When my son asked for a dinosaur themed birthday party, the first thing I thought of was that a green smoothie would be the perfect breakfast treat for a dinosaur themed day! Don’t you think!? So I’ve been playing around with smoothie combos and came up with this Ginger Kiwi Green Smoothie Recipe!

Friendship Dairies asked me to create another smoothie recipe, so I turned to their Superfood Generator for inspiration! Do you want to know my “secret ingredient”? Cottage cheese!

Did you know, cottage cheese is The Original Superfood – because it’s high in protein – 14 grams in a serving! I wanted to make a kid-friendly smoothie that would also pack a powerful punch as far as nutrition goes! After all, growing kids need their protein! And dinosaur-loving boys need to be strong and powerful, right!?

Pick powerful ingredients!

I’m a firm believer in children getting full fat dairy, so I selected Friendship Dairies Cottage Cheese 4% milk fat variety. With 14 grams of protein, cottage cheese makes for a powerhouse meal or snack. I knew I wanted the smoothie to be green for “dinosaur” theme, so spinach was an obvious choice. But now what?

Scanning the list of ingredients, I decided to add a kiwi for the fruity sweet factor, and then I spied ginger and thought, “spicy… kind of hot…like a volcano!?” (Dinosaurs and Volcanos go together like… cottage cheese and smoothies!). I also love to add pineapple for sweetness and banana as a thickener in most of my smoothies! So yeah, I can’t just stick to three-ingredient smoothies – I like to really pile it on!

Ginger Kiwi Green Smoothie Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1/2 cup 4% milk fat Friendship Dairies cottage cheese
1 cup baby spinach, packed
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen pineapple (chopped or crushed)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (to taste0
1 kiwi, very ripe see note at bottom about bitterness

Method

Blend all ingredients except the kiwi fruit until very smooth.
Taste test to be sure you have the right texture and flavor.
Right before serving, add in the kiwi fruit and blend well.

Notes

I discovered through trial and error and then some web research that confirmed my hypothesis. Kiwi fruit can make your smoothie bitter, especially if dairy is involved. Something about the chemicals in the fruit. So you could either scald the fruit (briefly dip in boiling water), or the easier option, add the kiwi at the very end and drink your smoothie immediately. The longer the smoothie sits, the more bitter it will get, otherwise. Ripeness of the fruit can also play a factor in the bitterness.

Enjoy! This recipe can pack a punch of flavor depending on how much ginger you like to add!

I hope my son enjoys his green smoothie for his birthday breakfast! And I hope you enjoy mixing up your own smoothie fun with Friendship Dairies dairy products!

Have you ever tried cottage cheese in your smoothie!? What would be your “spice it up” mix in combo!?