I had some kale that I needed to use up, and smoothies are always great ways to use extra fruit and greens that you’re not sure what else to do with. 🙂 So I began searching for kale smoothie recipes and found this one at Green Plate Rule. The site mentions that kale has 10 times the vitamin C, 4 times the vitamin A, almost 2 times the vitamin K, and more calcium and vitamin B6 than spinach does. Wow-I had no idea kale was so super-nutritious!

I did make a few small changes and I really liked the way this turned out! Usually I add honey to sweeten up my smoothies, but the 5 different kinds of fruit in this, especially the pineapple, make the smoothie sweet enough on it’s own. When you put all the ingredients in the blender, you might think that 1/4 cup orange juice is not enough liquid like I thought at first…

…but it blends up into a really nice, thick smoothie–the perfect consistency!

ORANGE PEAR KALE GREEN SMOOTHIE by NancyCreative, adapted from Green Plate Rule

Makes about 24 ounces, or 3 (8-ounce) servings

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup green grapes
• 1 pear, cut into slices or chunks
• 1 orange, peeled
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 cup kale, well packed

Add all ingredients into a high-powered blender and blend until smooth, at least 1 minute. Pour into glasses and serve.

I’m starting to use kale a little more since it’s so healthy. I like it in smoothies and soups. I think it’s a little bitter for salads so I don’t use it that way much. What different ways have you tried using kale?

Linked to Inspire Me Monday.