A Kale Fruit Smoothie

Fresh kale is full of vitamins and nutrients JODY HELFAND PHOTO

Fresh kale is full of vitamins and nutrients JODY HELFAND PHOTO

The historic Hawaii Theatre has been entertaining residents and visitors for more than 90 years. Having undergone an extensive restoration, today it draws visitors and locals into downtown to enjoy a show at the theatre, plus dinner and browsing at local stores. This constant activity keeps the district alive..

Hawaii Theatre is pleased to welcome a new member to the team bringing cultural and thoughtful entertainment downtown.

John Parkinson, an MFA graduate of UH-Manoa and former executive director of Ballet Hawaii, is now serving as the director of programming for HTC.

Before serving for seven years at Ballet Hawaii, John was the artistic administrator for Hawaii Opera Theatre, as well as having been an independent producer of more than 200 shows on the Mainland and in Hawaii.

John looks forward to bringing a blend of world-class talent and local performers to the Hawaii Theatre stage, as evidenced in the lineup for February, where blues guitarist Eric Bibb will perform Feb. 13 and the classical-jazz Harlem Quartet will delight the audience Feb. 17.

This is just the beginning of what promises to be a fresh approach to the entertainment being offered at the theater this year.

What a lot of people don’t know about John is that he’s an avid baker and cook, specializing in healthy ways to cook some of our favorite meals.

He shares this special smoothie recipe with MidWeek readers, and says: “I freeze all of our over ripe bananas to be used when we’re in the mood for a smoothie, and also buy kale at various farmers markets and rinse and freeze. I buy frozen fruit from the warehouse shops.”

Kale is a leafy green vegetable belonging to the Brassica family which includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts and collards.

There are several varieties of kale, one of the most popular being curly kale, which has a dark green color, ruffled leaves and a fibrous stalk.

Kale is a super health food containing no fat or cholesterol. It is an excellent source of vitamins K, A and C, and a good source of manganese and copper. Kale also contains calcium, potassium, iron, fiber, vitamin E, protein and B vitamins.

John’s Smoothie Special

Into a strong blender add the following ingredients in this order:

• 1-2 cups soy milk
• 1-2 bananas (frozen for a thicker smoothie)
• 1-2 cups of frozen fruit (blueberry, cherry, etc.)
• Two handfuls of frozen kale
• 1 cup of water or orange juice

Add to taste:

• peanut butter
• honey
• espresso powder

Blend until smooth. Tastes better than it looks. Makes 2-3 smoothies.

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