Green Smoothies

[RawChicky]

I have finally started them and I LOVE them so much!

Question----

I put in the fruit, and greens, but I like to also add ice. I see in most people's green smoothie recipes they put water, not ice. Is there anything wrong with putting ice? because I rather not use frozen fruit and I don't like 'em nearly as much at room temperature!

[Livingsunfoods]

I add a little bit of ice to mine and a little water as well. I have not heard of the ice being bad for you. I don't like to make it too cold though because it will shock my system.

[luna99]

aren't green smoothies wonderful?! I stopped drinking them for a while and started up again this monday and wondered why I stopped... I love having one every morning.

as far as the ice, I don't see anything being wrong with it.. it probably makes it more like a slushy or something right? go'head with your green smoothie self! :p

[gym]

I love smoothies and juices...
some ice and a slice of lemon on the side...and way you go:D

[pianolady]

Green smoothies are definitely the way my daughter and I start our day. A few greens, fruit-sometimes frozen blueberries-but mostly just room temperature fruit, a tblsp of greens powder, a tbsp of Vitamin C. Every now and then I use a couple tbsp of coconut milk which I know is not raw, but better to use a little not raw and still keep my smoothies going while I'm transitioning. This is surely the way to good health.

[rawererin]

i just started drinking them too, and even though i could taste a little bit of the greens it wasn't bad. i use frozen fruit, but you don't like that, ice is a good substitue!

[Davylp25]

No ice isn't bad for ya green smoothie. Personally when I make a green smoothie it has to be room temp, almost like a yogurt thickness. Any other type of smoothie it has to be cold. But for some reason I despise green smoothies really cold... LOL... Thas jus me!

I love warm smoothies ahah!

Sounds gross! lmao

[Veganforlife]

I agree re: ice. The MAIN ingredient of a GS should be the greens. Anything else is a bonus. I don't drink ice in anything, but that's my choice.

[luna99]

i just started drinking them too, and even though i could taste a little bit of the greens it wasn't bad.


keep drinking them and before long you'll get used to the "green" taste.. you may even start to *gasp* :eek: like it! lol.

[mikeshafer]

What ingredients do you prefer? I'm drinking one right now and my typical smoothie is: 2 cups water, 2-3 bananas, 5-6 strawberries, and a handful of baby spinach. Is that sufficient greens? I sometimes use kale but don't like the taste as much, but more difficult is the kale getting stuck in my braces. :)

[Somtam]

Ice is a must in my green smoothies. I can't stand room temp green smoothies.

Luna99 is right. Soon you'll get used to the green taste and come to like green smoothies. I caught myself salivating as I washed the organic dandelion, kale, and spinach I bought last night. My 9-year-old DD gets upset if she doesn't see a glass of green smoothies waiting for her after school. Her 3rd-grade friends think she's a freak for drinking dandelion, but she's very proud of being a healthy "freak."

[RawVegan4Health]

Mine is typically 3 handfuls of assorted greens, then fill halfway up the greens with water. To that I typically add 3 medium fruit like bananas, apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines. I also toss in a couple teaspoons worth of ground flax seeds.

[mikeshafer]

Is it wrong to have too many green smoothies in a day? I often find myself bored of salads, so I will just blend up another smoothie since they are quick and easy and tasty. :) I guess I should diversify to get tomatoes, for instance...

[RawVegan4Health]

I was having 2 green smoothies daily for several consecutive days last week and felt the best I have yet! The trick is having enough variety of greens. From what I understand if you keep having too many of the same greens daily it can be a problem. This means at least 4 different sets of greens to vary two smoothies day to day.

[Rawkinlocs]

Is it wrong to have too many green smoothies in a day? I often find myself bored of salads, so I will just blend up another smoothie since they are quick and easy and tasty. :) I guess I should diversify to get tomatoes, for instance...

Mike, I would just go with the flow! I mean, we go through phases where we eat/drink a lot of something for a while and then after a while, may desire to move from that to something else. When it's time, you will begin to desire salads again. Sometimes I lose my desire for salads and I just stick to fruit and green smoothies and then after a while, I begin craving salads and lose my interest in smoothies. Same with nuts - I'll crave nuts for a while and then after so long, my body doesn't want them anymore. So, enjoy your smoothies and as Rawvegan4health said, just try to rotate the greens so you get a nice variety of those in!

