I posted this on a friend's food blog, but thought I'd post it here too!
Our family has been making green smoothies pretty much daily for about a year and half. I have noticed TREMENDOUS benefits in our health from adding more servings of fruit and dark greens. We are a veggie-eating family, but some of those dense, leafy greens are hard to get down. If you want to learn more about the benefits of making and drinking green smoothies, I HIGHLY recommend the book "GREEN FOR LIFE" by Victoria Boutenko. It's a quick read and chalked full of great nutritional info.
In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few of our family-favorites! You may need to add less greens in the beginning and more fruit (especially for the kiddos), but as you do this more and more, you will be able to drink more greens and like them! I sometimes sweeten our smoothies with a little agave nectar or raw honey. However, that's not really necessary if you use very ripe fruits. I hit the sales on super ripe bananas or day-old strawberries and freeze them in large batches. Frozen grapes are really good for smoothies too.
Smoothie #1
3 bananas
1 cup of papaya
4 big handfuls of baby spinach
2 cups of water
Smoothie #2 (similar to #1, but still a hit)
3 bananas
3 huge handfuls of baby spinach
2 cups of water
Smoothie #3
2 bananas
6-7 strawberries
juice from 2 oranges
2 handfuls of romaine
1 cup of water
Smoothie #4
Half a head of green or red leaf lettuce
2 bananas
juice from 2 tangelos
1/2 a bag of frozen mangoes
1 pear
1 cup of water
Smoothie #5
6 ounces of orange juice
1 cup of pineapple
1/2 cup of coconut milk (this is the best if you get a Thai coconut and use the water and meat, but the canned stuff works too)
2 handfuls of romaine/spring mix/or red leaf lettuce
Smoothie #6
1 stalk of celery
2 cups of blueberries
1 banana
2 cups of water
Smoothie #7
6 to 7 romaine leaves
1 cup of red grapes
1 medium orange (peeled, but whole, not juiced)
1 banana
2 cups of water
Smoothie #8
2 large grapefruits- juiced
6-7 frozen strawberries
1 cup of peaches
2 handfuls of bok choy
Smoothie #9
4 ripe pears
4-5 kale leaves
1/2 bunch of mint
2 cups of water
(I would add sweetener on this one!)
Smoothie #10
2 bananas
2 large collard or chard leaves
1/2 pack of Trader Joes frozen "Mangolicious" blend (has frozen mango, raspberries, and blueberries)
1-2 cups of water or orange juice
**You can substitute water with any juice you like. The amount you put in depends upon the consistency you like. My kids like it thick like ice cream...I like it almost as thin as juice.
The possibilities are endless really. You can add greens to any of your usual smoothie favorites. It will change the color, but if you do it in a small amount, it shouldn't take away from the flavor much. You can substitute in these recipes for any greens you like. Our favorites are KALE, COLLARD GREENS, SWISS CHARD, SPINACH, ROMAINE, and BOK CHOY. I sometimes also add ground flax or nuts/nut butter for added protein. Most of these recipes will yield a quart of green smoothies (32 oz). Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Our family has been making green smoothies pretty much daily for about a year and half. I have noticed TREMENDOUS benefits in our health from adding more servings of fruit and dark greens. We are a veggie-eating family, but some of those dense, leafy greens are hard to get down. If you want to learn more about the benefits of making and drinking green smoothies, I HIGHLY recommend the book "GREEN FOR LIFE" by Victoria Boutenko. It's a quick read and chalked full of great nutritional info.
In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few of our family-favorites! You may need to add less greens in the beginning and more fruit (especially for the kiddos), but as you do this more and more, you will be able to drink more greens and like them! I sometimes sweeten our smoothies with a little agave nectar or raw honey. However, that's not really necessary if you use very ripe fruits. I hit the sales on super ripe bananas or day-old strawberries and freeze them in large batches. Frozen grapes are really good for smoothies too.
Smoothie #1
3 bananas
1 cup of papaya
4 big handfuls of baby spinach
2 cups of water
Smoothie #2 (similar to #1, but still a hit)
3 bananas
3 huge handfuls of baby spinach
2 cups of water
Smoothie #3
2 bananas
6-7 strawberries
juice from 2 oranges
2 handfuls of romaine
1 cup of water
Smoothie #4
Half a head of green or red leaf lettuce
2 bananas
juice from 2 tangelos
1/2 a bag of frozen mangoes
1 pear
1 cup of water
Smoothie #5
6 ounces of orange juice
1 cup of pineapple
1/2 cup of coconut milk (this is the best if you get a Thai coconut and use the water and meat, but the canned stuff works too)
2 handfuls of romaine/spring mix/or red leaf lettuce
Smoothie #6
1 stalk of celery
2 cups of blueberries
1 banana
2 cups of water
Smoothie #7
6 to 7 romaine leaves
1 cup of red grapes
1 medium orange (peeled, but whole, not juiced)
1 banana
2 cups of water
Smoothie #8
2 large grapefruits- juiced
6-7 frozen strawberries
1 cup of peaches
2 handfuls of bok choy
Smoothie #9
4 ripe pears
4-5 kale leaves
1/2 bunch of mint
2 cups of water
(I would add sweetener on this one!)
Smoothie #10
2 bananas
2 large collard or chard leaves
1/2 pack of Trader Joes frozen "Mangolicious" blend (has frozen mango, raspberries, and blueberries)
1-2 cups of water or orange juice
**You can substitute water with any juice you like. The amount you put in depends upon the consistency you like. My kids like it thick like ice cream...I like it almost as thin as juice.
The possibilities are endless really. You can add greens to any of your usual smoothie favorites. It will change the color, but if you do it in a small amount, it shouldn't take away from the flavor much. You can substitute in these recipes for any greens you like. Our favorites are KALE, COLLARD GREENS, SWISS CHARD, SPINACH, ROMAINE, and BOK CHOY. I sometimes also add ground flax or nuts/nut butter for added protein. Most of these recipes will yield a quart of green smoothies (32 oz). Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
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