The Best Green Smoothie (the one my kids drink before I get any!(=)

I've posted a few green smoothie recipes on here, and I've given this one out to people on facebook or in person in the past, but I felt like it needed to be in here in its own post because it is so awesome.

I've found the secret to a yummy green smoothie. If you don't mind the taste of spinach (like me),  you can just throw whatever you have together and it will be fine. But to get your kids to drink it without loading it up with sugar you have to mask that flavor, and the best way is with juicy flavorful fruits. Red grapes and oranges have become my secret weapon. At the same time, though, I made one yesterday and forgot the banana and tasted the spinach. So this combination, to me, is the best. It ends up making more than 32 oz of smoothie, which is enough for me to have two good-sized glasses and my kids still have as much as they want.

So here's the recipe:
1 1/2 c water
1 apple (doesn't really matter what kind)
1 orange (sometimes I do 1 c mandarin oranges instead)
1 (frozen) banana
1 1/2 c red grapes (I want to try it with green, but haven't yet)
2 c spinach

Fun with a Greek Theme

As you may have noticed, spinach is one of my favorite vegetables. I try to throw it in anywhere I can, much to the annoyance of my family members at times :) Lately we've just been having popcorn and green smoothies for lunch, but sometimes even that yumminess gets old. So I've been switching things up this week.

Pics to come for both of these - I've been super busy at work and haven't had much time for blogging, in case you haven't noticed. But I did manage to get a picture of the omelet so I can post at least that in the somewhat-near future :)

Let's start with today, because it was a major jackpot.

Spinach and Artichoke Greek Omelet
This is SOOO yummy! I'm eating it right now, and wow. It has the zip of the artichoke, the bite of the feta, and the fill-me-up effect that an omelet always gives me. Which works really well, because I started lunch super early today and can take my time finishing it. Without getting too in-depth about nutrition, let me just give a few plugs for this dish:
Spinach is one of the best veggies for you. Dark green, leafy veggies give most of the nutrients you're looking for in a day. Tons of iron, too.
Artichokes are kind of the same - plus they have tons of fiber! Moreso if you eat the leaves, which we're not doing in these dishes. Vitamins B, K, and C, plus folic acid! Prego ladies, eat up!
I love eggs as a protein source because they're pretty versatile, and go great with veggies and cheese :)
So anyway, here's what I did:
1. Chop stuff. I chopped olives, mushrooms, and spinach.
2. Cook stuff. Throw the above three in a pan, along with about a cup of canned artichoke hearts, and just heat everything through. Then remove from pan.
3. Omelet-ize them eggs. I did 3 eggs to account for the sheer amount of stuffing I ended up with.
4. Stuff your omelet with your first four ingredients, plus a good amount of feta cheese. What I do is cook one side of the eggs, then flip them, then add the toppings, then fold over half of the eggs, then put a lid on and steam it through to melt the cheese.
5. Enjoy!

Earlier this week I tried a Greek mini-pizza, and it was equally amazing and probably even easier than the omelet. Same ingredients, but swap out the eggs in place of a whole-wheat tortilla. This works out really well if you want to make both of these in the same week, because you'll use about half the artichokes, olives, and mushrooms for one, then you can use the rest for the other.

So here's what I did:
1. Chop the spinach. It just fits better when it's chopped.
2. Spread a tortilla with either ranch dressing, alfredo sauce, or cream cheese. I just use whatever is in the fridge, honestly.
3. Top with spinach, then artichoke hearts, mushrooms, olives, and feta cheese.
4. Broil in oven until stuff starts bubbling, the tortilla crisps up, and the cheese is kind of melting.
5. Enjoy!
Mine ended up with tons of toppings, so when I cut it up into pizza slices I ended up kind of folding them into scoops to hold everything.