[mikeshafer]

What other greens are popular for green smoothies besides spinach, kale, and romaine leaves?

[Little Mango]

I had one and a half litres of green smoothie today and I feel fine. It is really about what feels right for you. I listened to my body and it said "Green smoothie please" and then "I'd like another one". If I said "No, body!! You've had enough" I guess I would have felt not so good and felt deprived.

Do what feels right for you and you'll feel good!!:)

[Rawkinlocs]

What other greens are popular for green smoothies besides spinach, kale, and romaine leaves?

I've used collards (kinda spicy if you use too much), dino (also known as black or curly or Italian) kale, rainbow chard, parsley.

Victoria B. suggests experimenting with various weeds such as dandelion greens, stinging nettles, etc.. I find the dandelion greens too bitter for my tastes and have not tried stinging nettles yet.

[RawVegan4Health]

Also mustard greens, bok choy, turnip greens, cilantro, green and red cabbage. One thing to check out is organic premixes like Baby Spring Mix. This has a lot of different varieties of lettuce and greens in it.

[vwinters]

This past week I’ve used organic Italian radicchio which I found a little bitter (and expensive) and also beet greens in my smoothies. I really like the beet greens and they turn your smoothie an interesting maroon color. The big Costco warehouse chain sells big tubs of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix which includes: Organic Baby Lettuce (Red and Green Romaine, Red and Green Oak Leaf, Lollo Rosa, Tango) Organic Red & Green Chard, Organic Mizuna, Organic Arugula, Organic Frisee, and Organic Radicchio.

I’ve also bought locally grown Mesclun salad mix with edible flowers in it. It was almost too pretty to blend up….but blend it up I did.

Last week I tried fennel in my green smoothie, which kind of tastes like licorice but it made my tongue numb. I also didn’t care for mustard greens in my smoothies as they were too spicy. I like bok choy & chard in small amounts. I use nearly a pound a day of greens in 3 quarts of smoothies so if I mix ½ chard and ½ romaine lettuce then the chard is not too strong. Of course I love kale, collards, spinach, romaine, and both green & red leaf lettuce. I nibbled on some dandelion from my yard and decided I wasn’t ready to go there yet. But there are lots more greens out there to try. I need to get brave and pick some stinging nettles and blend them up.
VW

http://www.ketoforum.de/diet-ticker/pic/weight_loss/11398/.png (http://www.diaet-ticker.de)

[Davylp25]

Smiles. I have heard that after going raw for awhile (almost 2 years 100% for me) that you will get "used" to the green taste. I heard this at the beginning of my raw journey as well, and thought, COOL.* Lmao* Still hasn't happened for me after almost 2 years... If I ain't go no nan-as, I ain't got no smoothie. LOL. I'm sure if I had to -- I could down a small glass of just greens, But not large amounts. Nasty!!!lol But that's just my experience. I have had a green smoothie everyday for almost 1 year str8, tried tasting it plain. Uh no... Don't think so. Nan-as please. lol. But also for me I always put lot's of greens to meet the daily requirement for me, which I read and saw in VB's DVD and Book, 2 large heads of Greens a day. So, me just putting tiny handfuls, or leaves doesn't seem worth it for me personally. Give me my nan-as! lol

[luna99]

I usually use kale/water/one banana/some sort of frozen fruit (I like it cold)/and a heaping tablespoon of wheat grass powder. Today I also added some maca and goji berries! yum.

I guess I should start experiementing with other greens though huh? When I first started with green smoothies I always used spinach and now I've moved on to (and love) kale.... but I guess I should try other stuff too.

[honeybee joy]

Originally Posted By RawChicky
Is there anything wrong with putting ice? because I rather not use frozen fruit and I don't like 'em nearly as much at room temperature!



I have heard that cold things stress the adrenals.

[mikeshafer]

Is wheat grass powder raw? If so, where can I get some? :) Whole Paycheck?

[luna99]

I am proud to announce that tonight after my workout I was actually craving a green smoothie...... that's never happened before!

so I just got out of the shower and made a delicious spinach/peach/banana/wheatgrass powder/goji berry smoothie and I'm gonna go sit on the couch, relax, and enjoy it!

life is good and so are green smoothies! :D