Green Smoothies - how much greens?

[mousebandit]

When you make a green smoothie, how much greens are you putting in there, by weight? I'm having a hard time converting "1 bunch" or "2 cups" into what's really going into my blender. I mean, 2 cups, of finely chopped spinach, just kind of laid into the measuring cup, or 2 cups of long kale greens, right off the stalk, stuffed in there tight?

Today I weighed mine with my little digital kitchen scale (oh, how I love that thing!) and 1 oz of kale was a freaking lot! THen I added some spinach, and it looked like a plenty, but it was only 2 oz of spinach, so I felt like a wuss, and made it 3 oz. let me tell you, even 2 cups of frozen blackberries (8oz, I think it was) couldn't make this smoothie purple - it is DARK GREEN!

Oh, and when you make your smoothies, how much do they yield? Mine seem to come out between 4-5 cups, and that includes 1-2 cups of water in there that I add to get everything to blend up smoothly (smoothiely!).

THANK YOU!!! I've been reading that Green Smoothie Experiment blog, and now I'm feeling all precise and everything, LOL!

Tracey Mouse

[subbacultcha]

Heh, as far as greens go in my smoothies...
I just make the normal fruit smoothie, chuck a handful of greens in and blend it. Taste it, and if it doesn't taste of spinach or whatever I throw another handle. Whiz it up, taste it, throw some more in, and so on, and so on.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i toss in a large handful of greens...

[Carlsbad]

I use a Vita-Mix, and I stuff in greens until the container is about 3/4 full. Then I pour in some water (between 1 and 2 cups, I would guess) and cram fruit on top until it is full. That makes about 64 ounces, which I usually drink over two days. Though there are a lot of greens in there, I can almost never taste them. I do add more bananas if the greens are kale, since that has a stronger flavor. But I'm always amazed at how sweet and fruity it always tastes. Hope that helps!

p.s.
I may have one for dinner...you've got me craving it!

[Eveleaf]

I have to taste-test mine, too. For me, it's a fine line between "OK, I can taste the greens now" and "Ack, gag." Gotta be closer to the former than the latter. :)

One handful of spinach (so mild tasting) wouldn't be nearly enough. Two handfuls of spinach wouldn't do it either. Now, two handfuls of spinach and a super-large leaf of kale or bunch of parsely is just right, for me. But also, I'm making big smoothies like you - about five cups each.

[Shell]

Hi mousebandit! I don't think you need to be so technical with all the measuring, etc.......like others, I go by the taste test, and I add just enough greens to make it satisfying, but still delicious (meaning I can't taste the greens!). My green smoothies are pretty tame by some standards....I will add maybe 1/2 a blender full of baby spinach, and then load in frozen blueberries, a banana, stevia, water, until I think I can chug it without yaking!:D

As for yield....that little mixture above will make me about 5 to 6 cups, and I drink it all for breakfast.

[garden granny]

The handful method works best for me ... just grab a handful of greens (I have small hands) ... If your just starting out on green smoothies you should probably start with less than a handful and work up over the weeks to a little more at a time.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I have just bumped and oldie but godie green smoothie thread I did awhile back, have a look. It's called Erin's Superman Breakfast Smoooothie.

[fjernsyn]

Well I'm going to go against the "just a handful" idea. I rely heavily on my food scale for green smoothies. I wasn't able to get into green smoothies until I got it. I'd find a recipe I liked one day and the next I'd add too much green and I couldn't get it down. So these days I measure my greens and I'm very happy. I started off with about 3 ounces of greens in my smoothies and have slowly worked my way up, measuring all the way. My tastes have definitely changed and I'm sure I'll continue adding more. My smoothies don't vary much, just because I've found something I like. So they are:

1 small banana or 1/2 large, frozen
8 oz. frozen cherries
1 1/2 cups water
5 oz. greens - usually cabbage because it's cheap and easy but also romaine or spinach. If I use kale, I don't use this much because I don't like it.

[Davylp25]

I never measure anything.. Just put in a few heads of different varities of greens... I usually down it asap...

[theplatypus]

I use 4-5 handfuls of Greens in my morning smoothie along with apple,banana,carrots,ACV,cayenne,maca,ginger.

[mousebandit]

Thank you for the replies everyone! I guess I am just wanting to measure for one, to get consistent results taste-wise from day to day, and two, because I am pg and still concerned about tracking my protein and nutrient intake every day, and you just can't do that with handfuls, or even with "cup" measurements, LOL!

THANK YOU ALL!
Tracey Mouse