I leaned about green smoothies when I was researching a high raw food diet but will keep them in my life forever! What is a green smoothie? Basically it is a tasty fruit smoothie with greens added. The fruit covers up the green flavor as much as you want it to. It is a super easy way to get more dark leafy greens in your diet (one can only eat so many salads). Not only that but the greens are easier for you to digest since they are broken up into such small pieces. They are getting more popular and even Montel talked about them on his show!
Are any of you green smoothie fans?
Some people are totally weired out at the idea but everyone (not raw or vegetarian) who has tried mine says "huh, just tastes like fruit...bananas". It is also good to start with just a little greens and slow add them as your tastes change.
I am drinking a smoothie with: a banana, juice of an orange, an apple, some blueberries, a little flax, a few big collard leaves and a few big kale leaves plus some hemp seed powder. It will keep me feeling full and lovely for several hours. Plus it has 30% of my iron and 20% of my calcium. Yay!
Just had to share the green smoothie love.
I make mine in my magic bullet everyday! You just have to do it in steps to make sure everything fits (i put as much as possible in my smoothies) and gets blended well. I start with the greens and some liquid and blend that to reduce its size then add the flax (whole seeds, way cheaper) to make sure it gets a chance to break down. Then the fruit.
I recommend starting with mostly fruit and then a nice mild green like baby spinach or lettuce. Bananas seem to be the most important fruit for making them tasty but you can add whatever you want.
Also if the green color is a problem for anyone (especially kids) using plain old frozen berries works great to make them purple instead.
I love green smoothies! One thing hmarcos, if you attempt to make one, make sure to blend the greens first with some water or fruit juice. After the greens are well blended, then go ahead and add fruit, ice, whatever else you are adding. I made the mistake of throwing it all in the blender the first time and the greens stayed a bit chunky. Not quite what I was hoping for. However, if you make sure the greens are well blended you get an amazing flavor AND texture!
Cheers to green smoothies!
floataway how many calories (ish) are there in green smoothies (obviously it varies on what fruit etc is used) because the main reason why I don't drink smothies that much is because they always seem to end up so high calorie when I make them.
Brown_paper_bag - the amount of calories can vary greatly (as you noted). There are so many varieties of green smoothies - some with few greens, or many greens, lots of fruits, nut butters/tahini, agave nectar, honey, dates. If you add that all up, you could get a smoothie with 400+ calories. If this is your breakfast/lunch/dinner - that is probably just fine.
I generally put lots of greens, 1/2 frozen banana and 1 other fruit (such as an apple, a bit of pineapple, etc.). If I need to get extra calories, I'll add some tahini, which also adds a nice creaminess to the smoothie. In addition, I use about 1 cup of ice which helps to create a bit more volume and fill you up. Without tahini, there is about 100 - 150 calories. If I add a tablespoon of tahini, then plus 90 or so calories.
I'm sure floataway will also have some great suggestions!
My boyfriend's son refuses to eat any - and I mean ANY - vegetables at all. He has the worst eating habits of anyone I've ever seen and absolutely refuses to make any changes. He's 16, has ADHD and is bipolar among other problems and is very thin due to fast metabolism and depressed appetite from medication. However, the food he does eat is all junk, so when he gets older and the metabolism slows down, he's going to be in big trouble. But he loves smoothies.
So, if I could make some of these when he's not looking, and freeze them, then he just blends and drinks them, I could maybe sneak some veggies and at least some fruits into him.
What do y'all think? Is freezing do-able?
Yes, freezing works - especially if it will help him eat more veggies. I would recommend using frozen blueberries. It will turn the smoothie purple instead of green - sometimes the green can be a bit intimidating even if it doesn't taste "green."
If you blend it with ice the first time around - putting it the refrigerator will also work if he will drink it sometime during that day or perhaps the next.
Hope this helps!
Original Post by brown_paper_bag:floataway how many calories (ish) are there in green smoothies (obviously it varies on what fruit etc is used) because the main reason why I don't drink smothies that much is because they always seem to end up so high calorie when I make them.
