Two More Green Smoothie Questions

[Tucson]

I read Green For Life and culled through the archives on this site but have not found the answers to these two questions. My apologies if this has already been discussed. Victoria recommends a ratio of 60% fruit to 40% greens, gradually increasing the amount of greens used. How is this ratio determined? Is it by calories? IÂ’ve done a simple nutrient breakdown from a number of her recipe suggestions and most appear to be about 80%-90% fruit to 10%-20% greens by calories. HereÂ’s an example from her book.

1 cup Strawberries (44 calories)
2 bananas (216 calories)
½ bunch romaine lettuce (20 calories).
Total Calories 280 (93% from fruit, 7 % from greens).

My second question is about substituting for the fruits. I understand fruits are used as a way to obfuscate the bitterness of the greens. This works fine for me in the morning but IÂ’d prefer not to consume that much fruit later in the day. I was wondering if one could use different types of herbs and species instead of the fruits. In other words a healthy, raw version of V8 juice. A few days ago I purchased the healthiest tomato soup I could find (I realize it was not raw, but this was just an experiment). I blended lots of greens with a cup of soup and it came out delicious. Has anyone else tried something like this?

[Pansy]

Hello Tucson,

This is what so great about raw food, you can experiment with different recipes and create all kinds of great drinks and foods. Most of the time with raw they will still turn out okay.

I read books and just take from them what works for me and the rest I make to my liking! So don't be afraid to experiment and Have fun!

Hope this helps,

Pansy :p

[Lucinda]

have you tried making a blended salade? i make somthing similar to this...
in a food processor i put 2 bunches of cilantro, half a cup of soaked pupmkin seeds, half an avacado, fresh garlic, 4 radishes, pinch of celtic sea salt. but really you can use whatever you like. i also like to avoid sweet fruits later in the days, and find that this is a very tasty alternative.

I also make a smoothie using a whole head of a romaine lettuce and 1 small banana. tastes very nice.