I love Green Smoothies because it not only is easy on the digestive system, they are extremely easy to make – just take any fresh greens (that can be eaten raw) and blend them with any fruit of your choice. My personal favorite is baby spinach with apples. It results in a light green mixture that not only has a delicious aroma to it; it tastes fabulous and is a great revitalize-and-get-me-going drink with tremendous health benefits.
A Green Smoothie is a health drink you can make at home by blending your choice of green raw leafy vegetables
(the type you can eat raw), e.g. Kale, Spinach, Collard greens, Swiss chard, Parsley, Celery, Broccoli, etc. with fruits of your choice. If the fruit is not juicy enough you may add some water or ice. It is also okay to add some flavoring or taste to it e.g. ground pepper, diced green peppers, and pinch of salt or even flavors such as mint.
There are no hard and fast rules; you can be as creative as you like. You may mix more than one green vegetable with more than one type of fruit and add whatever flavors or taste enhancers you love.
There are a few rules (if we might call it that), which you need to observe when preparing a Green smoothie:
- Maintain a rough 4:6 ratio i.e. 40% should be vegetables and 60% fruit otherwise you might find the flavor and taste a bit too overpowering.
- Unless you are really constipated, if using more than one vegetable, select one veggie that is heavy in fiber and others that are not.
- Some fruits (e.g. papaya) might be mildly diarrhetic to certain people so you need to be careful when you blend a very fibrous vegetable with a mildly diarrhetic fruit such as the papaya.
- Always wash the fruits and vegetables thoroughly.
- Some vegetables e.g. string beans are difficult to digest when eaten raw. These can be blanched in boiling water for a few minutes.
Green smoothies help you easily consume your daily portion of fruits and vegetables
(see FDA Myplate) which most meat loving people find impossible. Green smoothies provide an instant energy booster and builds up your immune system because greens are rich in magnesium, calcium and unsaturated fat.
Because of the presence of the goodness of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, a Green smoothie will help you develop strong bones, strong tissues and boost the oxygen levels in your blood.
Depending on what fruits you use, you could drink a whole gallon of Green Smoothie and still end up consuming less than 500 calories!
A Green Smoothie fills you up i.e. you feel full and energetic and do not desire to binge on anything between meals.
A Green Smoothie costs less than making a small meal for yourself and maybe just 1% of the cost of any two-bit commercial weight loss program.
By consuming fewer calories per day, other things remaining the same, a Green Smoothie helps you reduce weight quite dramatically. As a bi-product, it boosts your immune system, and gives your skin a healthy glow.
Ready to give it a try? Check out the green smoothies recipes we have 😉