Spinal Tip Two Smoothie!

For anyone who finds pears too sweet/high in fructose.. this variation is for you!

Or indeed for anyone who has squash in the house but no pears,
or
For anyone who wants a slightly cheaper version of the first smoothie...

Popeye images from: 
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/bugs-bunny-vs-popeye-the-sailor-man-757492/  and
 http://cartoonsimages.com/popeye/popeye-and-olive-desktop-backgrounds-free 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of folate rich SPINACH
• 5 cm (2") of Squash/ 1 cup
• 5 cm (2") of cucumber peeled 
• 1 large or 2 small avocados (optional)

 Squash it in there 

 Method:

1. Dunk your spinach in a bowl of water for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile rinse your squash and steam gently (at a low setting) in a pot with 1/2 cup of water and 5 grinds of salt. ( I use himalayan or celtic salt)
3. As soon as the squash has softened remove from the heat and allow to cool. **

**[If planning to eat this smoothie every day, you might just like to cook several days worth of the squash in advance!  But for the first one it is probably best to try the recommended quantity to see if you even like the recipe! :) ]

Squishy Squashy Spinachy
Smoothie/Juice?

4. Meanwhile lift the spinach leaves out of the bowl into a sieve/colander- leaving any sandy residue behind. Then thoroughly rinse the spinach leaves.

5. Blend together the Spinach leaves, peeled cucumber and cooled squash- including the squash cooking water.

6. Taste this mix- you might find you don't need the avocado as it is quite delicious!

Squishy Squashy
Smoothie Sauce

7. However if you do want something creamier, add in your avocado and blend away. This makes the smoothies much more creamy and if you cut out the water you can use this as a sauce for eating with your favourite crackers or roasted nuts or starchy veg like potatoes or fish like salmon etcetera. I enjoyed some with roasted hazelnuts as shown!

In the Raw:

1. You can use raw squash but it won't taste as lovely and the texture will be less smooth. Remember to add the same amount of slated water though.

2. The raw version is better with the avocado blended in and used as a dip or sauce.