Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Broccoli Challenge: Broccoli Berry Smoothie

Last week, I issued myself a Broccoli Challenge. I committed to cooking with broccoli in new ways. Simply cooking broccoli is not enough for me. I cook and eat broccoli all the time. I grew up eating it often and that good habit hasn’t changed. Luckily, my husband likes broccoli just as much and does not tire of it showing up on the menu several times a week. But, as I admitted, I’ve been in a broccoli rut – cooking it the same way repeatedly.

For this first week of the Broccoli Challenge, I decided to do something VERY different. I’m not trying to come up with the most amazing broccoli dish ever – I don’t want to limit my creative spirit in this way. So, when I told my husband my idea, his response was simply “No”. No elaboration. But I knew what he was thinking. This was a risky idea, likely to be a food fail. Nevertheless, I decided to proceed with my idea … this is, after all, the point of taking on a challenge, right? So, here it is…

Broccoli Berry Smoothie

1 broccoli crown, steamed
6 oz package raspberries
1 peach
1 banana
1 c. fat-free vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. pomegranate juice
2 cups ice

Cut and steam cook broccoli florets. Remove from heat and chill in refrigerator (this step can be done ahead of time). Cut peach and banana into medium sized pieces. In a blender, thoroughly blend all ingredients. Pour into glasses and serve cold. Serves 4.
I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised with my first broccoli challenge pursuit. And moms take note because I discovered a sneaky way to ‘hide’ a vegetable in the smoothie. Hopefully, this can be useful for those with veggie resistant kids. I can also share that Dan enjoyed a {small} glass himself.

Also, since there are only 2 of us in our house, we had smoothie leftovers. I mixed up the leftover drink the next day and it was even better – fruitier and no detection of broccoli. Not bad for my first broccoli-out-of-the-box pursuit.

Join the Broccoli Challenge! Find info and instructions here.

And stop by Healthy Eating Starts at Home for a healthy, homemade Chinese Beef and Broccoli recipe.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    You sound like my mom.She is telling me now about hiding veggies game.Sometimes we would know she did sometimes we didn.t.With this one would be hard to tell;) Great idea:)

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  2. BekahSeptember 22, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Really? No broccoli taste? Is there anything you would recommend subbing for the pom juice? It's not something we usually buy, and a little expensive when you just need a little.

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  3. KellySeptember 22, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Bekah, there is a slight broccoli taste at first which I didn't mind since I like broccoli. But the next day, there was none. It seemed to disappear. Go figure. And yes, good point about pom juice being expensive. How about trying OJ? The sweetness from apple juice would also work nicely. Let me know how it turns out if you blend up your own. :)

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  4. MommyLisaSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    Huh. I like broccoli too - quite a bit actually. Sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OhMarieOHSeptember 28, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    Kelly this was awesome!! It is something very familiar in our household. It's a healthy treat after school. We normally stop by Jamba Juice for their Fruit and veggie drink. I usually make all-fruit smoothie at home. But since this was an instant hit for my kids, it'd be one of the regulars as well. I just made a few modifications. Instead of yogurt, I made use of vanilla ice cream for the kids since I have 2 tiny ones here. I opted out for pom juice since I don't have it stocked. But it tasted as heavenly. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dude for FoodOctober 4, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    This looks great, delicious and healthy! Will try this soon!

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