Green Drinks

[styersky]

I read so much here about green drinks. I know they are extremely nutritious, but I am struggling to find a recipe that I can handle. What am I doing wrong?

I gag when trying to drink what I make! I use fresh greens, tomato, green pepper, lemon, etc, etc., but still have not found anything I can drink.

How much water do you use? Is yours thick? Or do you add lots of water! If I add lots of water it would be so much I could not drink, and I can't believe it would be good later in the day after sitting.

When I add Alissa's green powder, I really gag. Where am I going wrong? I try to stay away from sweet fruits because I try to follow the acid-alkaline foods and when I eat sweet fruits I go acid. It seems that most fruit is not vine ripened and that makes them acid. Anyway, eating sweet fruits won't work for me.

Any help would be appreciated.

[EZ rider]

What greens are you using ?

[CaliRaw]

I read so much here about green drinks. I know they are extremely nutritious, but I am struggling to find a recipe that I can handle. What am I doing wrong?

I gag when trying to drink what I make! I use fresh greens, tomato, green pepper, lemon, etc, etc., but still have not found anything I can drink. How much water do you use? Is yours thick? Or do you add lots of water! If I add lots of water it would be so much I could not drink, and I can't believe it would be good later in the day after sitting.

When I add Alissa's green powder, I really gag. Where am I going wrong? I try to stay away from sweet fruits because I try to follow the acid-alkaline foods and when I eat sweet fruits I go acid. It seems that most fruit is not vine ripened and that makes them acid. Anyway, eating sweet fruits won't work for me.

Any help would be appreciated.

I'd probably gag on that too. :) I use 2 cups of water and 2 TBLS of alissa's hemp seed protein powder. I've never tried the green powder. The hemp powder blends up nicely and I can't taste it. Yesterday I made one with spinach and a large orange (minus the peel). Typically, I use a banana as my fruit. I don't like putting a lot of different vegetables and fruits in mine.

[styersky]

What greens are you using ?

A variety of greens. I use a lot spinach, kale, parsley, lettuce. I also add celery and I have added a bit of broccoli. However, I do not add very much water because I want to be able to consume all of it. That is probably the problem. This morning I used a lemon, stevia, mixed greens, celery, tomato,and I think that is all except Alissa's green powder. I added only about 8 ounces of water so it was thick. I gagged! Maybe I need to use less quantity-wise of greens and more water? ? ?

[lafsalot]

Adding more fruit to your blended greens may make it more palatable, no? ~ Cathy

[dreamrawalwz]

do it with fruit added in maybe? My favorite is: Spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, and apples. Simple, VERY green, and delicious!

[sport]

Have you tried juicing them instead of blending them. You do not need to add water so it is 100% nutrition and easier to get down.

[EZ rider]

I use a lot spinach, kale, parsley, lettuce. I also add celery and I have added a bit of broccoliI have found that for me the very best tasting greens are romaine lettuce and celery. From your list I have found the kale, parsley, and broccoli to be a little strong tasting for me.Everyones different thats just the way my taste buds react.

[styersky]

Celery is certainly the best tastewise. I really want to stay with omitting sweet fruits . . . may have to make a compromise somewhere! Thank all of you so much for your input. I believe I really need to add more water.

I do not have a juicer, but I have considered straining so as to not have all of the pulp to deal with. That's what gags me.

[Carol K]

I, also, had a real problem with green smoothies. Now, I do 3/4 up water, MILD-TASTING greens and a banana. I cannot tell you the difference. I want to try kale or collard greens again, but lettuce, celery, spinach, and a banana is good tasting and very smooth. I did apple and lemon for a while, but could not take it after about 2 months! The banana makes it palatable.

[luckitri]

A Juicer is integral for my green smoothies. I wasted alot of ingredients trying to follow other peoples ideas. I guess I started juicing items and then adding a bit of fruit to it in my cheapo blender. I like the bananas green not sweet. I am also having problem being alkaline and doubt that I ever find fruit picked at proper time but I do need fruit in the smoothies and have never used a sweetener like stevia. I do not like the really thick ones either. You can get a wide mouth juicer for $50 at Walmart. It wastes more produce than expensive ones but it is a start. I tasted my mono ingredient juice and then would add to it to make it tolerable.

[styersky]

Thanks, Luckitri. I will look at WalMart for a Juicer.

Since banana is acid you probably will not be alkaline as long as you consume sweet fruits. At least that is the way I understand. I have a problem giving up sweet fruits also. As I understand only lemon, lime, and grapefruit are acid and all other fruits are alkaline. Not much choices!

[KLSLE7]

Do you have this correct??? Please re-read. Thanks.

[styersky]

Hmmm. . . Now I am not sure if that is correct. I have two books on Acid-Alkaline. One says all sweet fruit is acid (By Dr. Robert O. Young). And the other by Christopher Vasey says bananas are alkalizing.

Thank you so much for calling that to my attention. My life will be much more fun if bananas are alkalizing. I will check that out with my body tomorrow!

[EZ rider]

My moto is if its raw vegan I can eat it.

[styersky]

That's true if raw vegan is your goal.

But if the goal is to always test alkaline rather than acid, then in addition to eating RAW, then we would also seek foods that are alkaline as opposed to acid.

