{something hidden three ways} eating more spinach and greens

Spinach, as Popeye and the dear Olive Oil remind us, is very good for you. But spinach is also very difficult for me to eat. It's not that I really mind spinach. I'm just not very good at keeping up with eating my veggies. But I need to eat more veggies. We need to eat more veggies.

So I bought two bags of fresh spinach and decided to secretly eat it. Shhh.

Spinach Hiding in My Guacamole.

I realized that I could double, maybe even triple, the amount of guacamole I could eat by adding fresh spinach right to it. I simply mixed my avocados with lemon juice, salt, and a dash of cumin {and wished for some fresh cilantro}. Then I cut my spinach in thin strips with my kitchen scissors. It mixed right it, and I couldn't even tell it was hiding in there. I ate this batch of guacamole with some corn tortillas lightly "fried" in olive oil.

Spinach Hiding in My Fruit Smoothies {Flax is hiding in here, too}

I finally got on the green smoothie wagon after reading some potentially drinkable recipes. The color can be off putting, but I add the bulk of my smoothie to a non-transparent insulated mug. I have to say that you can sort of taste the spinach, but not really.

The key to a good green smoothie is frozen fruit and ice cubes. I add my spinach to the blender first. Then I pile in all sorts of fruit combinations, ice, flax, and water. I blend on the low speed.

Combination One: a handful of spinach, a cup of frozen bananas {just slice them and freeze them yourself}, a cup of frozen pineapple, a tablespoon of flax, eight ice cubes, and about one cup of water. *this recipe, adapted only slightly from Emma is what got me started. Thanks, Emma.
Combination Two: a handful of spinach, half a cup of frozen bananas, half a cup of frozen pineapple, a cup of frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of flax, eight ice cubes, and about one cup of water.
Combination Three: a handful of spinach, a cup of frozen bananas, a cup of frozen mango, a half cup of frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of flax, eight ice cubes, and about one cup of water.
Combination Four: a handful of spinach, a half cup of frozen bananas, a cup of frozen raspberries, a half cup of frozen blueberries, a half cup of frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of flax, eight ice cubes, about a cup of water.
Combination Five: a handful of spinach, a half cup of frozen bananas, a half cup of frozen mango, a half cup of frozen raspberries, a cup of frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of flax, eight ice cubes, about a cup of water.

I found that the key is to add the frozen bananas to the smoothies for the right consistency. You can try them without bananas, but I prefer them with bananas. And I really don't like eating an unfrozen ripe banana. So you could say I'm hiding bananas and spinach in these fruit smoothies.

If you have any great green smoothie recipes, I'd love to hear about them in the comments. I also know that my recipes make enough smoothie for two, and when I started making them, I suppose I had the excuse of eating for two. But with all that aside, it's all really healthy stuff to be eating for two. And if I consider the role that Weight Watchers used to play in my life pre-baby, it's all zero-point food with the exception of the flax. And here is a source I need to read through even more. It appears I should be hiding greens other than spinach to get the full benefits.

Spinach Hiding in My Pizza Ronza Rolls

I know that the Pizza Ronza Roll isn't really that healthy of an option. But all things in moderation, right? I layered my dough with pesto, spinach, mushrooms, pepperoni, and cheese. To go healthier, I could skip the pepperonis {at least on my side of the Ronza} and lighten up the amount of cheese. But I tell you--no one even noticed the real presence of the spinach on this one. I think the key is to add the spinach right on top of the pesto, under all of the other toppings.

I'm sure that as I continue this adventure, I will find more ways and places to hide my spinach. But if you have any great ideas, please let us know! And I promise to share more secret spinach ideas as I find them. I also have some good tips for hiding carrots that I can hopefully pass along, too. And if any of you are more interested, check out this cookbook; I hear it's great. I might check it out...

xo
katie