The green drink

Aaah, it looks like our short, mild winter is over.  I thought I’d never get through those two months of 70 degree weather.  Some nights were so almost cold we actually had to close the windows.  At one point, I was going through our storage, and I discovered a stash of dark-hued, itchy garments.  They were none other than our winter clothes, which I forgot we owned.  No sooner had I gotten them unpacked, when the weather turned on us, and now they are vying for valuable space in our closets with their light-hued, cottony counterparts.

Oh well, those days of suffering are over.  And now, we’re being sublimely rewarded for our patience.  Doesn’t it just feel like, everywhere you look, there is some small celebration of spring?

A reddish rosebush, not yet in bloom, laden with jewelly dew drops…

Pinks and purples, gathered by a young maiden fair…

Yes, greenery and new life is everywhere.

I’ve been celebrating spring with my favorite green smoothie.  The recipe and inspiration comes from a dear friend in Rabat.  It’s the best thing that’s happened to me, foodwise, in a long time.  Taking the time to make this drink feels like the pinnacle of self-pampering.  Would you like to pamper yourself with an amazingly healthy and invigorating green smoothie?

Then you will need:

-Fresh squeezed orange juice (that’s the most labor intensive part)

-A banana, or two

-Something green: spinach, celery, and parsley all work.  Lots of it.  (Washing the green stuff is the second most labor intensive part of this process, but it’s so worth it).

Throw it all in the blender.  You will figure out how much of each ingredient you want.  It should be smooth and frothy.  And although it won’t taste “sweet” in the classic sense, it will taste so fresh, zingy and energizing, that you too will soon be a green smoothie addict.  Why, you can almost feel the antioxidants binding with those bad guy free radicals, efficiently whisking them away.

So, here it is.  It’s so green it looks like a radioactive potion concocted by some evil scientist.    But the only transformative effects this drink will be positive, I assure you.  This drink will give you a little spring stamina, new energy and glowing skin.  Not to mention a little shove in the direction of weight loss, if that is the direction you are needing to go in (are you too a little, um, un-slim now, post-winter?).  Blend, drink and be healthy!