my Cherry Basil smoothie, adding fresh parsley into my smoothie was also a fun twist! Fresh herbs are said to be detoxifying & cleansing for the body and are brimming with antioxidants, making them a great addition to any smoothie.
Oh She Glows
Herbal Green Monster
This fresh tasting Green Monster packs in detoxifying lemon juice, wheatgrass powder, and parsley while lightly sweetened with fruit. Add some protein powder and/or nut butter to make a meal out of it. If you aren’t a parsley fan, I suggest trying my Cherry Basil smoothie which is also good. You can also start by using a smaller amount of herbs and then use spinach or kale to top it up.
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
- 1 cup packed fresh parsley, big stems removed
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (or ground flax)
- 1 very ripe pear (or use a banana)
- 1/2 frozen banana (optional)
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice (add leftover juice to water or tea)
- 1 tsp wheatgrass powder (optional)
- 1 serving Protein powder and/or nut butter (optional)
- 2-3 ice cubes (it’s best very cold)
1. Add all ingredients (starting with the almond milk) into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve and enjoy!
Going, going, going….gone.
Even though it’s Fall outside, nothing beats starting the day with greens.
Just have a hot tea on hand…
I’ve been drinking herbal tea this week after finding out that the tannins in caffeinated tea could be irritating my stomach lining. I cut down my caffeinated tea to just 1 or 2 cups a day now.
After two days of withdrawal headaches, I’m now feeling really good!
Thanks for the great discussion going on in the My Journey To Naturopathy post. Very interesting to read about your experiences!
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Looks yummy! I need to get out and get some pears!
I’ve never tried parsley in my GMs, but I’m no stranger to putting a hefty amount of kale in! :) Your garden looks like it’s still going very strong! I hope your tummy is feeling better soon. I’ve found that drinking herbal teas definitely helps to keep headaches away, and now that I think about it, they seem to help digestion too moreso than caffeinated ones do. Happy Friday Ange!
I have never thought to put herbs like parsley in a green monster! Sounds good though!
Haha, that is a lot of Kale! At least your first year of gardening was officially a success! :)
I love adding parsley to my green juices, but I’ve never tried in my smoothies! Sounds like it would be refreshing!
I’m so jealous of your gardening success! I just had some cucumbers die on me… but my bell peppers seem to be surviving, at least. They must be troopers. ;)
My husband and I have both found black tea to be irritating to our stomaches. I am addicted to decaf green right now (if you can be addicted to decaf). We only grew tomatoes this summer in our yard. I would like to try more veggies next summer. In the meantime, I have a Canadian winter to get through. Oh, I know it’s not time yet, but I can’t help thinking about it!
I don’t know why I didn’t think to have decaf green tea…that would be a nice addition.
It’s funny because my stomach has been SO good the past couple days. I wonder if it’s related.
Does decaf green tea still have the tannins? Also the placebo effect is very powerful, particularly with IBS and other non-inflammatory GI issues.
That’s a good point. The green tea may still have tannins. I found varying answers on the internet. I guess you could experiment. I find the decaf green doesn’t bother me like the black. Stomach problems are tricky aren’t they…they can come from so many different things.
I’m starting to get a whole lotta adventurous with my food now after reading up on additive and preservatives in every day food. I tend to be unimaginative when it comes to food and get bored of eating the same things all the time so I’d be hating kale right now if I was you! Going to give this a try, just looking at it makes me feel healthy so I can’t wait to see what it does to me when I eat it!
ooooh, what i would give to have kale growing like that in my garden this year… especially since for vegan mofo i’ll be doing a month of kale and/or cupcake recipes! wanna ship a garbage bag of it up to northern ontario? ;)
I’ve never had herbs in a smoothie, but parsley sounds so refreshing.
All of your kale is gorgeous!!! I’m a little jealous. Ok, a lot! :D But I’d be overwhelmed and bored, too. I think I would probably cook a BIG pot of kale, beans, garlic, onions, EVOO, etc., and freeze it. Yum!
That sounds like a great idea!
Count your blessings — I wish my kale was growing like that! Instead, they’re just limply falling over right now. Any suggestions for growing kale? Obviously Canada weather is much different than Texas weather, so maybe I’ll just have to wait until it’s cooler. :)
I really don’t know how it grew so much. Our weather has been all over the map this summer/fall. I think it was luck! I’ve heard from people who didn’t have success with their kale. Maybe it was the mushroom compost I put on it…
I planted a fall crop of kale a few weeks ago and hope to have a lot of it so I can try this! If not there is always the store!
I have been drinking decaf green tea for years and love it, hot or iced. I only drink herbal teas, as caffeine bothers my stomach a lot.
Good luck with your journey to discover your issues!
