Green Smoothies

[GoingtoRAW]

I am just now getting into really taking drinking green smoothies seriously. Can anyone tell me where I might find some really great recipes? Also, is it ok to add a little honey to sweeten smoothies? I have been making them and not adding anything - but if it's ok for me to add a little honey... If honey is not ok would blending an apple into the smoothie (which works great when juicing), help at all?

[Revvell]

You can add anything you want. Green smoothies are mostly fruit with greens added. Alissa has them in her book (which, if you don't have it, you must consider getting) and there are also some here: http://www.revvellations.com/resources.html.


Revvell

[GoingtoRAW]

Revvell,

Thanks. I went to the link and I am going to order the recipe book. I do have Alissa's book and I love her recipes but I want more recipes for greater variety so I won't get bored and give up. I have only been making smoothies for 3 days after not having any for over a year. I was drinking the same smoothie every day because...well, actually I don't even know why. I got bored and gave them up. Anyway, this time I have been experimenting and just throwing in whatever I feel like and I have loved the variety. I feel like I need a litte guidance though because I want to make sure I get out of the smoothies what I need. :)

[Holli]

I like adding little agave nectar (my husband hates honey, so I don't usually add honey), apples or fresh apples juice works great to sweeten, bananas are a good sweetner and purple grapes will sweeten nicely too. My green smoothie bible is Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life. She has some great recipes, but mostly it informs you of WHY green smoothies are so good for you and why you should keep them up. Good luck to you! My family has been doing the green smoothie "thang" for close to 4 months and I can't imagine our lives without them now!!

[funkygrl]

I don't usually get bored. Every single day is different. I buy a lot of different greens and fruits and just mix and match. The only staple is my banana. I can't get enough banana!

[GoingtoRAW]

I like adding little agave nectar (my husband hates honey, so I don't usually add honey), apples or fresh apples juice works great to sweeten, bananas are a good sweetner and purple grapes will sweeten nicely too. My green smoothie bible is Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life. She has some great recipes, but mostly it informs you of WHY green smoothies are so good for you and why you should keep them up. Good luck to you! My family has been doing the green smoothie "thang" for close to 4 months and I can't imagine our lives without them now!!

Holli,

I have been using bananas to sweeten my smoothies but I will try the grapes and a little honey as substitutes. One of the reasons I gave up the smoothies before was that I kind of OD'd on the bananas and I just couldn't stand the taste of the smoothies anymore and it was a long time before I could even eat another banana. I'm fine with bananas but I will also try other things, including grapes and honey.

I am into day 6 now of drinking smoothies and I feel great! I have had a little bloating but my elimination has improved so it's not that bad. Otherwise I feel so much better than I did without the smoothies. What is really great is that my 12 year old daughter has matched me smoothie for smoothie. She is actually approaching me to make smoothies - I am not making her drink the smoothies. In this short time she has stopped asking for so much junk food and sweets and she is learning to come up with her own recipes. At meal time she is eating much less. She had a smoothie late afternoon yesterday and by dinner time she was still full from the smoothie and couldn't eat. I am so proud of her!

Thanks you guys for all of your suggestions!

[justinesmith]

We also use dates to sweeten. If you soak them overnight for your morning smoothie you get this amazing soft date and the soak water is like syrup. DELICIOSO!! OHH!! Yound coconut water to instead of reg. water is a great sweetner!

[GoingtoRAW]

We also use dates to sweeten. If you soak them overnight for your morning smoothie you get this amazing soft date and the soak water is like syrup. DELICIOSO!! OHH!! Yound coconut water to instead of reg. water is a great sweetner!

YUMMY!!! I need to make a trip to the store for some dates and young coconut!!

[Blazin'Jane]

I do alot of mixing and matching with my smoothies as well. Oanges work, as do kiwis, grapefruit, apples,etc. Sometimes I add some tahini for fun, or raw cacao, or coconut oil. I've used kale, collards, spinach, and I often ad parsley. If I'm taking a road trip of 2 or more hours, I put an avocado in there and sip on the smoothie for hours. 'Keeps me satisfied and not thinking of what I need to stop and buy to eat.

[rawbeliever]

Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko! She wrote the book on green smoothies. Literally. :) Lots of good recipes in there, too.

[GoingtoRAW]

I have Green for Life and I love it! I just completed day 7 of doing green smoothies yesterday and I feel great! I hate to keep mentioning this - but my elimination is sooooo good. I know - TMI! Anyway, even though I have had a little bloating on some days and felt really full like I had eaten a big meal - I am loving this. My cravings for sweets and cooked foods have lessened so much. In fact last night my daughters made sugar cookies and I didn't have any. If they had done that a week ago I don't know if I would have been able to resist. I looked at those cookies and they looked like the best cookies they had ever made. Then I divided them and wrapped them in little plasic bags and got them out of my sight. But honestly I did not have any serious craving for them. I am so happy to have finally found something that may actually be able to help me with my food addictions.

Tell me, will my cravings for sweets and cooked foods lessen even more the longer I drink green smoothies? I hope so because I really need to get healthy and lose weight - a lot of weight - and nothing else has worked as far as getting me off of sweets. ;)

[rawbeliever]

GoingtoRaw, since I've incorporated green smoothies in my raw diet (maybe the past year) I fall off the wagon far less, I get back on a lot more quickly, and my cravings have definitely lessened. Recently I stopped drinking the green smoothies, and my cravings came back with a vengeance. I started drinking them again soon after. I feel much better.

[jacsam]

I like to peel and orange or just cut the peel off and throw it in. Last fall when grapes were on and I picked way too many, I pulled them off the vines and put them into baggies and threw them into the freezer. That's been a fun change, creates a different color and it really does add to the sweetness.

[GoingtoRAW]

RAWBELIEVER - Thanks for sharing that info. I have done green smoothies before and I went off and you are right - those cravings will come back with a vengence. I am trying to make my smoothies more interesting this time so I won't want to go off. I have been trying fruits and veggies I never tried before and so hopefully this time I can stay with them. My cravings for SAD foods have definitely dimished like 99%. I am still working towards 100% raw and the smoothies are helping a lot!!!:)

JACSAM - I have been incorporating grapes into my smoothies. I am going to try your idea and freeze the grapes. I used to do that when I was SAD "dieting" and when the grapes were really sweet they would taste like delicious candy. They really do make the smoothies sweeter - mixed berries do too! They really help make the greens not taste so bitter.

I am drinking a delicious mixed berry and orange smoothie right not - my second one already today and it's only 9:00 A.M.! Can't wait to make my green one tonight. I got on the scale this morning to see if I had lost any weight since I started the smoothies one week ago. I lost 1 1/2 pounds. That doesn't seem like a lot but I'm happy with it. I'm still not 100% raw yet AND I'm not exercising yet. I intend to continue to transition to 100% raw and I am planning on starting a new exercise program this weekend. I know I've lost weight though because my clothes are fitting differently - even my underwear! AND my skin looks radiant!!! Depression is GONE BYE BYE. I'm a happy camper right now!

[trinity082482]

Last fall when grapes were on and I picked way too many, I pulled them off the vines and put them into baggies and threw them into the freezer.

I like the frozen grapes idea! I have heard of pregnant woman using these as a cold treat to fight feeling ill. I never thought about tossing them in with a smoothie. YUM YUM!!