Green Smoothies

[Alwaystriving]

Could someone post a few basic recipes for Green Smoothies a la Victoria Boutenko? I made an effort at it this evening using Young coco water, Little bit of the young coco flesh, Red Bell Pepper, Handful of Alfafla sprouts, Spirulina, two or three frozen bananas, and a Mango.

[Revvell]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8980&highlight=Victoria+Boutenko+green+smoothies

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4260&highlight=Victoria+Boutenko+green+smoothies

[joannes]

Ew, no offense but that green smoothie does not sound good to me ;) I understand that we are all different though and that's what makes life so wonderful. Heck, the thought of green anything in my smoothie totally grossed me out at first, but now I love it!
Here's an example of what we do: This morning we all shared a green smoothie made from 20 bananas and a large bunch of spinach. I used about 3 1/2 cups of water too. Sometimes I will add mangoes. Another smoothie we like is grapes, apples and celery - with a few bananas to make it creamier. I don't know if that helps or not, but thought I'd share just in case.

[lodestar]

20 bananas! are you serious? oh my heck I had to read twice to make sure I wasn't mistaken :)

[Colin]

http://www.seekeronline.org/journals/y2005/nov05.html

scroll down and find some great smoothie ideas. I like an orange, banana, and some spinach and water.

Or some lemon, apple, mixed greens, and perhaps 2 dates.

I have yet to have a poor tasting smoothie. And the green in the smoothie seems to prevent the sugar 'spike' high that can happen with fruit only.

[Nini]

I put a handful of greens (usually spinach) and 2 c. water in blender. Liquefy.
Add 2 bananas and 1/2 - 1 mango. Liquefy again.

Delicious!

[joannes]

lodestar - yes, 20 bananas! But, there's 4 of us drinking it as a meal, so that's 5 bananas each. Also, I have to make it in 2 batches in my vitamix; it wont all fit in one.

[Leslie_L]

I have a few favorites

2 mangos and 1 bunch of parsley - YUMMY my all time fav!!!
3 cups of spinach with 1 bananna and a cup of berries
4 kiwi, 3 stalks of celery and 1 bananna - Really good!!

This one is not a favorite but it's ok.
4 to 5 stalks of kale, 3 pears and a cup of raspberries

All need about a cup to 1.5 c of water added depending on the consistancy you like.

I also add 1 heaping scoop of hemp seed protein powder and a table spoon of bee pollin to my smoothies in the morning

I have subsitiuted arugula, kale, chard and mixed lettuces for the spinach.
The arugula and kale were a bit harsh, but to be honest after the first gulps I could not notice the harshness any more.

Its interesting the fruit seems to cover up the veggie taste and the veggies seem to dull the sweetness of the fruit so they are a good mix.

These are all posted here in an old post as well as at www.rawfamily.com

HTH,

Leslie

[Leslie_L]

I have a few favorites

2 mangos and 1 bunch of parsley - YUMMY my all time fav!!!
3 cups of spinach with 1 bananna and a cup of berries
4 kiwi, 3 stalks of celery and 1 bananna - Really good!!

This one is not a favorite but it's ok.
4 to 5 stalks of kale, 3 pears and a cup of raspberries

All need about a cup to 1.5 c of water added depending on the consistancy you like.

I also add 1 heaping scoop of hemp seed protein powder and a table spoon of bee pollin to my smoothies in the morning

I have subsitiuted arugula, kale, chard and mixed lettuces for the spinach.
The arugula and kale were a bit harsh, but to be honest after the first gulps I could not notice the harshness any more.

Its interesting the fruit seems to cover up the veggie taste and the veggies seem to dull the sweetness of the fruit so they are a good mix.

These are all posted here in an old post as well as at www.rawfamily.com

HTH,

Leslie

[tracyb519]

I'm not sure what you guys are talking about when you say "green smoothies" because every smoothy that what mentioned had only a little bit of greens(like spinach) in it?? I'm confused...is any smoothy called a green smoothy even if their are mostly all fruits?

[RawTruth]

Tracyb519 -- Click on the links that Revvell posted in post #2 above. They should educate you about the basic facts of green smoothies.

I teach that green smoothies are optimal at 40% fruit, 60% greens. (Avoid using only kale or mustard greens - strong tastes should be combined with other milder greens). I agree that 20 bananas is an incredible amount -- even 5 bananas each person -- but that poster might be following fruitarian/natural hygiene guidelines, ya never know.

