Every year there’s one crop that stands out better than all the others in the garden. This year, I’ve been blessed with beets! What a wonderful veggie. Most people grow them for the wonderful bulb, but I put them in specifically for the greens! I like the fact that the greens are not really bitter and the pests don’t like them like lettuce of spinach. They are also pretty hardy. You can take off for a week and know that your plants will still be alive when you get back. They may have wilted a bit, but a gentle watering brings them right back to life.
Another great part about beets is that you can pinch off leaves while the plants growing and you don’t have to worry about losing the ‘bulb’ crop. As long as you get sunlight hours, the plant will keep pumping captured sunlight into the bulb so you can enjoy the juice (mixed with carrots and celery) later in the year.
But for now, I’m getting smoothie after smoothie with nutrient rich leaves that look like this:
Recipe:
- 3 peaches
- Watermelon (about 1 inch slice ½ way through)
- 5 to 6 little dates
- Probiotic (optional)
You’ll have to notice that I didn’t add any water or juice to this smoothie. The watermelon is going to provide all we need.
Just make sure you place the watermelon on the bottom for it’s not until that gets ground up that anything else starts. I love just being able to through watermelon in as the base without having to juice it before hand. Normally, I’ll juice up a watermelon and get 4 quarts that last a few days. This way, I get just what I want when I want it. It’s like juice to order.
The beet greens always give off a redish color, thus the end result is nearly always brown. If you look closely at this one, you’ll see that it’s pretty creamy. The smoothie is standing up just a little at the top of the jar. I love these drinks thick. Most people don’t. To make it runnier, just add ½ cup water or a bit more watermelon (like a full ½ inch slice).
