Alright, let’s talk about this berry broccoli smoothie because I’m sure you’re thinking: “What an odd combination!” Let me tell you how I even discovered this delicious concoction in the first place. I’ll be honest: I’m not usually a big fan of smoothies. The blender I used to have was terrible and I hated using that piece of junk. I prefer to sit down and eat my meals, rather than drink them. And often, smoothies are carbohydrate-based and don’t have a nice balance of protein and healthy fats. However, a few things happening over the past month made me reconsider:

• Working early schedules at my corporate wellness consulting job. I was leaving my house at 5 am. A smoothie would have been quick (provided I made it the night before) and easy to tolerate in the early hours.
• A teething toddler who’s selective about what he eats but more likely to try a drink.
• A new blender! I’ve been drooling over a Vitamix, but decided that $300 is not in our budget right now. The Ninja Blender had great reviews and much affordable, and that’s what I went with.

My friend who leads a girl scout group invited me to give a nutrition talk to the girls. They’ve been learning about nutrition and food all month long. These girls are smart and nutrition savvy! Coincidentally, the Kids Eat Right Initiative was giving away mini-grants for dietitians to teach two community classes about breakfast. I was one of 30 lucky winners. Perfect timing!

Making and trying food is always the most fun part of a nutrition class. I experimented with this recipe few times until I finally got a winner. It has broccoli. Yep, a berry broccoli smoothie! And more people liked it than not: both of my boys (they devoured it!), my husband, my parents-in-law, and half of the girls in the class. Read the suggestions below if you can’t imagine this berry broccoli smoothie would work.

Ingredients:

Servings: 6, 8-oz cups

• 1 c frozen unsweetened blueberries
• 2 c frozen unsweetened strawberries
• 1 c frozen broccoli
• 2  c red grape juice
• 1 c  non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c natural almond (or peanut) butter
• 1/2 c water

Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth. If you want a thinner smoothie, add more water.

Nutrition information per serving

If you want to boost the protein of this berry broccoli smoothie, add more yogurt or almond butter. If you want this to be your entire meal, drink 1.5-2 servings.

Suggestions:

• Give it a chance. My mother-in-law tried it and said the broccoli taste is strong in the first sip but you get used to it and stop noticing the more you drink.
• You can always start with half the amount of the broccoli. For me, I can add another cup of broccoli and still enjoy it. Start where YOU are.
• I tried this recipe with steamed broccoli when I did it for the girl scouts. The smell was too strong and that’s why I think frozen is better.
• The taste of the almond butter is clear. If you like it, great. If you don’t, cut the amount in half (2 tbsp). You will lost some of the protein though.