First, though, click on the links and read. And/or go to rawfamily.com to read Victoria Boutenko's Ode to Green Smoothie (just hunt for it on the website) so you can get some basic information. Or, of course, you can do your own search here on this website. There have been an ENORMOUS amount of threads about green smoothies.

[Leslie_L]

Hi Tracy,

For starters they are pretty green in color even if mostly fruit, but
the optimal ratio suggested by Victoria Boutenko is 60% fruit to 40% greens and that is apparently based on research that she did.

I am new to green smoothies, I have been drinking them for about 2 weeks. I followed the recipes at first and then began to add extra greens. I noticed if I added to much of the greens, especially of the stronger tasting ones like kale and arugula the veggie taste was a little over powering. I made myself drink them anyway and noticed that after the first few mouth fulls that the harshness disappeared.

I am definitely consuming more greens now drinking about a quart of green smoothie/day than I was before.

HTH,

Leslie

[RawTruth]

. . . the optimal ratio suggested by Victoria Boutenko is 60% fruit to 40% greens and that is apparently based on research that she did. She's now personally drinking them with much much more greens than fruit. If you wish to know even more about it, an email from Victoria was posted here in recent weeks and her most recent newsletter includes a Q & A about green smoothies. But -- my suggestion is to just start making them and drinking them. You'll see the allure right away!

Bye again!

[Arky]

She's now personally drinking them with much much more greens than fruit. If you wish to know even more about it, an email from Victoria was posted here in recent weeks

Interesting. I always felt her smoothie recommendations were too high on fruit - after all, it's the greens which heal more than the fruit and fruit is so easy to eat naturally, whereas most people struggle to eat the greens but find them easier if blended.

This whole raw food path is such a steep learning curve for everybody, each in their own way.


J.

[tracyb519]

I thought you shouldn't mix fruit with vegetables?

A juicer compared to a vita mix when making smoothies....which one is healthier or should I say, the nutrients getting into the bloodstream quicker? OR they the same?



Thanks,
Tracy

[Arky]

Broadly-speaking, GREEN leafy vegetables mix just fine with fruit.

Arguably, the nutrients would reach the bloodstream quicker with juice than with a smoothie, but the tradeoff is that juices are not as filling or sustaining as a smoothie, and that your digestive tract does not benefit from the fibre, whereas the fibre is present in a smoothie, albeit pre-broken-down.

Note that with EITHER a juice or a smoothie, it is important to allow each mouthful to mix with saliva in the mouth - if you simply swig them, the stomach will have to work that bit harder to assimilate the nutrients. You ideally want to be maximising absorption after spending money on good fresh organic produce, as well as minimizing the energy expended on digestion.


J.

[Rawkinlocs]

Tracy

At this stage of the game for you, I'd say ignore all that stuff you hear about, "you're not supposed to mix this or that".

Just concentrate on eating raw and getting your body clean. In time, your body will signal to you what combinations are or are not working for you.

Also, I've noticed that not all food combining charts are created equally. One will say mix NO fruit and greens and others will say it's fine. Take a look at the chart at this link: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9508

It says vegetables mix well with most foods.

As Victoria stated...green juice has it's purpose and green smoothies have theirs...neither is necessarily better or healthier than the other.

[Angelic Light]

Fruits and green leaves can be mixed together.

A blender is probably healthiest as you are using the whole fruit or vegetable, so you are still getting the fibre, which we need to help our insides flush out toxins. Juices are great too of course, but probably not in huge quantities. Blenders are easier to use and clean out in my opinion.

[greeninlosangeles]

I put more and more greens to my smoothies, but I am drinking them everyday for 2 months now. I put just strong greens(collard, dandelion, kale, mustard greens and others I don't even know names of) because lettuces can be eaten nicely in the salads and we do need some chewing(Victoria sells chewing device, but I am not sure I want to chew plastic for so long). Lately I love to put a piece of my grown aloe vera leaf in. I use like one banana, one mango and a lot of greens. If they are too bitter, I add 5 dates to it. sometimes I use pear or apple, but i noticed that just banana and mango make them creamy.

[Arky]

greeninlosangeles, I really feel the same way about blending the 'harsher' greens and eating the 'easier' ones in a conventional manner. However, I must admit I am trying to make myself chew some of the harsher ones, in an effort to support my dental health. That aside, I personally believe you have a good approach to greens consumption.


J.