If you only use fruit and greens, they are pretty low calorie. Mine are usually about 300-400 but I put a lot in them and have high calorie things like flax, coconut oil or hemp powder in them because they are my breakfast, not just a snack.
The best thing to do would use the recipe analyzer and put in a few combos and see how it turns out. If you use it as a meal then 300 calories isn't too bad and they are super nutrient dense.
Original Post by lfaine:Brown_paper_bag - the amount of calories can vary greatly (as you noted). There are so many varieties of green smoothies - some with few greens, or many greens, lots of fruits, nut butters/tahini, agave nectar, honey, dates. If you add that all up, you could get a smoothie with 400+ calories. If this is your breakfast/lunch/dinner - that is probably just fine.
I generally put lots of greens, 1/2 frozen banana and 1 other fruit (such as an apple, a bit of pineapple, etc.). If I need to get extra calories, I'll add some tahini, which also adds a nice creaminess to the smoothie. In addition, I use about 1 cup of ice which helps to create a bit more volume and fill you up. Without tahini, there is about 100 - 150 calories. If I add a tablespoon of tahini, then plus 90 or so calories.
I'm sure floataway will also have some great suggestions!
Hi lfaine,
For creaminess, another option is to add some avocado. Kiwi, pineapple, banana, baby spinach, and avocado is a great combinatioin, and comes out to a very beautiful bright light green color.
Original Post by hmarcos:
I've been wanting to try this for a while, but I'm afraid I won't like it and it will go to waste. I love fruit smoothies and greens separately...I'll have to just get up the guts and try it out :)
Hi Hmarcos,
Don't be afraid! If you love fruit smoothies, start with one you like, and start with a very small amount of greens added to it. Try baby spinach first, because believe it or not, it is the very mildest green to put in a smoothie. Over time you will be able to add larger and larger quantities of greens without being afraid. You would be surprised how much baby spinach you can put in a smoothie and not even taste it. Some fruits will hide the taste of the greens more than others. Blueberry is a good one for hiding the taste, and also changes the color so that it doesn't come out green. I like pineapple quite a bit in my smoothies too.
Although I love green smoothies, I haven't been having them much lately because I'm just enjoying eating plain fresh fruit way too much lately to put any of it in a smoothie. Kind of weird since its winter and all, but I've been totally enjoying apples (pink lady, ambrosia, fuji), pears, navel oranges, and grapefruit. I still get plenty of greens though. In fact, I eat so many vegetables and fruits that my skin has that yellow-orange glow from all the carotenoids in my diet. Its sort of like having a permanent tan. I am never pale anymore!
Original Post by ridergrad:Usually you just need enough liquid to cover the blades of whatever you are using to blend. If it's not blending, add a little more. I just juice one or two oranges for my liquid but usually still have to add some water. I don't use yogurt just because I don't do dairy, but I have used soy milk and other like to use almond/hemp milks. You could totally use any juice you like, I have always wanted to try it with pomegranate juice. There are no rules, just play with it.
I can honestly say that I only remember hearing about this in passing and nothing in depth...I may actually have to try one at some point. when i put in the greens to blend how much liquid should i put in with them? also would water be best or can i use juice here like some others do? i know a lot of smoothies have yogurt in them, has anyone ever tried that
I had a fruit drink from a restauraunt one time that sounds similiar to this. Fresh strawberries and celery were the two main ingredients.....it was wonderful! You could taste the celery, but it complemented the strawberries perfectly.
Thank you so much for the tips lfaine and cbullock!
Original Post by hmarcos:
I know it's not exactly a 'green' in leaf form...but I wonder how a cucumber would hold up with some melon (maybe honeydew or cantaloupe) and mint...I think that sounds pretty light...maybe I will try that as a start and add some frozen blueberries or blackberries and baby spinach. I'll let you all know...
Thank you so much for the tips lfaine and cbullock!
I know cucumber juice is really pretty good and I think it would go great with melon!
So you can keep track of what you eat - which enables you to analyze your foods and receive the following:
- Health Score of your overall diet
- Warning when you approach your daily calorie limit
- Overview of the good and bad nutrients