Minty Swiss chard smoothie

Minty Swiss chard smoothie

Swiss chard is part of the beet family of vegetables. In this smoothie, I have used what is commonly known as rhubarb Swiss chard; 'rhubarb' because of the betain-saturated red stalk. It certainly tastes nothing like rhubarb.

Make a complete small meal of this smoothie by adding a teaspoon of olive oil and ¼ cup of tofu for the protein portion. You can punch up the flavours even more by adding a peeled, ripe, green Kiwi fruit.

                                               Yield: 2 cups, approximately

Ingredients:

1 Swiss chard leaf

fresh mung bean sprouts, 1 - 2 cups

½ Granny Smith apple, washed, chunked

½ avocado, peeled

½ fresh lime, peeled

a handful of fresh mint leaves

¼ cup cold water

Clockwise: Swiss chard, mint, bean sprouts, lime,
avocado, and Granny Smith apple

Preparation:

1. Clean the fruits and vegetables.

2.  Place the bean sprouts and ¼ cup water into the blender. Puree the sprouts.

3. Cut away the central rib of the Swiss chard leaf, keeping the dark green leaf portions. Slice these into pieces about 2.5 cm. (1 in.) wide.  Place the  slices into the blender. Puree.

4. Cut the unpeeled apple half into chunks. Remove core and seeds. Add the apple chunks to the blender.

5. Cut ½ of the lime. Using a sharp paring knife, sever the pulp away from the skin. Discard the skin. Cut the pulp into chunks and add them to the blender. 

6. Add the flesh of ½ avocado and a handful of fresh mint leaves. Blend on 'High' until the ingredients are pureed.

Decant into two glasses.