I think green smoothies are one of the easiest drinks you can enjoy to improve your health and increase your energy. If you don’t know how to make a green smoothie the following list of ingredients and easy instructions should help you start creating delicious healing smoothies that will fill your body with life giving nutrients.
Here are the ingredients you can use to create your own tasty green smoothies:
Liquid Base: Filtered or spring water, nut or seed milks, coconut water, fresh vegetable juices, organic milk kefir, raw milk, and coconut kefir are all good options for the liquid. Use a minimum of 2-3 cups of liquid.
Leafy Green Vegetable and Herb Base: Kale, baby lettuces, spinach, swiss chard, romaine lettuce, arugula, red and green leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, beet greens, mache, parsley, cilantro, dill, and watercress are all excellent choices for your leafy greens and herbs. Use a minimum of 2-3 cups of leafy greens and at least 1 ounce of herbs.
Organic Fruit Base: Apples, acai berries, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, goji berries, cucumbers, pineapple, mango, papaya, pears, peaches, figs, plums, apricots, dates, grapefruit, nectarines, pomegranate seeds, cranberries, oranges, tangerines, grapes, watermelon, kiwis, cantaloupes, honeydew melon, and guava are all good choices for your fruit. Use a minimum of 2 cups of fruit. Freeze fruit like the berries and bananas if you want to enjoy cold creamy smoothies without adding ice to your drink.
Natural Sweetener: Stevia, coconut (palm sugar), dried fruit, yacon syrup, raw honey, maple syrup, Lakanto, and lucuma are all good choices for healthy sweeteners. Your fruit may have enough sweetness for you so taste your smoothie before adding a natural sweetener. If using a sweetener choose the one that meets your health needs and taste. Each of these sweeteners has a different level of sweetness so sweeten to taste.
Healthy Fats: Avocado, all sprouted or raw nuts and seeds, coconut butter/oil. Use 1 small avocado, 1/4 cup of nuts or seeds, or 1 tablespoon of coconut butter/oil per recipe.
Superfoods: Navitas Naturals, E3 Live, Healthforce Nutritionals, Nutiva, Garden of Life, Vega, Essential Living Foods, Amazing Grass, Vivapura, and VitaForce all have excellent superfood and protein powders that you can use to boost the nutrients in your smoothies.
To create quick and delicious smoothies follow these instructions:
In a high speed blender, add the liquid, leafy greens and or herbs, fruit, natural sweetener, healthy fat, superfoods and 1 cup of ice if using, and blend until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
I will be posting easy recipes for my favorite green smoothies in future posts so check back soon.
If you liked these tips and would like to contribute to the conversation, please take a moment to leave a comment.
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Tried your tips and they worked great! Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you like them Brian!
Green smoothies (and juicing) are both a power house of nutrients and vitamins. I do tend to shy away from them however as I’ve not yet found an enjoyment of many of the undertone notes that green veggies carry. You’re list is interesting though and I think it will give some folks great tips. Good note about the sweeteners as they are all very different and when it comes to stevia often vary by brand!
Kim
Kimberly Castleberry recently posted..How To Create A Google+ Page For Your Business
Hi Kim, I agree with you green smoothies are chock full of nutrients. Try using milder greens and one banana and all you will taste is the fruit.
What would be the milder greens?
Hi Natalia, Milder greens include baby spinach, butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, baby lettuces, and red or green oakleaf lettuce. These greens are high in nutrients and will blend well with fruit.
First of all congratulations for the fotos! before reading the post I always want to try the drink! It is the 1st time a see a drink based on greens and want to try it, as a matter of fact I might try the recipe to day and let you know how it tastes;) Thanks for sharing this post
I’m glad you like the post and picture Patricia. Once you try green smoothies you will love them as much as I do.
Love green smoothies and especially love the photo. But have always just used water – thanks for the tips on liquid bases!
Bunny Terry recently posted..Velma’s Soul Food – the best reason I know to drive to Clovis
Hi Bunny, try making your smoothies with nut or seed milks instead of water you will love the taste and creamy texture. I’m glad you like the picture and love green smoothies!
Powerful list of ingredients, I feel healthier just reading through them! Still kinda stuck on the green stuff, but I’m willing to keep my mind open and always ready to try new things. Thanks for the inspiration!
marquita herald recently posted..Can You Hear Me Now?
Hi Marquita, the ingredient list is powerful and will help transform your health for sure. If you try the new smoothie recipe I just posted, the blueberries vivid dark color changes the smoothie from green to purple so it might make the transition easier for you. Give it a try and let me know what you think
Hi Shelly, I have to say that I have never tried juicing of making smoothies like the way you do…This looks like such a powerful way to get great nutrition and also to have fun with it. Yes to me it seems time consuming at first but I do think that once you get started with it, have the tools and get into a habit of buying the ingredients needed, I think this can be something one needs to add to a healthy lifestyle… Thank you! ~ Nathalie
Hi Nathalie, making green smoothies is pretty easy and you get the benefits of all the fiber which is removed when you juice. All you need is a good blender and you add all your ingredients and blend! In no time you are enjoying a nutrient-packed drink that will make a big difference in your health. I hope you give it a try
I agree that you definitely have to have a fruit base. This is what brings the yumminess
I try not to add any extra sweeteners. Usually a banana will do the trick. (and I love coconut milk/water)
-Roxy
Roxy recently posted..Breville Ikon Hemisphere BBL550XL Blender
Hi Roxy, I agree the fruit does bring the yumminess! I only add a natural sweetener if needed in my personal smoothies, like when I use a strong leafy green like arugula.
I didn’t know that green smoothies can look as appetizing as the one in your pic))
Thanks for all the wonderful tips on making green smoothies you’ve shared with us. Now I know that this energizing drink is easy to make and I will definitely try to do it
Thanks Diane! I drink green smoothies every day and they really fill my body with so many nutrients and supercharge my energy. I try a different leafy green every day to mix it up and vary my fruits and I never get bored with the taste. Let me know how you like the smoothies when you make one!
I love green smoothies, or juices as I call them although I also use blend it all together. There are so many great varieties. One vegetable that I love, but turns the green smoothie into red is beet. It contains greatness for your body and is delicious!
Matilda Sjödell recently posted..Remember to enjoy life!
I love green smoothies too Matilda! You are so right about beets being great for our bodies and they’re delicious to eat raw. I love to use the beet greens in smoothies and grate the raw beets for salads.
I know! I wish they didn’t cut the greens off so often…. It is also delicious to use in a soup!
Matilda Sjödell recently posted..If you have tried subscribing on the new blog.
I agree Matilda. When you buy them at the farmers market they leave the greens on the beets but they usually remove them at the regular grocery store.
Shelley Alexander recently posted..2 Spring Energy Salads
I’ve never made green smoothies. Have just made one with plain yoghurt, banana, blueberries and a little orange juice, which my son also likes a lot.
Would it be ok to use plain youghurt when making a green smoothie?
Yes you can use plain yogurt Katarina. I like organic Greek yogurt and when I add it to my green smoothies I usually use 1/2 cup per smoothie recipe. For the recipe you mentioned that you make you could just add 2 cups of spinach or romaine lettuce to the recipe and it would be good.
Thank you! I will try that!