Green smoothies. Ok, DON’T RUN AWAY OR STOP READING. Stay with me – I promise they’re not as bad as they sound. In fact, they are pretty darn fantastic. With a green smoothie the idea is to incorporate greens and vegetables into your tasty, blended drink. Why? Because it is oh-so-good for you: you get to detox your bod, increase your energy, boost your immune system, improve your digestion, and enjoy a gorgeous healthy glow, among other benefits. Sounds pretty good, right?
Can I just use my regular blender you might ask? And to be honest with you I wouldn’t recommend it. You definitely want a blender that has some power to make sure your creation is perfectly mixed and you’re not picking shards of kale out of your teeth.
New to the green smoothie craze? Try out this formula and plug in your favs:
1 banana (for creaminess)
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen fruit of choice
1 1/2 cups fresh leafy greens (swiss chard, kale, spinach)
Add water or juice
Optional:
1 tbsp oatmeal (for fibre)
1 tsp almond butter or peanut butter (for protein)
1 tsp of flax, chia, or hemp seeds
A squeeze of honey (for sweetness)
Throw it all in a blender & blend until smooth.
Ready to experiment? I posed the question ‘what’s in YOUR blender?” on my Facebook page and I got a whoooooooole lot of responses! Here’s a list of ten different concoctions for you to try out:
1. Swiss chard, blueberries, partridgeberries, lime, & avocado.
2. Banana, blueberries, cranberries, greens (kale, spinach, chard) flax oil, water, almond milk, protein powder and of course a little bit of cocoa.
3. Frozen strawberries, cashews, coconut water, a date or 2, and vanilla. Add a banana for smoothness!!!
4. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, spinach, almond milk, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, & flax seed!
5. Blueberries, partridgeberries , avocado, swiss chard, hemp harts, lime juice, beet, banana, stevia.
6. Bananas, spinach peanut butter, chocolate protein powder, rice milk, coconut water, and greek yogurt!
7. Banana, pear, blueberries, hemp hearts, flax seeds, carob powder, peanut butter, almond milk.
8. Spinach, almond milk, avocado, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, and sometimes protein powder.
9. Spinach, kale, strawberries, banana, blueberries, peach, ginger, cinnamon, matcha, greek yogurt, almond milk, and vanilla protein powder.
10. This is what’s in my blender: pomegranate, frozen berries, apples, clementines, banana, cabbage, spinach, cucumber, ginger, hemp hearts, chia seeds, coconut oil, and water.
You can play around with ingredients and amounts until you find what you like. Have fun trying them out and let me know what else you come up with!
Enjoy the glow!
-mel-
xo