Green Smoothie Magic - 132+ Delicious Green Smoothie Recipes That Trim And Slim (9 page)

The Art Of Following Recipes: Two Types Of People

There are 2 types of people in this world when it comes to following a recipe:

1. Those that MUST have everything in that recipe list to the letter; and
   
2. Those that intuitively know how to improvise.
   

I want to take the hassle and stress out of having to have precise and particular greens AND give you the joy and freedom to add in nutrition and variety without having a significant effect on the taste outcome of your
Green Smoothie Magic
experience!

So let’s get started with some great recipes. Remember, what’s delicious to me may appear slightly differently on your own taste scale. That’s life. I have tested these smoothies with many people, including my 9 year old!

Some of the smoothies that I think are amazing I get agreement from everyone. Others that I think are so-so get a 10 out of 10 with smoothie skeptics. While with others it’s the other way around.

All in all I have given a range of flavors and consistencies with palatable and yes, delicious tastes and effects. Some are light and fresh and tangy. Others are smooth, luxuriant, sweet and creamy. Others have a citrus note, others taste more herb-laden.

You’ll start to tune into what works best for you and sometimes it just won’t matter how it tastes, it will be how you FEEL after having something so healthful and life-giving!

Choosing Your Greens: A Quick Primer

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Taste what is available to you
   
2. Determine if it’s mild, medium or strong in its taste and
   
3. Vary your intake. Remember not to take only one or two varieties of greens.
   
4. Have several in your refrigerator each week. Vary from week to week so you can purchase significant amounts of say, 4 types rather than small amounts of say 8 varieties
   

Storage And Use For Smoothies

In my mind it’s best to have everything EASY to find and use. You will see that I recommend washing, drying and storing your greens so that they’re accessible at a moment’s notice. You want everything to be as easy as it can be. That will continue to inspire you to further success and even more vibrant health. It will keep you on track to make good decisions too (rather than reaching for the ‘wrong’ stuff!).

Below you’ll see some suggestions. If you prefer other ways then go with that.

TIP: Wash Your Greens As Soon As You Get Home!

I believe you need to set yourself up for success! I have found that an invaluable thing to do is to wash your greens when you bring them home (or in from the garden). Fill up the kitchen sink so that the leaves you have float.

Remove the twist ties or rubber bands or other packaging from your greens.

Cut off the roots of plants that you don’t need or intend to use. Separate whatever leaves need separating from the stem. Clean the dirt off. Check for little bugs because they do hide in there especially if you buy organic produce.

Other Essentials

Maybe your first step has been to actually buy this and perhaps other smoothie books and other items that inspire you to great health. Other essentials are a blender, a good knife and a chopping board. Consider other items that could inspire you including juicers, books, eBooks, a special knife or maybe some new glassware for your smoothies.

Bare minimum: You need recipes, knife, blender and your produce.

Drying Your Greens

Use a colander to strain most of the water from your leaves. If this is all you did and put them in the fridge your greens would still perish.
Drying them well is essential.
So drain them and then move them from the colander to a clean dry tea towel that you lay out on a bench, table or in a bowl. You can pat the leaves dry. If you have a salad spinner this is very useful.

While it can be time consuming, it’s well worth the effort to spend the time to process your greens straight away. It really is a joy to get your washed and dried greens out of the fridge and pop them straight into the blender.

Storing Your Greens

Place the greens into bags or boxes. When you do, place either a tea towel or some kitchen paper on which to sit your greens so that condensation is mopped up and the greens have less contact with the plastic (which can cause some spoiling).

Stems

You don’t need to discard the stems. Many recipes will tell you to only use the coriander leaves (cilantro). With green smoothies, you get to use more of the plant. Enjoy using more of your parsley, coriander and even mint. Simply avoid using the very woody stems as thick and fibrous green stems won’t blend well.

Some people believe that the stems have least nutrition. This is not the case. However, they do have more fiber and for that reason may be less enjoyable in salads. The upside is they are an excellent source of flavor and fiber for your smoothies.

Herbs In Water

Maybe you want to store your bunches of herbs upright in a glass or cup with the roots or cut stems covered with water. You can do that in the fridge covered with a bag however I could never fit much else in my fridge so I prefer to wash them. Besides you’ll use these things often.

The other way to store your herbs is again, in a cup or container and then leave them to enjoy the fresh air on your kitchen bench top. Keep them out of strong direct sunlight if possible so that they last longer. You would probably have to wash them as you need them.

Of course you can grow pots of herbs in or near your kitchen. It’s glorious to have access to a basil or coriander plant right there at your fingertips. It’s a great alternative too, for people in apartments with little or no garden or just a balcony.

Different Ingredients Add To Your Health And Help Weight Loss

You may be here reading this because you want to lose weight or trim some shape. You will notice that some smoothies have nuts in them. These provide taste, texture and yes, fat. The vitamins you need in your whole diet are water and fat soluble.

You need fats in your diet. They are essential for your hormonal (and other) systems to thrive. There are 4 fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K. So feel confident that inclusion of obviously more fatty ingredients are as valuable to you as the other ones! Besides most foods have some amount of fats in them. It’s the quality of fat that you’re looking to include by adding nuts and seeds.

In eating a balanced diet you need a good range of fats. You need them for nerve function, for vitamin absorption, to keep creating healthy cells and a healthy immune system. The right fats will help lower cholesterol and decrease risk of heart attacks.

There are fats in your fruit and vegetables but you may not get all the fatty acids (particularly omega-3) you need without getting them from sources such as nuts, seeds, legumes and good quality non-hydrogenated plant oils.

For example you’ll find monounsaturated fats (they’re good) in almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias and brazils. You’ll find omega 3 in chia seeds, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil, pumpkin seeds and oil. Good all-rounder candidates which provide poly and monounsaturated fats are brazil nuts, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds (and their oils of course).

While you can find omega-3 fats in fish, you are probably not going to make any fish smoothies!

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How ‘Green’ Should My First Smoothies Be?

Some people recommend starting very low on the green scale (by maybe throwing in just a tiny amount of greens) and work their way up. If you have a smoothie skeptic in the house then this may or may NOT be necessary. Just make sure you start with something that you’re SURE they’ll love.

That’s why I gave my daughter raspberry and banana. I didn’t need to start on low greens. It was so yummy she’s been happy to try anything ever since.

I have friends who will drink a smoothie regardless of the taste because they just KNOW that it’s good for them. If a smoothie is just halfway palatable that’s good enough for them. I can get through a not-so-delicious smoothie once in a while. Taste
with
nutrition is the ultimate aim.

~ · ~

Green Smoothie Magic Basics

Every smoothie recipe is going to have significant green content! As I have hinted at elsewhere, I have tried in most if not all cases to put at least 2 cupsful of green leafy vegetables. This may include celery or broccoli.

Oftentimes you’ll find quite a bit more than 2 cups especially when you add herbs. You will find smoothies just with greens as the base, with greens and herbs (yep, that’s right, more greens) broccoli florets and other items that add to the 2 cup minimum.

Every smoothie is going to need some fluid added to it. That will be in the form of: