Green Smoothies Pack A Nutritional Punch

Green vegetables are good for you and they are best consumed in their raw state. In short, we all know we should eat more salads and ideally with as little salad dressing as possible aside from a little oil and acid to help in the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Try eating 5 cups of leafy green veggies with little to no dressing on a daily basis. It’s hard to do and it quickly gets old. Thankfully, there’s a better way to get all those nutrients into your body with a lot less effort and more flavor – in the form of green smoothies. 

What Are Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are a blend of lots of leafy green vegetables like lettuce, spinach, or kale, combined with fruit and liquids like juice or water. They are often dairy free, but this is your smoothie, so if a splash of milk or cream makes it more palatable to you, go for it. More often though, frozen fruit like banana or mango, or fresh avocado is used to give some of these smoothies a creamy, almost milkshake like consistency.

You can add more or less liquid to any smoothie recipe to change the consistency. The key is to blend everything really well in a good blender. Not only does this make it much easier to consume large amounts of green leafy vegetables, it also helps in the absorption of the nutrients. The veggies are finely chopped into a juice-like consistency, making it easy to consume and digest all this good stuff.

How To Make Green Smoothies

Making your own green smoothies is easy. All you need is a blender and some produce to work with. Start with a big bunch of greens, then add some fruit juice, or your favorite fruit to the mix. Here are two basic recipes to get you started. Blend 2 cups of spinach with a cup of organic frozen mango and about a cup of organic, unsweetened apple juice. Blend until smooth. Add more juice or water as needed to get the consistency you like. For a different smoothie blend one large head of romaine lettuce with a banana and enough water to get the consistency you like best. You can also throw in a scoop of your favorite protein powder as well.

Have fun with it. Combine your favorite fruits and veggies with plenty of leafy greens and mix it up. Start with some recipes you like and then tweak them to your taste. It’s ok to add more fruit in the beginning until your palate gets used to the “green taste”. It won’t take long and you’ll quickly be able to reduce the amount of fruit you use in your daily smoothie.

Fix one for breakfast, lunch, or as a quick afternoon snack and getting enough leafy green veggies into your diet becomes easy. This is particularly true once you realize how great this much good food makes you feel. Ready for a nutritional punch? Drink a fresh, homemade, green smoothie.

To Your Health,

Jennifer