Green smoothies (bear with me, sorry!)

[Myownworstenemy]

Ok, I have to ask, and I'm sure this has been addressed hundreds of time on this site, but I still have to ask (bear with me, I'm sorry):

Do you all use "just" a blender to make your green smoothies!!?? I'm only used to making protein shakes with a blender using just fruit and soy protein. It seems alien to try to blend greens in a blender with fruit. And how do you make it cold? Do you add ice? I can't imagine drinking a room temp smoothie!! (but that's just me) I have a (crappy) juicer and have juiced greens and fruit and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, but just throwing everything in blender seems so odd. Doesn't it get all pulpy?

I'm sorry if I sound so ignorant, but it just seems odd to me. If blending things up in a blender is the way to do it, I'll go for it, I was just wondering if that's really the the way to make all these wonderful green smoothies everyone here keeps raving about...

:o

[commoncents]

Not ignorant at all. That is the way it is done. Just toss greens and fruit (I add a little water and ice) and blend away. I, and many in the Raw world have Vita-mix's (a high speed blender/juicer) and that does the work just fine. You'll probably have to invest in one at one point as it makes it much easier to make the smoothies.

Having said that, many on here have stated that they make their smoothies in their blenders. Green smoothies are great and you will love them!!!!!

[Thick]

Hi=)

Yes, you can just throw it in there together. I wouldn't start out very complicated, though.
I make mine cold with frozen berries, frozen bananas and sometimes ice.

I have a vitamix, which is a very expensive blender. But--it makes anything completely smooth--including ice creams and soups and nut butters and cheesecake filling and and and...smoothies, too!=)

Of course you can make green smoothies with a regular blender, too. It helps to blend the greens up first with the water, then add the frozen fruit--or whatever you like.This is because overblending the bananas will make them really frothy. You can also make savory smoothies that are more like soups or salsas.

If you want to check out the difference that a vitamix makes, take some greens up to a smoothie place--they use vitamixes--and ask them to make you a water/banana one with your spinach.=)

[Myownworstenemy]

OOMPH,
I know I will never have the money to buy a Vitamix or any of those super nice high end blender/juicers. I have a decent blender, but nothing like a Vitamix.

So, if I blend the greens firs with water that helps smooth it out? That's interesting, I'll have to try that.

thank you

[Asa]

Not to get all preachy, but I bet if you stopped using the soy protein you would experience GREAT results. It is an extremely damaging food.

[Thick]

oops wrong thread=p

[Asa]

If you're weary of trying green smoothies, make your first with lots of bananas (for creaminess) and use baby spinach for the greens (very mild), then add whatever else you want for taste. Strawberries, peaches, nectarines, and especially mangoes are great for beginners' taste buds! :)

[Myownworstenemy]

Oh, no, preach on!!

I no longer use soy protein. Once I can afford it again, I'll be buying raw hemp protein for my smoothies!! I realize now just how highly processed soy products are...other than raw soy beans (organic only)!!!

:D

[Aleesha Sattva]

we don't advocate any soy here...

if you are eating a 100% raw live foods... you really don't need hemp protein or any protein added to your daily regime.

but it's totally your choice :D

[gabriele]

I'm certainly no expert here......

before i got my Vitamix, i had one of those really small Cuisinart choppers, it was the kind you use to chop up onions (to give you an idea of how small it was).

I started making smoothies for months using that little thing. Used bananas, berries, protein powders, whatever i had, but i did not use ice because it couldn't handle that.

Then, i got my Vitamix. But my smoothies were perfectly fine before i got it, just couldn't use ice. I also don't use soy protein any more, but use a RAW rice protein powder, Sun Warrior, which i know i don't NEED, i just need that chocolate flavor. I too like cold green smoothies, even this winter, i can't imagine drinking them room temperature. Maybe if it gets cold enough i'll change my mind though, it's in the 60's here and i'm already shivering! (wuss).

[Seedy]

I use a 20 year old Osterizer blender for green smoothies, so a Vita-Mix, while nice, is hardly a necessity. My basic smoothie is a banana, something orange (could be a mango, cantaloupe melon, or navel orange), something red or blue (frozen berries of some type), two big handfuls of baby spinach and 1 tablespoon each of hemp protein powder and ground flaxseed. On occasion I'll get a pineapple if I can find one on sale and add some fresh pineapple. Great for the digestion.
Seedy

[NaturalMama]

I use a sunbeam blender, it's 3 or 4 years old and works great. I use it 2-4 times per day, so it's getting alot of use. One day I miht get a vitamix or blendtec but for now my simple sunbeam blender works great!

[Aleesha Sattva]

I use a 20 year old Osterizer blender for green smoothies, so a Vita-Mix, while nice, is hardly a necessity.

honestly... don't say it's not a necessity when you haven't tried one. using a vita-mix is so much better. it breaks down the cellular level of your greens and makes the nutrition more absorbable. so even though they may taste fine using a blender or some other appliance... a blend-tec and vita-mix GREATLY increase the nutritional value.

kinda like a good quality juicer. ya you can get juice out of cheap juicer... but you get more juice and a higher quality from a greenstar (for example).

[Green_Woman]

a blend-tec and vita-mix GREATLY increase the nutritional value.

THIS!!!!!