April 02, 2012

Green smoothies how-to


I had several readers ask about green smoothie recipes, and I am delighted to post them.

First of - we are simple. For the kids, I use a base of water, juice ( fresh is my choice) or almond milk ( rarely, though). Today I made one consisting of this : fruit that we had on hand - apple, mango and 2 kiwis, berries - 5 large strawberries, and a handful of frozen blueberries, packed the rest of the space with spinach ( and I mean , seriously packed it - waaaaaaaay more then just a handful or two of spinach), 1/2 of E3Live and filled whatever little space there is with spring water. I added also 2 tablespoons of honey - we felt like honey today, a large table spoon of raw coconut oil, and some cinnamon. Blended in Vitamix on high for a few seconds, and viola - they've got their smoothie mustage and happily went to school ( or playroom for littlest ones) .

I use all sorts of greens - from romane to dandelion greens to collards. If it's green and edible - we add it to our smoothies. Spinach has been a huge hit lately, and I strongly believe in giving your body what it's asking for. So, hence is the spinach mania of the moment. 


For me personally - am not a fan of sweet things, so my smoothies are savory and very watery : I throw in a few cucumbers, celery stick, a couple of carrots and a lot of spinach , water, cayenne, sea salt and sometimes a large clove of garlic. That's my very green drink, that I take with me everywhere. I like it salty and spicy. It's also refreshing and healing to me.




Victoria Butenko, who I mentioned in the post last Monday, recommends these recipes for beginners ( she also uses Vitamix, in case you are wondering ) :

Green Smoothies for Beginners

Basic Balance
Victoria Boutenko
1 mango
1 cup kale
1 cup water
Yields 1 quart
Rocket Fuel Smoothie
Victoria Boutenko
2 cups green or red seedless grapes
3 golden kiwis, peeled
1 ripe orange, peeled, seeds removed
1 small leaf of aloe vera, with skin
5 leaves red leaf lettuce
2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts

Morning Zing Smoothie
Victoria Boutenko
½ bunch dandelion greens
2 stalks celery
½ inch fresh ginger root
2 peaches
½ pineapple
Yields 2 quarts
Parsley Passion Smoothie
Sergei Boutenko
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 cucumber, peeled
1 Fuji apple
1 ripe banana
1–2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts


and come greenies for little ones :

Green Smoothies for Children

Miner’s Lettuce Smoothie
Sergei Boutenko
3 cups wild crafted miner’s lettuce (wild edible)
2 ripe pears
½ pint blueberries
2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts
Coco-Tango
Sergei Boutenko
Thai coconut, meat and water
5 leaves kale, stems removed
2 nectarines
2 peaches
1 mango
Yields 2 quarts


The Laughing Gorilla
Valya Boutenko
½ head romaine lettuce
2 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen
2 oranges, peeled, seeds removed
1 mango
2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts
Warning: consumption of smoothie may
result in spontaneously occurring, extremely
contagious gorilla laughter



Emerald Applesauce
Aletha Nowitzky
4:5 apples
1 bunch fresh parsley
½ inch fresh ginger root
Yields 3 cups  {source}

You know that green smoothies are the new black when Apple creates an App for it! Highly recommend !
Shouldn't come as a surprise, though - they've shown their priorities for a long time now. 



5 comments:

  1. They served green smoothies at our ward's fun run and everyone loved them! They are so good and I love how good they make you feel.

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    Replies
    1. Green smoothies DO make you feel amazing - they are very cleansing, helping to re-build the nutrition lost during the day, great re-charge for before/after dancing too. I love mine. It's also a great way to get those fruit/veggies in WITH fiber - i'm always running somewhere, so it's a life saver, literally.

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  2. uuuhhh they look so yummy. I love that they're good for you. I need to try one of them this weekend. They look tempting enough for my kiddos as well. :)http://findyoursparkle.blogspot.com/2012/03/cute-spring-apron-giveaway.html

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  3. I'm always game for a good smoothie recipe. And I live in NYC, also! So nice to "meet" other bloggers from the city. :)

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  4. Thanks for the recipes, Olya! I can't wait to try some this week :)

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