Green Smoothie for dinner

As of late I've been craving anything with greek yogurt and fruit, and after seeing this recipe on a food blog I follow, I decided to use it as an inspiration and make one myself. (Also, side note, this is the first blog post I've written using photos from my new fancy camera. I'm still trying to figure it out, but its a MAJOR improvement to my ancient Samsung S3 or old point and shoot photos!)

Tonight I wasn't terribly hungry and wanted something light, so I made this for dinner:

Recipe:

4-5 leaves of Organic Kale
1/4 of a granny smith apple (peeled, cut up)
1/4 C of coconut flakes (or less -  I just eyeballed it)
1/2 scoop of protein powder  (I use Jay Robb's All Natural Egg White - unflavored)
3/4 C of skim milk
4 large Tbsp of unflavored greek yogurt (for added protein)
6-7 ice cubes
dash of cinnamon
honey
1 banana

Ingredients in the blender, Downton Abbey on the TV in the living room...

All smooth. (Yes, those are Christmas lights next door, and yes we're still halfway decorated... #cantletgooftheholidays)

I started with the coconut, ice, and protein powder in the bottom of the blender followed by the kale. Its important to add the coconut flakes first because they can add a grainy texture if not blended enough. At the bottom, they will get the most contact with the blades. Next I added the milk so that it would start to dissolve the protein powder while I measured and included the other ingredients. I added honey to the desired sweetness - I have a hard time with the taste of kale so I added extra honey! Taste it occasionally, and adjust ingredients as needed - originally the taste of kale was too strong so I added some more milk, honey, and yogurt. I adapted this recipe to include more protein than a normal smoothie so that I could ensure that I'd be full enough.  This ended up making a little more than 2 tervis tumblers of smoothie - I drank them both!