I have been on one of the most intense green smoothie kicks of my life over the past couple of weeks. Today I’ve got a new one for you that makes use of an ingredient for which I’ve struggled to find a use in the past…
Broccoli stalks!
Now, you may be thinking one (or more) of the following things:
- Gross! Broccoli in a smoothie?!
- What do you mean you’ve struggled to find a use for those? Just eat them, dummy!
- This is not new. I do this all the time. <—the thoughts of my very enlightened, smoothie guru readers!
But seriously, I eat broccoli ALL. THE. TIME. And this does usually include parts of the stalk. However, I just have a *thing* about the proportion of stalk to floret that I want to have in a dish (it can only be like, 30:70, max, but preferably closer to 20:80). This means that 99% of the time, I have some broccoli stalks left over.
They can be composted, of course. But really that is such a waste of money (since you pay for broccoli by weight), not to mention outstanding nutritional value (including folate, potassium, and Vitamin C)!
So I finally decided to take a flyer on using it in a smoothie, and lo and behold, it blends right in, adding bulk and tons of nutrients while imparting no detectable broccoli flavor. Win!
Tropical Ginger Green Smoothie with Broccoli Stalk
Yield: 1 very large smoothie
Vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 large frozen banana
1/3 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mango or pineapple chunks
1 broccoli stalk, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut in half (use about half this amount if you don’t adore ginger…I *adore* ginger)
2 big handfuls baby spinach (about 2 cups)
(optional) agave nectar to sweeten, if necessary
Directions
Add to blender in order shown, blend from low to high, and serve!
Try it, you’ll like it!
Have you ever tried broccoli stalks in a smoothie before? What other leftover veggies have you smoothie-fied?
A.Cook in the Making 