Ooh, it's Green!

"Ooh, it's Green!" or something of the sort is the response I usually get when I show off one of my green breakfast smoothies. And I would have to admit that, at first I wasn't really keen on drinking anything with buzzed up greens in it. Really, If you want to have something green, have a salad right? And smoothies are really supposed to look like something from an Orange Julius or maybe even the McDonald's drive through.  Well look is one thing and taste is another so I figured I would try the infamous green smoothie since I was told they taste great.

I'm guessing I've been doing green smoothies regularly for about 3 years now. I remember when I first started the breakfast smoothie routine. I'd start with some almond milk, yogurt, whey protein powder, a banana, maybe some peanut butter,  frozen fruit and a small handful of fresh, organic spinach. Dang! It was pretty good in spite of the light green color and I couldn't even taste the spinach.

Well, the good thing about lifestyle changes is they don't have to happen overnight. The green smoothie that I describe above is far from the green smoothie that I have daily today. My "smoothie making" skills evolved and my tastes changed. Now I see the greens as my a blank canvas on (in) which to add a nearly infinite combination of healthy ingredients. Case in point, I have many friends who make green smoothies now and everybody's are different but they are all a healthy alternative to a typical "American" breakfast or lunch.

So if you're looking to adopt just one healthy change to your lifestyle, I'd recommend the green smoothie as one of your best choices. Once you start with green smoothies, you'll feel refreshed and energized each morning. Maybe it's just knowing that you've just loaded up on super healthy live food full of enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Ever wonder if you're getting your daily 5 servings of fruits and vegetables? If you do your smoothie right, you'll have them and more by the time you leave the house each morning. Smoothies are great for your digestion, help you lose weight and can keep you from having that morning carb crash. They may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce your chances of getting type 2 diabetes and reduce joint pain and arthritis. The list goes on...

So what's in a green smoothie? Here's my list of things you might try.

• Liquid Base - You have to have something in there to get things moving. These might include water, milk or nut milk, juice, kefir, kombucha, rejuvelac, coconut milk or water.
• Greens - Yes, for it to be green you need greens. It is suggested that you rotate greens as they all have a different nutritional profile. Spinach is a good place to start as it seems to have a pretty neutral taste. Other suggestion would be chard, kale, baby greens or lettuce, collards, beet greens, dandelions, chicory, cilantro, parsley. Remove any woody stems or parts from the greens.
• Binder Fruit/Vegetable - If you want your smoothie to be smooth you'll need to include something with lots of soluble fiber in it. This will keep things from separating and help give your smoothie a better taste, feel and texture. My three favorites are bananas, mangoes and apricots but avocados work well too. Other ingredients that help are pear, peaches, peanut butter and almond butter.
• Fruits - If you use banana or mango in your smoothie, you don't really need to add more fruit but it's nice for variety and will make it taste awesome. Plus it's a great way to use up that box of apples or bag of oranges that are likely to go bad soon. I like apples, oranges, berries, pineapple, kiwi and grapes.
• Probiotics - These are some of the good yeasts and bacteria that you want in your digestive tract. They will help fight bad bacteria which may cause sickness and help with digestion. These are optional but I would recommend them if you want your smoothie to be a "one stop shop" health drink.  I use kefir or kombucha regularly in mine but you may also use rejuvelac, yogurt with live culture such as Activia or probiotic capsules or pills.
• Super Foods -  Why not? If you're going to have a healthy drink, make it super healthy! A few of these would be chia seed, raw honey, bee pollen, raw coconut oil, baby coconut, ground flax seed, goji or acai berries, spirulina, raw cacao or hemp protein. I use raw coconut oil and ground flax in most all my smoothies. I also enjoy bee pollen and chia when I have them.
• Something Cold - You'll want your smoothie to be cool and refreshing so add any of the following:  ice, frozen bananas, frozen fruit. I love the tropical mix of frozen fruit when I have it but usually I just use ice which works fine.
• Vegetables - O.K. While we are on the super healthy drink kick, we might want to add some veggies. I usually do this if I have a smoothie for lunch to give it more of a "V-8 type" flavor.  You might add celery, cucumber, tomato, carrots, beets (love the color - a red smoothie!), cilantro or parsley.
• Something Acidic - A good smoothie should be fruity.  I usually add some fresh lemon/lime juice or raw apple cider vinegar to taste.  This will make a bland smoothie come alive.
• Supplements - If you have supplements that you just can't seem to remember to take, take them with your smoothie or add them to it. Some that I've incorporated into my smoothies are:  fish oil, vitamin powders, probiotics, green powders and protein powders.

What about Blenders? Most gurus of the green smoothie swear by the Vitamix which is a great blender. However, you may not want to put forth that kind of money to get started with smoothies so I'd recommend trying whatever blender you already have first. We started using the Magic Bullet Blender until we realize we wanted bigger smoothies with more goodies in them. We bought a second blender that burned up within a week or two. We finally got a simple two speed Oster blender for $50 that we've been using for years and it does a great job. So I'd highly recommend it as your first blender if you don't want to pay the $400 or $500 for a top of the line blender.

So here is one of my smoothies (Note that it makes two large servings).

I start with 1 1/2 cups kombucha tea (or other liquid) and add greens to the top. This one also has 6 large strawberries in it. Blend.

I fill the blender up with spinach again and blend again.

I add two bananas, juice from one lime, 1/2 cup flax seed and two heaping tablespoons of raw coconut oil.

A couple of bananas, ground flax seed and raw coconut oil

I blend once more until smooth with a couple handfuls of ice cubes.

Ready to serve!

I'm now ready to serve, drink and enjoy!

His and her smoothies

You may want to start with something a little more simple so here's what you might want to try for your first smoothie.

Ingredients for one serving:

1 cup juice
1/2 cup yogurt
1 banana
1 cup baby spinach
several ice cubes or frozen fruit of choice

Blend together all ingredients until smooth. Serve and enjoy!

As you can see, the sky's the limit when it comes to green smoothies. You can make them as simple or as complex as you want and they can be different every day. You'll never get bored and your body will thank you.

For more history and information on green smoothies, visit the people who made them popular at http://www.rawfamily.com/recipes .