This post is really for those friends of mine that look at my sludge tinged travel mug and wonder either out loud or to themselves, “what the hell is she drinking?”.

Most raw foodies already have had the pleasure of learning for the betterment of their health, what a Green Smoothie (sometimes known as Green Monster) is, so if this is elementary for you, I expect you to switch off now. However for those of you that keep asking me to talk about Green Smoothies here goes.

Green Smoothies:

• are an opportunity for you to drink your greens in a most palatable fashion (sometimes even your daily amount) when you may struggle to get enough of them in your daily diet.
• give you boost in energy
• supply you with a radiant complexion
• can improve your quality of sleep
• reduce cravings for sugary and junk foods
• can assist in effortless weightloss and overall vitality
• are a complete food
• are easily digested
• are loaded with nutrition
• are full of fibre, so will assist in eliminating toxins
• taste delicious!!!!

Basically Green Smoothies are a blended drink made with fresh green leafy vegetables (the darker the more nutritious) and fruit and a liquid – usually water or fresh juice, right now I am loving home made almond milk however. Green leafys are considered to be one of the most nutritious foods on earth and when blended with sweeter fruits and water, can actually taste just like a fruit smoothie.

Don’t stop reading now, because honestly, when I first thought of blending spinach with banana and water (the first green smoothie I ever made) I thought I was crazy for even considering it, but what it began was a beautiful love affair which has continued 4 years on. Apart from the green colour, it tasted to me just like a banana smoothie. What a way to disguise your greens, particularly for those of you (children especially) who need to have their greens hidden in their meals!

Even my parents have gotten into it!

I usually have a Green smoothie for breakfast and make enough that I can sip on it right through until dinner time, but some people just start their day off with a Green Smoothie. If you do make a big enough batch however, they can last up to 3 days in a refrigerated environment. Now let me tell you, especially for those die hard coffee drinkers, I find my Green Smoothie gives me a way bigger kick without the come down and is a great replacement for when I am craving junk food!

So here are the basic components of my Green Smoothies

1. Choose your base: water, fresh made juice (made yourself in a juicer not out of a carton) or non dairy milk – my favourite is almond milk at the moment
2. Choose your green: plenty of die hard  green smoothie heads LOVE kale in their smoothies, but I am yet to try it. I’ve been told it’s quite bitter and can taste like death, so if you’re new to this I would suggest cos/romaine lettuce or even better still spinach as both of them have very little flavour and plenty of POWER. The darker the green leaf, the better. I have also used green cabbage in a pinch. Parsley too, but not technically a green leafy, more a herb but a great addition to any smoothie!
3. Choose your fruit: bananas almost always have a starring role, but mangos, fresh dates, pineapples, berries, lemons, young coconuts, avocados, paw paw, apples, pears etc are a good place to start
4. Optional extras: (try not to overdo it maybe choose one or two) : superfoods like maca, spirulina, other seaweeds (like dulse, nori etc), hemp seeds or powder for protein, cacao nibs, goji berries (good idea to pre soak them), lucuma, chia seeds, coconut oil, agave, bee pollen, raw honey,

Get started and Blend Blend Blend!

My suggestion would be to start off very conservatively with your greens and taste as you go along. I really love a thicker smoothie, however my husband loves it much thinner. I feel the thicker the smoothie, the fuller I will feel for longer. A good beginner smoothie would be 2 cups of water, 1 handful of baby spinach leaves and 1 banana. Add less or more fruit to taste. Gradually you will want to increase the greens as you become a regular Green Smoothie drinker

Don’t forget, even though you sip your smoothies, DON’T chug them, and DO chew them. The reason for chewing (which seems absurd as you have blended your food into a drink for sipping) is it makes the smoothie even easier to be digested, especially for those who believe Green Smoothies make them bloat up. Chewing your smoothie until it is warm and begins to taste sweeter in your mouth, means that you are producing saliva which will lubricate the sugars and help them to break down in your stomach even better, hence eliminating any bloating feeling you may suffer. Plus it will ensure you don’t suffer any gas

Here are some other great tasty recipes that are perfect for beginners. Once you get your Green Smoothie on, the options are endless and your creative juices will begin to flow.

Green Red & Blue – I made this for breakfast today!

serves 2

2 glasses  of almond milk (I always make my own)

1 cup of blueberries (only half a cup pictured)

1/2 cup of strawberries

2 packed cups of baby spinach

1 frozen banana

Optional Extras: Today I added 1 teaspoon of spirulina and 1 tablespoon of hemp powder.

Blend until smooth. Voila!

Warming Ginger (courtesy of Green Smoothie Challenge) – this was a fave when I took some samples to my Boot Camp class.

The combination of pineapple, mango and ginger in this smoothie gives it an Asian twist. If you are in a cold climate then don’t let this stop you from drinking green smoothies. Ginger is warming on a cold day and also helpful during colds and flus to help you sweat and promote detoxification. Ginger also eliminates intestinal gas, relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract and is anti-inflammatory. In herbal remedies, ginger is used to alleviate nausea, dizziness and vomiting. To benefit from ginger you only need to use a little, as the active substances in ginger are so concentrated.

Pineapple is an excellent source of manganese, which is an important mineral in energy production. Pineapple is often recommended to promote good digestion.

1. ½ head romaine lettuce
2. 1 cup pineapple
3. 1 large mango
4. 1-inch fresh ginger
5. 2 cups of water

Blend the pineapple, mango, ginger and water for 30 seconds. Add the romaine lettuce and blend until smooth.

Quickie Green Smoothie

Cabbage, parsley, lemon (whole without rind), pineapple, pear, maca and spirulina and water.

My Favourite Green Smoothie Recipe

Quarter of a whole Green Cabbage

2 small cucumbers

2 zuchinnis

1 banana

1 Apple

2 Kiwi Fruits

2 cups of Spinach/Swiss Chard

1 peeled Lemon

1 tablespoon of Spirulina Powder

Blend all with water to desired consistency. The thicker the better for me. This usually makes a whole blender full which I drink for breakfast and keep the remainder in the fridge which I ‘snack’ on if I am at home, throughout the day, sometimes lasting me until dinner sometimes I make a salad for lunch.

ENJOY!

Do you have a favourite Green Smoothie recipe you’d like to share?