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.
[print_this]
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!
[/print_this]
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!
Looks yummy! I need to get out and get some pears!
This is so yummy! I used only banana because that’s what I had on hand and opted out for protein because mine is Vanilla flavoured and thought it might be too overpowering. Instead I added hemp seeds. Thanks!
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 :)