Yields:  about 2 cups              Prep Time:  10 minutes       Total Time:  10 minutes

This healthy smoothie is chocolatey goodness with protein rich peanut butter and nutritionally dense flax seeds and antioxidant rich kale.  Vegan, gluten free and made without refined sugars, this is a delicious drink for kids and their grown ups!

Ingredients

1 1/2 frozen bananas  (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup kale, washed and stems removed

1/2 cup preferred milk (almond, coconut, etc.)

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons smooth, natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons high quality cocoa

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds or Super Seed mix (optional)

Directions

1. Slice or chop bananas and freeze in a freezer proof container.  Let freeze a few hours or until completely frozen.

2. Place frozen bananas, kale, peanut butter, milk, water, cocoa, maple syrup and ground seeds in a high speed blender.

3. Blend until smooth.  Serve immediately or freeze into popsicle molds for later.

We’ve been moving around a lot this summer, and when I’m not in my own kitchen with all of my kitchen “stuff”, it’s hard to get and keep a routine of healthy eating.  Although, I did take my high speed blender with me as we move from place to place.  Hey, some people knit and travel with their knitting.  My hobby just requires I travel with a Vitamix!

A couple of days we had to start the day early, and needed a relatively fast and nutrient dense breakfast.  This is definitely one that works really well.  The kale is pretty much undetectable.  The peanut butter is only slightly noticeable, but blends nicely with the cocoa, maple syrup and bananas, in which no taste is overpowering.

I have made this with both dairy milk and a dairy free milk.  Both work well.  We’ve got a kiddo that is somewhat sensitive to dairy, so sometimes I switch off or use a completely different alternative.

I wouldn’t let this smoothie hang out in the fridge for a while.  The seeds expand and the texture just flops.  However, we placed these in popsicle molds one morning and had them for an early afternoon snack.

These are really filling, so a little goes a long way.  I can appreciate that this smoothie is a good source of protein and iron for kids without any powders, soy or refined sugars.

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