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Green smoothie doesn't mean ALL GREEN! Image from Tiffany Washko
In an effort to get more fruits and vegetables into my diet (the recommendation is five a day!), I’ve been hitting the green smoothies. I was first inspired by Katrina, who talked in glowing terms about her own green smoothie conversion. How could I resist?
I started with the book Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health
You can easily get started with just a blender and a variety of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Here’s one recipe I love that takes less than five minutes to prepare, and leaves only the blender to clean!
Ingredients:
- 2 C fresh spinach, rinsed
- One banana
- 1 C ice cubes
- 1/4 C water
- 2 medium carrots, unpeeled, rinsed, cut in chunks
Add the items to your blender and blend well. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients periodically to ensure all ingredients get blended. Serve and enjoy!
Other popular items to put in your smoothie:
- Pineapple (fresh or frozen)
- Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- Apples
- Raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- Protein powder
- Peaches (fresh or frozen)
- Mangos (fresh or frozen)
- Non- or low-fat vanilla or plain yogurt
- Soy milk
- Mint leaves
- Juice
- Flaxseeds (good for Omega-3 fatty acids)
- Avocado
- Nuts
The possibilities really are limitless! Just remember to keep overall caloric levels in mind, particularly if you are watching your weight. 
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Trader Joe’s has this truly great flax seed oil that’s super easy to put in smoothies. It’s in the vitamin aisle.
Thanks for the tip!
Jennifer
@atthebluebarn
I love my green smoothies too…I even bought a Vitamix so that I didn’t have to “prep” any of the fruits and veggies first (call ME lazy!). I love it. At first, I was having them everyday and had a bit of stomach upset…that’s what happens when you go from ZERO fruits and veggies to 7 at a time each day-LOL. But…I got used to it. They are very filling and calories add up, but overall, you won’t feel like eating or snacking much after a large cup of the green smoothie so it all balances out…especially if you share a cup with a friend
Happy to hear that you are into them…would love to see some more recipes down the road!!
The problem? You’re not going to absorb much of the goodies without fat.
Add a little cream, whole milk yogurt, flaxseed oil… you get the idea.
I’ve been a green smoothie fan for about 6 months now and they’ve helped me lose 15lbs in that time without “dieting”. I mix the fruit first to get the taste I want, then add the greens (usually spinach, kale or parsley). I don’t use milk or cream but I sometimes add flax seeds for “chewiness”.
I have a Kenwood catering mixer that I bought for about $75. It has an 800w motor and the only prepping I do is cut things into large chunks.
Some favourites: 3 bananas, 1 or 2 kiwi, water, spinach. 1 mango plus parsley (wonderful fresh taste) and water. 1/2 cantaloupe melon, 2 or 3oz blackberries, water and curly kale.
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