Guest Post - Geanna's Perfect Summer Green Smoothie!

I'm a big fan of using fresh, local, and seasonal veggies and fruits in my diet. Thus, I'm often looking for new and creative ways to try out the items I see at my local farmers' market.

Eating seasonally and locally is one of the easiest ways to eat a gluten-free and vegan diet. Not only is it great for the local economy and community, it's also good for your health and often cheaper, too.  

Plus, nothing beats something that was picked or harvested ripe this morning and sold to you this afternoon.

These pictures show one of my favorite summertime creations: the Perfect Green Smoothie. It's vegan, gluten-free, raw, soy-free, and just plain old delicious.

Kale is a very important step in the process...otherwise it can't be called a green smoothie!

I recently discovered how adding [melted] cocoa butter and unsweetened chocolate can really make the smoothie pop.

And, of course, serving it in a cute container is key. 

Perfect Green Smoothie
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 apple, cubed
~10 fresh strawberries, or less if they are really big (de-stemmed)
1/2 orange, cut up
1/2 banana, cut into one-inch slices (I used one I had frozen, but fresh will work as well)
 4 leaves of kale, de-stemmed and ripped in thirds
1 T. cocoa butter with 1 oz. unsweetened cocoa, melted together in a double broiler

Prepare:

1. Add the apple, strawberries, orange and banana to a food processor and process until smooth. 
2. Add the kale, a few pieces at a time, and process until mixed. 
3. Finally, add in the cocoa and mix some more. Pour into a cute container and enjoy immediately.

Optional add-ins: fresh blueberries, almond milk, cashew cream, and spinach.