Green Smoothie Magic - 132+ Delicious Green Smoothie Recipes That Trim And Slim (8 page)

Isn’t it time to welcome some
Green Smoothie Magic
into your life and into the lives of those around you? Especially kids. Here’s your chance to deliver LARGE amounts of the most nutritious food available to you in a delicious and easy to drink fashion.

My little sister (and it’s funny now that I am well into my 5
^th
decade I can still call my sister little!) said to me when I told her I was writing a book about Green Smoothies: “
The idea of drinking lettuce makes me want to throw up
.” But now her family has the same blender as mine, and we both compare Smoothie Magic Success interstate and over the phone.

Her very first experience was very funny. My own daughter Isabelle’s favorite smoothie is one she gives the impossible score 311 out of 10! It has bananas, raspberries, greens and mint, vanilla, cinnamon and ice. Easy!

When my sister prepared one of her son’s his first smoothie right in front of him, the sounds of disgust when he saw cupsful of baby spinach go in were to say the least amusing. Dominic rejected that particular smoothie! But what is funnier is that his first one was his own concoction of carrot, celery and apples, berries, banana and ice, which he loved.

~ · ~

Don’t Get Stuck With The Same Green

You know what they say? Everything in moderation. There is some talk in ‘smoothie world’ that eating the same greens all the time is actually a way to become sick. The alkaloids in plants are nature’s way of plant self-preservation and they form part of the plant’s defense.

If you ate say, only baby spinach leaves in all your smoothies every day, every smoothie, then you run the risk of having what would be considered toxic levels of the specific alkaloids found in spinach.

There are different kinds of alkaloids and different effects. Rather than make this a scientific or scary subject, let’s take the drama right out of it. The answer is simple. Don’t ever just eat the same greens over and over again. Eat a variety.

To make it super simple I will provide you with list of green leafy vegetables. You won’t need to lock yourself into one green for any particular green smoothie. I will give you suggestions that will give the same results!

When I give you a recipe with 2 cups of green leaves – then feel free to make up your 2 cups of greens out of one of the lists. Say for example you are making my Vanilla Pudding Smoothie! You definitely won’t want to be choosing any sharp tasting greens. You wouldn’t choose Arugula (Rocket) or Watercress.

Instead you’ll choose from the following: Asparagus Lettuce, Baby Spinach, Chickweed, Tatsoi, Pak Choy, Bok Choy, Sweet Potato Greens. Mid tasting ones can be Kale, Chard depending on the variety. Maybe you’ve heard of Purslane, Lambsquarter, Romaine or Cos, Beet Greens, Carrot Greens. Stay tuned for a long list of greens.

Knowing Your Greens – Substituting For Holistic Nutrition

I know you’ll always find some greens in your supermarket or local store. You’ll also find greens at your local market. Of course buying freshly picked produce is always better. In my opinion I would always prefer organic produce. Sometimes however it is availability and financial considerations that determine what you do buy.

Make sure you find a variety of greens. Taste them all. Farmers’ markets are great for asking stallholders if you can taste a leaf or two of varieties you are unfamiliar with. Get familiar with what kinds of greens are mild, medium and strong. When you find a recipe I will often specify a particular green to use.

However, if you for example, cannot find Bok Choy then substitute a different mild green. The taste will be substantially similar and perhaps identical.

By the same token, if that smoothie with Bok Choy in the ingredients list is your all-time favorite concoction and you drink it several times per week then substituting other mild greens will ensure that you have a good complement of nutrients in your diet (and you won’t over-ingest those particular alkaloids).

Substituting greens will give you wonderful freedom in your smoothie preparations.

Seasonal Greens

In winter, the range of greens available is naturally much smaller. Winter greens are high in vitamin A. Enjoy including Kale, Collard Greens, Chard, Spinach and even Mustard Greens (careful they are spicy).

You’ll find Arugula (Rocket) and even Turnip Greens can be used. Use Beet Greens, Carrot tops and Winter Purslane. You’ll find Endive and other Chicory varieties (also a little strong or bitter), Cabbage and if it’s not too cold, Mizuna lettuce.

In summer you’ll find many different lettuce varieties thrive. You’ll find the tight head of Iceberg, the loose leaf varieties include Red Oak Leaf and Butter Lettuce, and other ‘fancy’ lettuce. Romaine (or Cos) has an elongated head. Happily, you’ll still find the winter greens above.

The list of all greens is very long. I have included many in the next section Remember to visit any local markets to see what’s actually in season or grown fresh locally.

~ · ~

Greens

In summary, go to your market and taste different greens. If they’re mild then feel free to substitute for any recipes that specify mild greens. If they are more bitter or pungent then substitute them for greens in recipes that specify stronger greens.

The key is to create a balance in your eating. Do NOT rely on all baby spinach to the exclusion of every other green. Have a selection of washed and carefully stored greens. Know which ones are mild or strong.

