Coach Francuski masters the art of the smoothie

For the past month Jenny Francuski, who works in the athletic department, has been showing up to school with purplish, black smoothies. When students in the fitness center saw Francuski drinking disgusting looking (“but yummy tasting”) smoothies, they became intrigued by her daily drink and asked why she made them.

She started making the smoothies because she and her husband bought a vitamix blender and they have been “smoothing out our fruits and veggies since.”

Her regular ingredients to these weirdly colored smoothies are strawberries, blueberries and spinach. Because spinach is a good source of iron, she adds it to all her smoothies, and once mixed with the other ingredients, it can barely be tasted.

Lately, many students have been seen drinking smoothies before they go to first period class.

“I’m not sure why smoothies have become so popular with others this year,” Francuski says.

Smoothies for Francuski have been really popular because they are helpful for a super busy schedule.

“I can make them the night before and just pop them into a bag and drink them throughout the day when I need a pick-me-up.  Also, I have a gluten sensitivity, so it is a great snack that I know won’t hurt my intestines.”

Francuski sometimes puts in some protein powder in her shakes. That way the smoothie has a great source of fruit, a vegetable, iron, milk, and protein.

Smoothies, Francuski said, are great meals or a little snacks to have throughout the day because “they are a great way to get quick and nutritious energy when you are on the go,” and she adds they are snacks “you don’t have to chew.”

They are also perfect because it generally takes five minutes to make and another five to clean up. “We used to juice before we started smoothie-ing and it took about thirty minutes each.  Francuski adds that now “we compost any peelings or pits we don’t use.”

Francuski’s favorite smoothie so far has been her vanilla kefir concoction. “I put in vanilla kefir, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, dark chocolate chips (sparingly), spinach (a lot), and some peaches.”

– Gretchen