The Green Monster

Ah, the Green Monster - no I'm not talking about jealousy, I'm talking about one of my 'go to' ways to cram in extra servings of fruit and vegetables.  I certainly am not the creator of the Green Monster (I think that title goes to Angela at Oh She Glows), but I do enjoy them and they're totally customizable to your individual preferences.  My favorite Green Monster ingredients are: milk, fresh baby spinach, a banana, and frozen tropical fruit.  So without further ado, I present the Classic Rabbits & Runs Green Monster.

Step One: Add Milk and Spinach to the blender.

Spinach & Milk

Step Two: Blend until it looks like green milkotherwise you'll end up with random spinach chunks in your drink. (Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender and then blend some more.)

Mmm...green milk

Step 3: Add banana and - you guessed it - blend some more.  I didn't have any fresh bananas on hand, so I resorted to using a frozen one that was lurking in my freezer.  Using a frozen banana (and frozen fruit in general) leads to a more soft-serve like texture, which I prefer.

Step Four: Add frozen fruit (I used Dole's Wildly Nutritious Tropical Fruit) and blend until incorporated.  I totally skipped photographing this step since my dinner would have been burnt if I hadn't turned my attention in its direction instead!

Step Five: Pour into cup and enjoy!

As I mentioned earlier, I prefer my Green Monsters to be the texture of slightly melty soft serve, so I used frozen fruit and often consume them with a spoon.  The frozen version is also more convenient in summer since I often stop home at lunch time, whip one up, and pour/scrape it into a travel cup for consumption on the way back to work.  It seems to hold up better in the summer heat and I find it more refreshing.

Mission: Locate Spoon and Consume

A few bits of advice:

• If you doubt your blender's ability to make a margarita crush ice effectively, you may want to invest in a slightly more bad ass blender before trying this.  I have a Ninja Master Prep from Target and it has no problems pulverizing frozen fruit.
• Beware using strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or any other red/dark colored fruit in your Green Monster as you will wind up with a Brown Monster.  It still tastes fine, but it definitely leaves something to be desired in the aesthetics department.
• Experimentation is key.  As you play with different ingredients, you'll learn what works for you and you'll probably end up throwing out a few experiments gone wrong!

Have you tried a Green Monster?  If so, what's your favorite combination?