Your Favorite Green Smoothie

[JAusten]

After hearing so many of you praise the benefits of green smoothies I decided to give it a go and made the most horrible green concoction humanly possible. I mostly hated that I wasted so many lovely ingredients which eaten separately would have been great but when combined became a nasty mess.
Now, there are smoothie recipes all over this site... in the recipe section, in posts about smoothies or mixed into posts don't start off being about smoothies but work into someone mentioning their favorite combination in passing.
How about helping us new guys out by putting your favorite green smoothie recipes all in one place?? An avocado is a terrible thing to waste.

[Bampot]

Hi J

I think it's important to get the right mix of fruit and greens (60% fruit to 40% greens roughly) so that the greens aren't so overpowering. Also when starting out you may want to use some of the milder tasting greens like spinach and romaine lettuce rather than kale. Also, if it comes out tasting not to your liking, why not add more fruit to it till it's to your taste? Try adding an extra banana for sweetness.

I had a very nice tasting green smoothie this morning made from the following:

1 mango
1 pear
handful frozen grapes
handful frozen raspberries
1 head of red little gem lettuce
1 large leaf spring greens
mineral water


Scrumptious! A good recipe using avocado is:

1/2 avocado
1 banana
5 ounces baby romaine lettuce
5 ounces organic baby spinach


Hope you have better luck next time - there are plenty of recipes to be found by looking around on here or by running a search on google ;)

[garden granny]

I love avocados, but not in my smoothie. I only eat them made into quacamole or mixed into soup or gazpacho.

To make a green smoothie, first you must have a very good - high powered blender in order to break down the greens enough. Then for your first few smoothies, I would start with a very small amount of greens, maybe just 1 kale leaf (without the hard middle stem), then add a banana, mango or peaches or pineapple, whatever you like. Then add about 2 cups of water and a bit of ice. Blend - and you have a delicious smoothie - even little kids will drink them down and want more! After a week or two - you should start adding a little more greens, try dark green romaine, a little spinach, or whatever you can get. It's best to rotate your greens every couple weeks. Try to always use Organic greens - if you can. I hope this helps you. :)

[spicyfull]

As Long as I have Bananas for My Base I'm OK. I use whatever I have on hand. I keep Raisins to sweeten if I do not have enough Fruit. I also Love the Flavor of Fresh Ginger and ANY HOT Pepper....................

Smoothies are a Good way of getting all your Vegetables down easier. It is so much easier to drink your Salad than eat it. Although you can do both, you can even Juice your Salad. Anyway is Good as long as you get it passed the Lips...

I am New to Green Smoothies, I have always done Fruit Smoothies. Now I have NO more Vegetables going bad in My Fridge.

GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK.....

[JAusten]

Thanks Bampot, garden granny, and spicyfull. As I read your replies something occured to me... it's the FRUIT and the sweetness that I didn't like in the smoothie! The greens I liked! I'm going to try a new post asking for all green recipes. Thanks again.

[SmilingRawDancer]

My FAVORITE Green smoothie:
2 cups of BABY spinach (I don't know how "cups" of greens are measured, but I put about 2 good handfulls into my vitamix, and when I compress it a bit its about at the 2 cup line.)
1 grapefruit
1 Banana
Stevia to taste
Maca (Optional, it's just there for supplement purposes)


I add maybe 1/8-1/4 cup of water to the greens first, blend the spinach and water till SMOOTH, then add fruits to that green blend.

I think it's delightful :) Sometimes I pour it over ice.

[rawsurfer]

alrighty i have 2 things to say. first of all you do not need an expensive high powered blender (alhtough it would be nice). i have a 50 dollar one from walmart and it works fine, jsut takes a little longer. plus, you dont just want to drink the smoothie, because vegetables for the most part can only be digested sublingualy. in english this means that you cannot absorb a large portiion of veggies unless you chew them thouroughly first. so when you are drinking the smootheis or juices, make a chewing motion, chew, or coat the juice/ smoothie with your saliva (or do all 3!).

second of all, one thing that i really enjoy is avocado in my smoothies. i cant taste the actual avo, it just maks it really creamy, kinda like adding yogurt or whole milk to a sad smoothie. try it and see for yourself.

peace

[Cinnamon]

This is my basic "recipe" although it really does change depending on what produce I have on hand. But usually I do this...