The two books I mentioned in the previous post explain. Also by googling acid-alkaline balance you will no doubt learn about that. It's very interesting and explains a lot about disease.

[luckitri]

styerski, I had started a thread recently asking if others were testing their pH. Mine is horribly acid. The pamphlet said the urine is more stable than saliva for a reading. Then the guy who gave me the strips told me that urine is always acid and that saliva is the reliable indicator. So today I tested my saliva and the top and bottom reading were in different categories but one of them was neutral - 7.0! So I am happier and have more hope now. Since we have fruitarians that seem to be healthy and I have read some say that they felt the best they ever have when they were 100% fruitarian (:confused: ) I am having a difficult time accepting that most fruit is acidifying.

There are so many rules that people are making with raw - and maybe down the road I will learn that some of them are right for my body - maybe I will get to that point where one small salad will last me for 24 hours or that one orange will sustain me for an entire day of skiing but for now just trying to be raw is hard enough.

If you have resources more than $50 you might wish to consider looking at the GreenStar or the Omega juicer. In the long run you will save on produce because they extract more juice and they also do wheatgrass rather than having to purchase a separate unit. Also they make a good argument that the enzymatic action of their juice is better quality than that obtained from a centrifugal juicer. And lastly you can find them cheaper as refurbished or used but still with a warranty. Oh, I saw where down the road they let you trade in your unit and get credit towards a new one. I am seriously considering those prior to getting a Vitamix. I know that the fiber is very important but since I am nutritionally challenged due to absorption and osteoporosis my choice is green juice without fiber and fruit fibers added along with flax crackers and slippery elm if needed.

[EZ rider]

There are so many rules that people are making with raw - and maybe down the road I will learn that some of them are right for my body - maybe I will get to that point where one small salad will last me for 24 hours or that one orange will sustain me for an entire day of skiing but for now just trying to be raw is hard enough.I also have concluded that there are to many rules from various people about eating raw. I like the approach this site takes about the raw lifestyle because it makes sense and is liberating. Eat anything, anytime, in any amount while transitioning as long as its raw, and then tweek it from there by listening to your body. Now thats freedom and it puts the emphasis right where it belongs - on each individuals body, after all we are all different arn't we. IMO when a person learns to listen to their body and starts eating in response to signals from their body, like hunger signals for example, they give their body and mind the best chance of success in striving for good health.
If you have resources more than $50 you might wish to consider looking at the GreenStar or the Omega juicer. In the long run you will save on produce because they extract more juice and they also do wheatgrass rather than having to purchase a separate unit. Also they make a good argument that the enzymatic action of their juice is better quality than that obtained from a centrifugal juicer. And lastly you can find them cheaper as refurbished or used but still with a warranty. Oh, I saw where down the road they let you trade in your unit and get credit towards a new one. I am seriously considering those prior to getting a Vitamix. I know that the fiber is very important but since I am nutritionally challenged due to absorption and osteoporosis my choice is green juice without fiberI agree with you about the dedicated green juicer for doing various greens including WG. If a person wants the juice of green plants in their diet you can't beat a juicer specifically designed for the task to do the best job of delivering a lot of high quality green juice.
fruit fibersFruit fiber is my main source of fiber. I just love fruit to eat by itself and also in the blender. A good blender (like the vitamix) will allow a person to get the benefits of seeds (I like sprouted seeds the best) to be added to a smoothie and also the seeds in the fruit like cantaloupe for example to be blended up so well that a person gets plenty of fiber and the benefits of pulverized fresh seeds in a delicious smoothie.

[Smileen]

green bananas are probably not alkaline as they are unripe. Lemon is alkaline in the body.

[SharonC]

Luckitri,

I agree that juicing is ideal for anyone that is already in a disease state and digestion is poor. I am sure that you already know, but for others who may not, juicing is the way that so many people have healed their bodies of cancer and other serious diseases. It is recommended by the long time health gurus - Jack Lalanne, Dr. Norman Walker, Dr. Gerson, etc.

Juicing is what I started my Mom doing when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It made an incredible difference. It really takes you to a much higher level of health and is the best and fastest way to heal the body. I also juiced a lot in the beginning of discovering true health and still try to juice about once every week or two (about 3 days worth of juice each time I juice) - sort of a mini cleanse and to get more nutrients and without working the body so hard. I juice mostly vegetables - much more palatable than green smoothies without fruit and even more absorbable (as well as eliminating the digestive work of the body which is key to healing and faster).

One of my combinations is lots of leafy greens, including celery (and sometimes cucumbers), and some carrots. I also like one that has the greens (especially celery, cilantro, and basil) with tomatoes - lime juice is great with this one, also garlic and hot peppers. Another is a lemonade, and the only way I like beets - simply apples, lemons, and beets, and sometimes ginger (very pretty color).

I do have a Green Star, but my Mom and Dad ended up buying a cheaper juicer from Costco, and it is pretty good. Any juicer is better than none!

p.s. I recently met a lady at Whole Foods who was filling up her cart with tons of veggies, and I just had to ask if she was juicing! When I asked her she got soooo excited just talking about it. She is from Germany and is living with her daughter and son-in-law (she juices for the whole family!) She was so full of life - she is 78 and said that she does not take any drugs or go to doctors! Enjoyed talking to her so much that I did not even notice when my husband and his boss (who were having lunch at Whole Foods) came over and stole my cart!!