I have to confess, when what feels like a lifetime ago, a dear friend first introduced me to green smoothies I wasn't immediately on board with them. I loved the color, I loved the leafy greens, but I have to admit, the idea of drinking spinach in a smoothie sounded a bit disgusting to me.
Fast-forward about 8 years and I can barely imagine my day without one of those green concoctions.
But I still remember that moment when my friend, despite the disgusted look on my face, poured me a glass and basically made me take a sip. And I'm so glad I did:) I still remember how I couldn't get over the fact that 3 handfuls of baby spinach didn't really have much flavor at all! They certainly changed the color of the smoothie and added a ton of beneficial nutrients, but other then that they seemed not to have been there at all! I had been used to drinking fruit juices (freshly squeezed, but nonetheless juices- that's a definitely something I don't do anymore, but more on that another time) or smoothies made only from fruits. However, as much as I loved eating veggies, the idea of drinking your vegetables sounded more like something someone would have to do as punishment than any kind of enjoyment. So I was blown away that a smoothie made with such amounts of veggies can still taste as sweet as if it contained only the sweetest fruits.
Over the years I've come up with thousands of different recipes for smoothies, like I mentioned in the Burgundy Smoothie post, it's mostly because I rarely make the same thing twice. It's almost always a unique mixture of whatever I have at hand, whatever is in season, whatever was on sale, whatever I have leftover or whatever I feel like. I do stick to a couple of simple rules, but other than that I just find the freedom within that framework and go with the flow.
One rule is that I do my best to incorporate as much veggies as I can without letting them overpower the final flavor. Whenever possible I try to go 75% veggies and 25% fruit, but in reality it's usually more like 50/50. Sure, some particular smoothies (say Mango Lassi- recipe coming soon) are not meant to have veggies in them at all and that's okay too. But in general it's a good rule to add veggies whenever you can, especially greens like baby spinach or even zucchinis that really will not mess with the sweetness.
Another rule that I also talked about with the Burgundy Smoothie is only applicable if I care about the visual aspect of the smoothie. If I don't, then I throw in whatever I please without thinking about it, but if I also want it to look neat I consider the colors of the ingredients a bit more carefully, because, in case you're new to smoothies, it's very easy to end up with a super tasty yet mud-colored drink.
So I usually tend to start by deciding about the general color direction- whether I'm going more in the greens, the yellows/oranges, the reds/pinks or the purples/blues. So, for instance, if I choose to make a green-looking smoothie I usually don't add any kind of berries or other red/pink fruit, or I add only a very small amount of them to, simply put, not make my green deliciousness look like poop.
There are also some cool ways you can enhance certain colors naturally with certain superfood powders for instance. I'm not generally a fan of too much super-food supplementation, but if you do it mindfully and don't rely on them to be your main source of nutrients it should be fine.
The following two rules are less about smoothies and more about general food combining. I will definitely get more into this when I write about Ayurveda as well as the Food Combing Theory, but let me just mention it briefly. I wouldn't use melons in smoothies unless it's a 100% (or almost 100%) melon smoothie or you're adding very little of the melon in comparison to the rest of the ingredients. But generally, try to avoid mixing melons with other fruit. They are their own kind of amazing and should always be eaten alone, (more on that another time).
The second rule has to do with milk. Depending on the desired thickness of your smoothie and your blender's abilities you will probably need to add some liquid in your smoothie. Water, (filtered or mineral), is always the go-to solution I recommend, but some smoothies taste and/or look better with plant-milks instead. If you are plant-based, I'm sure you know what you like so use whatever unsweetened plant-based milk you prefer, have at home or whichever you think might go best with the rest of the ingredients. However, if you aren't vegan and you still drink cows milk, please make sure you don't add it in your smoothies! Cows milk and fruit consumed at the same time will really cause way too much unnecessary stress on your stomach. Trust me, you want to avoid that. Instead opt for a plant-based milk alternative or simply go with water. Same goes for yogurts.
So now onto the recipe.
There is an infinite number of green smoothie ingredient combinations, like I said, I myself have easily come up with thousands of recipes over the years, some are super-simple, using literally a couple of ingredients, others use a whole list. This one is an example of the latter.
It's super healthy and it's got some great gentle cleansing qualities as it contains some naturally detoxifying ingredients, along with a lot of both soluble and insoluble fiber. It's also got some ginger for those anti-inflammatory properties. And even though it's full of veggies, it's still super sweet. But if you make it and decide it needs more sweetness you can add a bit more ripe banana, more of that sweet orange or a few more dates.
Green Smoothie Recipe
yields: this one makes about 3 cups worth of smoothie, so that'll be: 2 big (approx. 330ml) glasses or 3 small (approx. 220ml) glasses. If you want to make it for one, just divide all the ingredient amounts by 2.
Ingredients:
handful of baby spinach
handful of kale
about 1"/2cm piece of cucumber
about 1"/2cm piece of zucchini
thumb-size piece of fresh ginger (leave the skin on if using organic)
2 celery stalks
1 small apple
1/2 small orange
1/4 avocado
1/2 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
1 pitted date (optional)
1 tsp of ground hemp seeds
1 tsp of ground flax seeds
1 tsp of green spirulina powder
1-1 1/2 cup (depending on the desired consistency) of unsweetened plant-based milk, I used almond milk
Method:
Make sure all of your fruit and vegetables are washed. The only ingredients that need to be peeled are the bananas (if using fresh; if using frozen, hopefully they had been peeled beforehand), the orange, the avocado and the small piece of ginger (if it's not organic), everything else can go into the blender as is.
Put all of your ingredients (except for the water/plant-based-milk) in the blender.
Depending on the kind of your blender (where the blade is positioned) you might want to layer the ingredient the appropriate way (lighter/heavier ones on top/bottom), however if it's a good blender it should be fine even if you throw everything in at once.
First add in just the cup of water.
Blend until smooth.
If you prefer a runnier consistency, add in some more water/plant-based milk.
This smoothie should turn out quite sweet, however, like I mentioned above, if you find that you need some more, you can add a bit more banana, orange or a couple more dates.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! But, as always, I encourage you to try it out for yourself, mix and match until you find something that feels right for you at that moment. And if you happen to have a bunch of whatever-kind-of-berries lying around the house, by all means throw them in as well. It's all about the taste and it really doesn't matter what it looks like. As long as you're not serving it to your kids;).
Edit: If you would like to try a simpler version of a green smoothie, check out this Basic, 4-ingredient Green Smoothie recipe.
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