1 1/2 cups purified water
1 banana
1 cup berries (and I vary this all the time)
1 other fruit (might be pineapple or mango or apple or ??)
greens (spinach or romaine, red chard is really good, kale, maybe some celery, just any greens and I vary this a lot too, I fill half of my Vitamix with greens)
flaxseed (about a teaspoon or so)
cinnamon (just because I LOVE cinnamon!)

I drink a quart of this daily and have for a long time now, love my green smoothies!

[elfinbaby]

I'm still experimenting with smoothies, too. But I'm actually having pretty good luck.

My basic blend is around 2 cups fruit (frozen berries, cherries, peaches), 1 banana, 1.5-2 cups water and greens.

I alter the amount of greens depending on who I'm making it for. If it's for the kids, I do 2 cups or less. For me, I'll do more even though it might sometimes taste a little "earthy."

The best greens I have found are French Sorrel, lambsquarters, and spinach. I use a bigger variety for myself but those are the kids' staples. The spinach is pretty easily masked. It's been my kids favorite green with frozen strawberries and blueberries. Blueberries are also a good "masker" because they blend up so sweet. Romaine is fair but if you over do it the greens taste bitter so I have to be careful with it for the kids.

French Sorrel is our new stand out. I kid you not - it's the best. There is absolutely no earthy taste at all. Everyone in my family LOVES it and that's saying alot. It's a very lemony and sour green but it makes the best smoothies. Kind of like a frozen fruit lemonade slush. I made a sorrel, frozen blueberry, frozen cherry smoothie with banana that did not last long at all. So very very good.

What Victoria Boutenko talks about with the smoothies is happening in our house. Good things are happening. Ex. - I haven't made smoothies all weekend b/c I've not been feeling well and tonight my 9 yr. old said he just had to make one for himself. I actually thought he'd probably just get some frozen fruit and blend it up (or just wanted to use my awesome blender) but no! He headed for the fridge and the first thing he pulled out was chard! I was so proud of him. I switched it out for him with something milder but I was just so happy. He seems to really crave the smoothies after only a couple of weeks and has built up more of a tolerance for that earthy, green taste.

Good luck!
April

PS There are more gs recipe threads if you do a search;)

[britaniefaith]

lots of spinach
handful of parsley
1/2 cucumber
1 peach
1/2 banana
1 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon spirulina

[Veganforlife]

JAusten - check this out:

Here's a link:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthrea...thie+re cipes
For info on all the benefits of green smoothies? I highly suggest reading Victoria Boutenko's book, "Green for Life".

[Zuri]

I'm still experimenting with smoothies, too. But I'm actually having pretty good luck.

My basic blend is around 2 cups fruit (frozen berries, cherries, peaches), 1 banana, 1.5-2 cups water and greens.

I alter the amount of greens depending on who I'm making it for. If it's for the kids, I do 2 cups or less. For me, I'll do more even though it might sometimes taste a little "earthy."

The best greens I have found are French Sorrel, lambsquarters, and spinach. I use a bigger variety for myself but those are the kids' staples. The spinach is pretty easily masked. It's been my kids favorite green with frozen strawberries and blueberries. Blueberries are also a good "masker" because they blend up so sweet. Romaine is fair but if you over do it the greens taste bitter so I have to be careful with it for the kids.

French Sorrel is our new stand out. I kid you not - it's the best. There is absolutely no earthy taste at all. Everyone in my family LOVES it and that's saying alot. It's a very lemony and sour green but it makes the best smoothies. Kind of like a frozen fruit lemonade slush. I made a sorrel, frozen blueberry, frozen cherry smoothie with banana that did not last long at all. So very very good.

What Victoria Boutenko talks about with the smoothies is happening in our house. Good things are happening. Ex. - I haven't made smoothies all weekend b/c I've not been feeling well and tonight my 9 yr. old said he just had to make one for himself. I actually thought he'd probably just get some frozen fruit and blend it up (or just wanted to use my awesome blender) but no! He headed for the fridge and the first thing he pulled out was chard! I was so proud of him. I switched it out for him with something milder but I was just so happy. He seems to really crave the smoothies after only a couple of weeks and has built up more of a tolerance for that earthy, green taste.

