Whether you need an energy boost or have anemia this smoothie has everything. Kale to add folate and some B vitamins, spinach and cocoa powder to add iron, and vitamin C from strawberries and orange juice to for absorption. More importantly, it's tasty! Even my skeptical friends enjoyed it. Being iron deficient sucks and having something delicious to drink is important! When I'm anemic, I can't have my favorite caffeinated beverages so this is a good consolation prize.

Step 1: Assemble the Ingredients

You will need:

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup frozen spinach*

1/2 cup chopped kale**

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

4 strawberries**

1/2 banana

(optional: canned coconut milk)***

*frozen spinach allows you to get a larger volume of spinach into the smoothie, if it's frozen quickly after harvesting, it can have the same nutrients as fresh spinach.

**fresh or frozen

***if you want a creamier smoothie, you can add some coconut milk. If you're going to add coconut milk, make sure it has 0% calcium on the label because calcium can inhibit iron absorption.

Step 2: Blend

Assemble all ingredients in a blender and blend on the highest setting for at least a minute (on my blender, I use liquify). Blending for a whole minute will eliminate chunks of veggies or strawberries and give it an even flavor.