March 13, 2009

Not Necessarily Green Smoothie

In our attempt to get the recommended 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily we have begun incorporating green smoothies into our breakfasts. I will admit, at first they are hardly palatable, but once we tried a few different recipes we found they were quite good. The one year old loves them and can't get enough (the two 1/2 year-old still needs some coaxing).
Dr. Fuhrman, who wrote the book "Eat to Live" suggests that each adult eat 1 lb of leafy greens a day. Knowing we can't eat an elephant all at once, we have been taking it one bite or one drink at a time.
I have read up on the fancy $400 blenders, but haven't been able to swallow it yet. So far our Kitchen-Aid blender has done great. Just don't get too impatient and let it blend for a while, sometimes you may need to add more liquid (water, fruit juice, rice milk).

Here are some of our favorite recipes so far.
This first one is what I like to call the beginner smoothie- once you think this one tastes good, it is time to move on to more advanced smoothies.
Beginner Smoothie:
2 cups of frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries etc.)
1-2 cups frozen spinach
liquid as needed

In this smoothie the tartness of the berries overpower the spinach. Note: I buy a big bag of frozen berries at Sam's Club, as well as my frozen strawberries, mangos and tropical fruit.
Start with frozen spinach then move on to fresh. The fresh has a stronger flavor.

Idea #1
1/2 head of romaine lettuce
1 cup pineapple (I used canned with it's own juice)
1 large mango (I used frozen chunks)

Idea #2
1 cup pineapple (I used canned)
1 frozen banana
2 sticks of celery
1 handful of greens (whatever you like)

Idea #3
1 peeled orange with pith removed
1 apple cored
3 sticks celery
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 cup ice cubes

P.S. A good smoothie is said to be 60% fresh fruit and 40% greens- so go ahead and experiment.


2 comments:

Homemaker said...

Yuck! I can see why you find them "hardly palatable".

This is the basic recipe that I use for my family:

4 C packed spinach
4 medium carrots
1 apple
1 banana
1 avocado
1 C frozen pineapple
water as needed
1 T flax seed (sometimes)

I buy a whole pineapple on sale, cut it up and throw it in the freezer. It's delicious.

I made these for an Enrichment Night at church, and they were a big hit, with several women subsequently telling me that they are making them for their families.

Anonymous said...

This really helped thank you!!! although I think I need a new blender... good to know that you are able to blend the smoothies with out shelling out 400 dollars. Thanks- great blog.