Good luck!
April

PS There are more gs recipe threads if you do a search;)

Where do I buy French sorrel? I've never seen it at Whole Foods, farmer's mkt. or any other heath food store. If it tastes as good as you're describing I want some!

[Veganforlife]

This is why I like Alissa's green food powder added to my smoothies WITH spirulina. Although it doesn't contain French sorrel, here is what it DOES contain:

100% Organic/Wildcrafted
Alissa’s green food is a unique and extremely potent combination of natures most deeply nourishing, cleansing and rebuilding super food. Its ingredients are specifically ground, processed and combined to maximize their beneficial effects. Carefully dried at low temperatures to preserve enzymes and other heat sensitive elements.

Alissa’s green food is the most comprehensive nutritional product ever offered! It is a vastly superior multivitamin/mineral product replacement plus so much more. It contains high levels of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, phyto-nutrients, chlorophyll, protein, amino acids, fiber, enzymes, life force, etc. Unlike traditional multivitamin mineral products, Alissa’s green food is exceptionally absorbable, with absolutely no toxicity! It contributes healthy alkalinity to the body. Can be used as a meal replacement when blended with fresh apple juice and other fruit such as berries or banana. Contains a plethora of extremely nutrient dense vegetation and is enhanced by Dr. Sheridan’s natural, proprietary process that maximizes life force energy.

INGREDIENTS:
Land Vegetables: Whole Leaf Barley Grass, Whole Leaf Wheat Grass Juice, Barley Grass Juice, Nettle Leaf, Shavegrass (Horsetail), Alfalfa Leaf Juice, Dandelion Leaf Juice, Barley Grass Juice, Oat Grass Juice, Burdock Root, Broccoli Juice, Kale Juice, Spinach Juice, Parsley Juice, Carob Pod, Ginger Root, Nopal Cactus, Amla Berry
Algaes: Spirulina, Broken Cell Wall, Chlorella
Wildcrafted Aquatic Vegetables: Icelandic Kelp, Nova Scotia Dulse
Enzymes: (Optimum absorption, cleansing +) – Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Cellulase, Bromelain, Papain, Alpha Galactosidase
Comprehensive Probiotic Mixture: A.Agilis, L.Acidophilus, R.Arrhizus, DDS-I Acidophilus, Bifidus, L.Bulgaricus, A.Brasilienese, B.Brenis, P.Chrysosporium, A.Citreus, L.Casei, P.Calcis, S.Cellulase, P.Denitrificans, S.Faecium, S.Fradiae, P.Flourescens, A.Globiformis, S.Griseoflavus, P.Gelatic, B.Lipolyticum, A.Luteus, A.Lipoferum, A.Lwolfii, B.Laterosporous, P.Marinoglutinosa, B.Macerans, P.Nigraclens, P.Putida, L.Plantarum, B.Pumilus, B.Polymyxa, B.Stationis, L.Salivarius, B.Subtilus, B.Succinogenes, A.Simplex, B.Subtilus, S.Thermopolis, A.Terreus, M.Verrucaria, T.Viride, K.Zopfit

Suggested Usage: Start with one teaspoon per day and increase gradually over two weeks to suggested usage of 1 to preferably 2 (or more) heaping tablespoons per day, either all at once or divided. 1 level tablespoon per day = approximately 33 day supply. Can also be sprinkled on or mixed with foods. **If you experience temporary beneficial cleansing reactions that you find undesirable (such as loose bowels), reduce amount used to 1 teaspoon or less, and then increase over several days or weeks to 2 (or more) heaping tablespoons.** Refrigeration is not required. Intensive Usage: 6 or more heaping tablespoons per day. It is non-toxic and can be taken in any quantity

[elfinbaby]

I get French Sorrel from our local organic farm.. I haven't needed to look for it anywhere else. It is as good as I'm saying:) I was told it would last until the end of summer. We really can't get enough of it.

The farm I visit actually has an unheard of amount of greens imo. I can get purslane, lambsquarters, 3 kinds of loose mixes, arugula, radicchio, basil, parsley. kale and more. They have a wider variety of greens than any of our other farmers around.

Good luck finding it. It's definitely worth it.

[JEN]

2 bananas
6 peaches
lots of baby spinach
few cubes of ice