Mix And Match

When the recipe says 2 cups of mild greens, reach into a single bag for 2 cups of greens for a single green smoothie, or take a cupful of 2 different varieties. The taste won’t be that different between the mild leaves.

For example, I will often use the following when making a green smoothie with 2 cups of greens: asparagus lettuce and sweet potato leaves, different choy varieties, cabbage and sweet potato leaves, chickweed and spinach. The list goes on because the combinations are endless.

So, when it comes to greens, the world is your (vegetarian) oyster. Put your greens on rotation, do some experimenting.

A List Of Mild Greens

As you can see, you will be spoiled for choice. I surveyed green smoothie makers (the people!) and found that they felt restricted by recipes that said that they needed to use chickweed or lambsquarters. They told me that if a recipe recommends a particular green then that’s the one they feel they have to use.

I’ve taken a
different
approach that you’ll love!
My recipes give you the freedom to mix and match your greens
in the way that suits you. You could buy a variety of greens and use whatever you want depending on whether the smoothie recipe you decide to make is better with 2 cups mild greens, 2 cups strong greens or even 1 cup of each.

Here’s a list of mild greens. I am sure you’ll find plenty that will fit your needs.

• baby spinach
  
• bok or pak choy or gay choy
  
• sweet potato leaves
  
• pumpkin leaves
  
• papaya leaves
  
• chickweed
  
• asparagus lettuce
  
• kale (smaller leaves can be milder than large ones) comes in many varieties and some are mild and others could be considered stronger.
  
• tatsoi lettuce
  
• chard (same group as spinach and similar in taste)
  
• collard greens
  
• carrot greens
  
• beet greens (similar to spinach in taste)
  
• cabbage
  
• mizuna
  
• butter lettuce
  
• wandering jew
  
• romaine or cos lettuce
  
• purslane (similar to spinach in taste)
  
• pigweed (similar to spinach)
  
• lambsquarter (similar to spinach in taste)
  
• amaranth
  
• marsh mallow
  
• alfalfa sprouts
  
• broccoli sprouts
  
• lentil sprouts
  
• mung bean sprouts
  
• sunflower sprouts and sprouts from garbanzo beans (chick peas), lentils, buckwheat, soybeans (edamame), quinoa, fenugreek, peas, barley, oats, millet and wheat
  
• and so on
  

So for example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of mild greens I could easily add 1 cup of bok choy and 1 of sweet potato leaves, or 1 cup kale and tatsoi. You get the picture.

A List Of Stronger Greens

For stronger greens I will use

• rocket
  
• watercress
  
• endive (can be bitter)
  
• mustard greens (can vary in their spiciness to be VERY peppery)
  
• dandelion greens
  
• radish tops
  
• radicchio
  
• radish, mustard, onion, chive and other hot sprouts
  
• sorrel (not bitter but in the strong list due to its pronounced lemony flavor)
  

Remember, find your supplier at your markets or local store and get to know your greens.

Try Before You Take The Plunge

You know, sometimes you can buy rocket, watercress, mustard greens or other strong greens that are anywhere from mildly spicy to peppery to downright bitter. It’s a good idea to taste test them before you go sticking 2 big cupsful into a smoothie. Mind you, you will be very pleasantly surprised how well strong greens go in some quite sweet smoothies.

Our daughter wouldn’t dream of eating a salad with rocket in it, but happily slurps down an entire smoothie with 2 cups of the stuff when it’s accompanied by mango and mint.

Don’t be afraid to put them in. But if you taste a particularly strong batch of greens, put anywhere from one handful to one cup in instead of 2 cups. Make up the difference with a cup of mild greens and it will all ‘even out in the wash’.

Can’t Find Chickweed? Don’t Know What It Is?

You see, you may live in a part of the world where you can’t find chickweed. You can go to the substitution list and choose something that will give you the same effect.

Where you live and the season you’re experiencing will also determine what greens you’ll find.

Maybe you’re in a part of the country where you have an incredibly wide range of sprouts and leaves. Get to know the different types by taking them home and testing them.

If, on the other hand, you’re somewhere that’s not so much on the frontier of healthy eating, then perhaps you’re only going to find basics such as Baby Spinach, Kale, Silverbeet and Romaine lettuce. Maybe you’ll start to grow your own different varieties.

Lambsquarter? Pigweed? Purslane? Goosefoot? Fat-Hen? Yikes!

OK, OK! So you’ve read other recipes elsewhere that make claims as to the better varieties of greens and that some are more magical than others. The truth is that this may indeed be true. When it comes to the names above I can tell you that there is some confusion even to which one is called what!

So, here’s my advice. You will only have access to a certain number of greens. That number will be more limited if you only ever to go your average commercial supermarket or outlet. If you go to a farmers’ market then you may have more from which to choose. You may choose to grow certain varieties yourself.