This recipe came about because I had a ton of kale, which I’d never had prior to this diet, and wasn’t sure what to do with it. I wasn’t actually allowed to eat raw vegetables, (until I got my gastric emptying results back) so I couldn’t eat it in salads. Then I remembered that everyone was going “green smoothie” crazy not too long ago, so there were probably plenty of kale smoothie recipes out there!  I simply Googled “kale smoothie” and the first result I got was for this Kale Banana Smoothie recipe on AllRecipes by Rice.

I did have to modify the recipe a bit, because it wasn’t a low FODMAP recipe, but it was really easy to modify! I’ll post the recipe how I used it (below I’ll tell you what the modifications were). This recipe makes one serving.

Kale Banana Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 2 cups kale (either chop full kale, or just firmly pack a measuring cup with baby kale)
• ½ cup lactose free milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1-2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (to taste)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve over ice and enjoy!

1/2 cup of lactose free milk

2 cups of baby kale (this is what I use as one cup)

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

2 teaspoons of maple syrup

Combine everything (and one banana) in the blender

Blend until smooth!

Kale Banana Smoothie

What did I change?

The recipe originally calls for “light, unsweetened soy milk.” Soy milk is not allowed on the low FODMAP diet! (Nothing that is a product of whole soy beans is allowed.) I use Fairlife milk, which is lactose free dairy milk (recommended by the dietitian). You can use Lactaid, which is another lactose free dairy milk, or you can use nut milks, coconut milk, rice milk, or hemp milk. I use the Fairlife because it’s high protein and all of my “meals” have to be balanced: protein and carbs.

Originally, the recipe calls for flax seeds. I don’t have any flax seeds right now, but I have plenty of chia seeds (and I love them). The serving size for chia seeds is 1 tablespoon, so I was able to do an even substitution. You can add one serving of any of your favorite seeds (for flax seeds, it did say to add one tablespoon).

The maple syrup was supposed to just be one teaspoon, but I like sweeter smoothies. I thought the one teaspoon wasn’t sweet enough, so I added some more. Obviously, this is completely up to the individual. However, pure maple syrup is the only liquid sweetener allowed on the low FODMAP diet! Be sure it’s 100% pure, and you’re good to go!

Notes

This smoothie is really thick. Like, really thick! I like thick smoothies; I think that’s how they’re supposed to be. However, if you don’t like super thick smoothies, just add more of you chosen milk product until it gets to the proper consistency.

The smoothie isn’t very cold, which is why it says to serve over ice. You could also blend ice into the smoothie if you would like. I did a little of both last time, and I really liked it! I would say, the ice is a must. However, if you don’t mind room temperature smoothies, then you don’t have to use the ice I suppose… 😛 I will not be joining you for smoothies, ever, however!