I’m trying the decaf green tea today…so far so good. First day without a headache too.
I’ve been loving green smoothies lately! I think it’s time for a pumpkin one. Kale scares me a little, mostly because I’ve burned a couple batches of kale chips. I use spinach in my smoothies instead. I’ve totally decaffeinated my life, and it feels great!
The parsley didn’t make it taste like chicken soup and arse?
I’m so jealous your leaves are changing!! We don’t have a SPECK of color around here yet!!
hey – I wish my garden of kale grew that well this year – mine ended up looking like your original picture! Try again next year. Green beans were my gardening friend this year!
My kids looooooooove kale chips – and it takes a lot of kale to make! i wish i had some right now.
Very interesting about he caffeine possibly irritating your stomach. I’m hoping you get to the bottom of the symptoms!!
I thought it was interesting too…and something so easy that I never would have thought of.
I have so much fresh parsley from my CSA; I might have to try this one. I never would have thought to put it in a smoothie!
soup? http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Lentil_kale_sausage-soup (I know you can figure out a fabulous substitute for the sausage!)
Kale chips? I can’t find where I read it the other day, either Chatelaine or Cdn Living, but you brush kale with olive oil and maybe sea salt and bake it in the office …
that sounds yummy! Sometimes I put crumbled veg burgers into soup.
And by office, I clearly meant oven! oops!
Haha I wish I had that Kale problem :)
Wow! You have such a green thumb! I’m so jealous of your garden :)
Parsley is so good for you! I never thought of drinking it before :)
Maybe kale chips? At the very least it will be a smaller pile of greens to throw away. haha :)
haha yea I love how much they shrink down!
You know, I was thinking about green monsters the other day and told myself I need to include them in my every day diet again. Thanks for the reminder!
Im so jealous of your kale ive been searching everywhere for kale plants/seeds since may and still cant find them!
Did you check online? I was thinking about buying online when I was initially looking.
I would gladly take some of that kale off your hands! ;)
It’s wonderful that you’re feeling better, Angela. Hope it stays that way! Happy Friday! :)
I was given several XL sized garbage bags of kale and was totally overwhelmed. Ate it till I was sick of it. As I was seeing green, I started to wonder: Could you juice the kale, and freeze it in ice cube trays so the cubes were ready for smoothies? Has anyone tried this? I would, but I just can’t quite come to touching another kale plant for a little while longer : )
Cool idea :)
Congratulations on your garden! And I have such green monster envy right now :P
I cannot believe this day has come! I rely on your blog so much for delicious recipes, and the day is here that I can recommend one to you! So here it is: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wilted-Kale-and-Roasted-Potato-Winter-Salad-350884
It’s the wilted kale and roasted potato winter salad from epicurious. It. Is. Amazing. It’s easy to make, easy to veganize (sub some non-dairy cheese for the parm, or just leave it out altogether!), and it’s one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Seriously. Make this with extra kale (I always add tons more than the recipe calls for!), double it (thank me later), and eat it cold leftover. So good. Enjoy all of that kale!
wow that sounds right up my alley! Thank you :) How did you know I have potatoes to use up too?
Never would of thought to put parsley in a green monster! I’m thinking of making a thai green monster with cilantro, ginger, coconut and maybe cashew butter :) Hope you’re doing better!
i love this green monster variation. as if they weren’t healthy enough, you go and add wheatgrass to it! i love it :)
I just have to beat the cold outside with a cold beverage like this! What a great variation–thanks girl :)
I had the most delicious soup yesterday for lunch that included giant white bean, tomato, carrot, and lots of kale. I guess the restaurants are getting into the seasonal mode with fall coming on. . .
I am so envious of your red peppers! I definitely need to grow those in my garden next year. I have a ton of kale in my refrigerator right now and I am looking for a new recipe! I think I AM a green monster now, from all the smoothies I’ve been drinking.
Parsley isn’t my favorite thing…. But I’d totally sub basil on here! Your garden is growing like ca-razy! That’s awesome.
Seems like just yesterday you planted da wee bebe kale! :-)
The Healthy Librarian blog had a recipe with kale the other day that I am dying to try. In fact, depending on my daughter’s sport schedule on Sunday I may make it. It was oat cakes with tomato kale gravy. Sounds weird but looks awesome! My boss made it and really enjoyed it. Here’s the link. http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2011/09/oat-cakes.html
I need one of these NOW! I think this sounds and looks just soooooo refreshing! I like the ingredients just as they are too. :)
That FALL pic melts me! Thank you, I do not see that so much out here in LA. :)
Ok now I’m craving a GM. :)
wowww that’s so much kale! LOL you should have a kale giveaway!! :D And share the love. So great you’re doing better! Have a blessed day seniorita.
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