Our Favorite Green Smoothie Recipe

Green smoothie with strawberryIt’s a green smoothie!

We’ve been drinking green smoothies since December of last year but really got into the swing of things this last spring when I took a deeper plunge into consciousness of my body and its relationship to food. A worthy plunge for sure – and one that has paid off tremendously!

You know how it works that once you decide to take something up, or maybe buy a new car, you start seeing and hearing about those very things every place you look. This has been my experience with green smoothies. I found that there were a whole gaggle of people who were making what appeared to be a living out of touting a green smoothie diet, lifestyle, and associated good practices. Who knew?

Turns out green smoothies have been the single best choice I have made to date for my health and well-being.

I first considered juicing vs green smoothies and decided that green smoothies as a complete package of its ingredients, would be my best option. I do like fresh juices though and have had a Champion and more recently, a compact, nifty little Omega VRT350 juicer.

Then I looked at current types of high-speed blenders – the essential and quintessential kitchen tool for green smoothie advocates. I looked at videos and read articles. I bought my first Vitamix about 10 years ago in a foray into raw foods. The raw foods thing didn’t stick at that time, but the Vitamix stayed with me, being a useful tool, waiting for its emergence as THE tool in my kitchen. I decided on the Vitamix again after a bit of commiseration between Vitamix and Blendtec. See a comprehensive article comparing the two here. I ended up purchasing a new Vitamix 5200 – giving my old still great working Vitamix to my daughter who makes herself protein/green drinks daily.

In my next post on green smoothies I will provide a list of books I’ve gathered on the subject. But now, our favorite recipe:

Perfectly Well Basic Green Smoothie Recipe

In the large Vitamix blender (64oz) container, place the following:

  • 2 C Water
  • 10 – Soaked organic almonds
  • 2 T Milled organic chia seeds
  • 2 T Enerfood Organic Green Superfood Powder
  • 1 Lemon, with peel
  • 1 Green apple, quartered
  • 2 Bananas (can be frozen)
  • Sprinkle of powdered Stevia (if more sweet desired)
  • 2-3 C Greens / Spinach, lettuce, kale, parsley

After placing all ingredients in the blender, I use the Variable Speed Dial and start my Vitamix 5200 on low, turn the dial up to high, then flip the Control Panel switch to high. Sometimes I will use the unit’s tamper to press the goodies down toward the blender blades. I leave the switch on high for a minute or so, then reverse the process, finally turning the machine off.

I make this drink for breakfast/lunch every day.

I am to the point of getting venturesome with my wonder-blender, experimenting with straight vegetable (V-8 like drinks), and varieties of fruits, both frozen and fresh. I’ve been reading about blended soups as the Vitamix can blend materials at speeds high enough to heat the contents, ala Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup recipe at the Blendtec website. Warm winter yummy-ness!

Enjoy!

~ Anais

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Categories: Food Gardening, Health

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