[Angelina]

my fave and quick and easy recipe is to use one of those Ready Pac bags of baby spinach (yup the whole thing!!) and add one bag of frozen berries from Whole Foods, this usually gives me two decent size servings. Spinach is the best, can barely tast it. When using non frozen berries, I usually add two bananas and a mango.

[joannes]

RawTruth - yes, I follow the fruitarian/natural hygiene guidelines. I guess when I posted that I forgot that a lot of posters here don't eat raw the way I do :)

[RawTruth]

I thought you shouldn't mix fruit with vegetables?In Green for Life, Victoria Boutenko explains that greens are not vegetables, so there is not a problem combining them with fruits.

She has a fascinating chapter on what a disservice has been done by produce not being accurately and individually categorized (e.g. leaves, roots, flowers -- instead, everything's lumped together as "vegetables" despite them being utilized by the body in very different ways).

[wyjoz]

Just sharing e-mail from Victoria; RE: carrot tops
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 3:32 PM
To: victoria@rawfamily.com

I just got some organic carrots and the tops are so fresh and so green; Can I put a bunch in my Green Smoothie along with 1 bunch Kale?

yes and I do it all the time.
Victoria

[RawTruth]

Actually, the last time I heard Victoria talk, she suggested using the tops and throwing away the carrots! (Remember, the primates eat roots only in times of great famine!)

[Blissed]

Last night I used Angelina's recipe [thank you Angelina], though without the berries, and added a handful of left over parsley with the spinach, as well as a tablespoon of coconut oil and some dried shredded coconut with the 2 bananas and the mango. Great stuff - it was dinner last night and breakfast this morning as well. :D

[Angelina]

You're Welcome Blissed and you additions sound heavenly!!! I never thought of adding dried coconut to my smoothies..must add a nice tropical flair.. I'll definitely have to give it a try soon.

[wyjoz]

Spinach: just sharing this. "I decreased the spinach use after (re)learning about how the 'oxalic acid' in it isn't so great for us in large quantities." Victoria

[RawTruth]

Wyjoz -- can you explain the last post? Was this an email to you from Victoria? In response to what? What amount was she decreasing from and what amount is she using now? Can you elaborate please?

Thanks.

[jaurequi]

I don't use spinach in my smoothies either. I've only done so a few times in distant past when I first heard of green smoothies, and they were delicious, but I assumed about the oxalates as well.

Also, though most contain both, I want to absorb the calcium from greens; so I go for the ones with higher calcium content than iron.

Thanks for that, wyjoz.

Best,

[wyjoz]

Raw Truth: you write:

Wyjoz -- can you explain the last post? Was this an email to you from Victoria? In response to what? What amount was she decreasing from and what amount is she using now? Can you elaborate please?"

this was posted in here somewhere: I tried to search it and I remember it well. If I find it I'll repost. In her lecture that I attended she made that same comment. Yes she uses a handful of spinach here and there. I posted this statement for readers to research as I feel a whole 'bag' of spinach to drink in 2 glasses of Smoothie might be something that people should research? that's all.

In that same answer she states that 'lambs quarter is ideal, I understand, since it's wild and has more nutrients in it. RAWgards Joz

[wyjoz]

jaurequi; you'r welcome. I posted this only to have 'healthy' Raw foodists check it out and not overdose on 'spinach' s oxalic acid. Victoria states that she puts a handful of spinach. I do also. and every so often I add a handful to a salad or have a spinach salad. Not daily. Hope this helps Joz

[langelbleu]

I just listened to a teleconference with Victoria the other day and then a Q&A the next day, she mentioned the oxylic acid issue there too.
Not only that, I have also heard David Wolfe speak to oxylic acid in different greens before as well. Chard for example is really high in the oxylic acid.

What Victoria stressed is the importance of rotation for your greens. All greens contain different alkaloids. In limited quantities it is not a problem, when you consume one kind with prolonged volume that is when it builds up in the system and causes problems.

Here is a link by Frederic Patenaude about greens and oxylic acid.
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/questions/oxalicacid.html

[RawTruth]

Concerns about oxylic acid have been around for a really long time. There were articles and discussion about it 10 years ago (at least) within the vegetarian community.

The key is, as alway, to get a varied diet.

Get in touch with your body so it'll tell you what it needs.

And, don't freak out about getting "too much" of one thing or another (within reason).

Eating living foods, even if you eat a lot of one thing for a while, is far better than eating cooked, processed or animal foods.