In the battle against the winter blues, this smoothie is a bright ray of sunshine. This recipe is inspired by my friend, Poppy, who got me on a ginger and lemon kick. During these dark, wintry days, the lively combination of those two zippy ingredients goes a long way to boost my spirit. Being sweet, it actually seems indulgent to drink. Given the choice, I would easily pick this over a frappuccino, any day. Green smoothies may be an acquired taste, but I find this to be truly delicious.

Sweet & Spicy Ginger Green Smoothie

• Inspired by Poppy!
• Yield: 5-6 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple juice
• 3 handfuls of mixed baby greens or greens of your choice
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 bananas
• ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt
• 3-4″ knob of ginger, peeled
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1½-2 cups frozen pineapple or peaches (really, any frozen fruit will taste good, but those fruits which aren’t yellow will make your smoothie brown, rather than a pretty green!)

Method

1. Pour the apple juice and lemon juice in the blender and add the greens. Blend.
2. Add in the ginger, bananas, yogurt, and honey. Blend.
3. Add the frozen fruit. Blend well. It may take several minutes to fully purée all ingredients and you don’t want to come across a piece of lettuce while you’re sipping!