Green Smoothies!?!?!

[cadelmcg]

Wow,

So I just slowly started integrating raw foods into my daily routine. I just made a green smoothie.. just out of romaine lettuce, banana, a little orange and honey...

Its uhm, interesting. I just took whatever was around the house.. so it was a rough recipe..nothing fancy. This is my first time having a green smoothie.. please tell me the other recipes aren't this.... lawn clippings tasting? Which I am sure Are not. :-)

Not trying to be disrespectful towards green smoothies, more towards my own concoctions ahha.

[Dimond]

When you aren't use to it, you need to make sure you add plenty of fruit and/or other ingredients. Try 2-4+ bananas, depending on the size. I keep them refrigerated because it makes the smoothie taste better. Baby spinach is the easiest green to begin with because it's mild. Green smoothies should always taste delicious. :)

[cadelmcg]

phew, ok thank god! thats for the tip on which type of greens to use.

[edelweiss]

I put 1/2 pineapple, 1 mango and spinach.
Or 1 banana, 1/2 pineapple, 1 kiwi fruit, a few strawberries and spinach..
It tastes amazing!!! It is the best treat EVER lol...

I haven't tried it with lettuce, usually I just eat my lettuce in a salad so I don't need to blend it, but I don't like spinach and kale in a salad as much so those are the greens that I do blend..

[xPIXIEx]

There was a bit of a learning curve for me. I HATED, or so I thought, green smoothies when I first tried them. Actually, I just wasn't doing it right. :P You've definitely gotta experiment. After some time, you'll be adding less and less fruit. My family has gotten used to the "green" taste of them. Just give it time.

My favorite green smoothie fruits are bananas, mangoes, pineapples, blackberries and strawberries. That's just about all I'm known to use. Occasionally, I throw in some apples or peaches. Try combining some of those. I haven't really branched out to many greens, so for now it's just kale or spinach. Try using some sort of nut mylk as a base, instead of water. It REALLY changes up the flavor. It's good stuff. :)

[Shine]

Another thing I think helps is adding juice instead of water. Juice an orange or some bluberries for a sweeter taste.
I don't care for romaine in my smoothies....strong taste so I will do a lot of fruit (rasberries and banana overpoer everything for me) radicco is the same - bitter when blended so add lotsa friut :)

[Jessican]

yup - start with less greens, more fruit. I started making my kids' with a small handfull of spinach, 2 bananas, 6 or so large frozen strawberries and about 1/2c frozen blueberries (blueberries hide the green color) ;-)

Now I can make it with two large handfulls of greens - although I still don't add some of the more bitter ones - and one banana. and they don't mind the green color anymore. LOL

[Aleesha Sattva]

i sooooooo do not like romaine in my GS but my hubby loves it.

you'll find your bliss with them... they are super yummy! there's a thread here... with 70 recipes! i'll go find it and link it for ya.

[Aleesha Sattva]

Here it is! http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54452

[appifanie]

i have yet to make a smoothie with romaine that i've liked - i prefer spinach or kale.

this is what i've been making a lot lately:
1 banana
2 cups baby spinach
1 orange
1 cup frozen berries
1 tbsp flax seed
1 cup water

I'm going to go make one now!

[cadelmcg]

Thats so awesome that the body adapts to the taste of it. I am just used to a SAD diet that must be why! My taste buds are corrupted :-/

THANKS SO MUCH!

[honeyb1]

Green smoothies are great, congrats on your first attempt! There are so many good recipes out there, limitless possibilities! Take a look at this site for some great info on green smoothies and of course, yummy recipes...

http://www.greensmoothie.com/blend/green.html

[joyce09]

Honeyb, Thanks for the website on GS.

[DebB]

You might like to go to YouTube and type in, "How to make a Green Smoothie". I don't know how many times I watched that video when I started eating this way! *Ü*

[bikediva]

There are lots of raw ingredients you can put in your smoothie to make it taste yummy. Try cacao powder, almond milk, flax seed, maple syrup, agave, raw honey. Also, a whole lemon or lime will give an amazing flavour and disguise the greens. My personal favourite is kelp powder, but you could use other seaweed too. I find it doesn't have the bitter taste of some greens. Spinach is also fabulous.

I wonder if you used the romaine because you don't have a vitamix? In that case, I would suggest juicing the greens then blending the juice with whole fruit. Mango is especially good. I have a Magic Bullet, and can't stand having chunks of kale in my smoothie. Another good tip is to freeze the banana; it gives a creamy consistency, and feels more decadent. It also hides the greens better, for some reason. Sprouts blend really well, too, although they taste pretty strong.

If all else fails, do what others have suggested and add greens gradually. I relish my GS and now enjoy the taste of greens. But don't force it! :p

[RawKnitster]

I don't appreciate romaine in most smoothies. It has a bite or bitterness to it that comes out strongly when blended. A sprinkle of stevia can rescue a bitter smoothie. I do like romaine in a smoothie with apples, dates, and cinnamon.

Making your first smoothie is a big deal. Good for you! Keep experimenting! :D

"Lawn clippings" is a standard joke in our house. My husband will walk into the kitchen when I'm finished blending and ask me if I'm done mowing the lawn. :p

[cadelmcg]

I don't have a vitamix, but a decently strong blender. It blended nice.. and I was just using what was around the house.. trying to catch up on bills before our next grocery shop :-/

[cadelmcg]

Just wanted to update you guys!

I made my first GREAT "green" smoothie... although... its more purple..

I put a handful of rasp/blackberry/strawberries
1 banana
1 tbsp of flax seeds
one handful of spinach
one handful of watercress
and some almond milk
and water

tastes great!

[GoingtoRAW]

I use two whole oranges so I don't have to use water. If the oranges aren't real juicy then I will add a tiny bit of water. I use 1/2 to 1 banana. What determines how much banana is how ripe the banana is. Usually when I buy them I place them in a brown paper bag and let them get really ripe, like brown and the banana peel is almost coming off by itself. That makes the bananas sweet....so I use less sweetner. Then I add frozen dark cherries, that is also a sweetner, and frozen strawberries or raspberries or whatever fruits I want really. Then I add in my baby spinach or whatever kinds of greens I want. Everyone is right...the fruit really helps.

Don't give up on the smoothies. They are really good for you. Good luck.