Parsley Smoothies
I’m not going all hardcore California health club wheatgrass shooters on you, but I’ve just discovered that I can deliver large handfuls of leafy greens – in the form of fresh parsley – into the boys (and myself), completely undetected. And I wanted to share the happy news.
In fact, they did bust me stuffing about half a bunch of curly parsley – stems and all – into their smoothie, and said little more than “oh wow! check it out!” I didn’t really intend to be sneaky about it – I don’t hide all their veggies – but I’d likely turn my nose up a bit if I caught someone stuffing a bunch of leaves into my smoothie. And you know how easily 5 and 8 year old boys can be grossed out. After that, there’s no turning back.
Of course fresh parsley, being dark and green and from the ground, is incredibly good for you. Among it’s other virtues it’s one of the foods highest in iron, which it turns out is good for gout and restless leg syndrome (known on Seinfeld as jimmy legs). Mike is the lucky host of both.
Do you think there are any other food blogs with open discussions about lice infestations and gout? And now jimmy legs? But wait, it’s relevant.
So the other day, in an attempt to ward off gout/jimmy legs, I jammed an enormous handful of curly parsley into the blender, poured in some orange juice and a few spoonfuls of plain yogurt, not to full-on smoothify it, but to make it a bit creamy and more palatable. I was just trying to get a largish quantity of parsley into Mike without him having to choke it down.
I handed him a glass. He said, “this tastes like something you’d drink in California.”
It wasn’t awful. I drank some, just to get the shot of nutrients (I like getting vitamins from my food, if at all possible), and it tasted fresh and green and slightly sweet. I think I liked it. The second time ’round I added some to the boys’ smoothie, which I generally make with a banana, plain yogurt, any miscellaneous squishy fruit that needs using up, and a good shake of frozen berries – the strawberry-blueberry-blackberry blend. Its purpleness masked any green bits, and it didn’t taste any different, and so parsley now sits in a glass of water in the fridge and is a key player in the production of all smoothies. Drinkable salad.
February 27 2011 | beverages | 24 Comments »
