Whether you are trying to improve your health, lose weight, get more energy, clear your skin, get sick less often – one habit that will help you tremendously to achieve your goals quickly is drinking green smoothies every day.
Most people know that to be healthy and achieve ideal weight they should be eating a healthy diet that includes loads of fresh fruits and vegetables. However few people are able to actually do that consistently each and every day AND in quantities that can really make a difference.
Forget the “apple a day keeps the doctor away” or even the 3-5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables!
To really notice a difference, you need to take MASSIVE action – which means eating LOADS of fresh RAW fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens.
Did you notice the words LOADS and RAW?!
LOADS means at least 60% or MORE of your daily caloric intake
Note: while many raw-foodists claim that 100% is best – and they may be right – it is very difficult to do for an average person – I should know because it’s VERY difficult for me, and in most cases not necessary – at least not in the beginning.
RAW means not steamed, cooked, baked or processed in any other way (although, frozen or dried are acceptable).
I know, for most people, it’s not easy to eat so much of raw stuff on a regular basis, but just like with anything else in life, you need to make a commitment and stick with it.
There are many problems we face when attempting to eat large quantities of raw vegetables – especially greens – every day:
- Most of us don’t chew well enough and long enough, so our bodies are unable to absorb as much as they should from the vegetables we eat.
- For most people salads are not very palatable unless they soak them in a fatty dressing; and consuming too much fat, even in the form of avocados or nuts, is not good for you!
- Preparing a large salad takes a lot of time, from rinsing and spinning the lettuce, chopping the vegetables, making a dressing, and most importantly: chewing it all! Who has an hour to spare every day for such a routine?
That’s one of the reasons why green smoothies have been growing in popularity so quickly among the health and weight loss enthusiasts – they are SUPER HEALTHY, SUPER EASY to make, and SUPER TASTY too!
It’s a habit that will only take 10 minutes of your time a day, and provide you with incredible benefits – it’s the highest-impact activity that you can undertake to improve your health and well-being.
What matters is that it’s a habit that will only take 10 minutes of your time a day, and yet provide you with incredible benefits – it’s the highest-impact activity that you can undertake to improve your health and well-being.
The positive effects of drinking your green smoothie that takes just 5 minutes will be felt throughout the day.
Plus, your spouse and your kids will love them, too – I promise!
So, what is a Green Smoothie?
A green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie made with your favorite greens and veggies added in!
Greens such as kale, collards, spinach, parsley, romaine lettuce, bok choy, and other edible weeds. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetable usually has.
Some of the most delicious fruits for green smoothies are: bananas, pears, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, and apples. You may also try less sweet combinations with adding some non-sweet fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, beets and carrots.
I realize that the color of this tasty, tremendously beneficial drink might have you saying “No Way” to even tasting this mixture… but, you shouldn’t let the “greenness” of this smoothie keep you from all of the health benefits you will get from it! The best thing about green smoothies is that they cleverly disguise what for some people may otherwise be unfavorable ingredients.
All experts agree that we need to eat fresh fruits, veggies, and greens every day – and most of us don’t eat enough of them!
The cell walls of some leafy greens are incredibly durable and hard for the body to break apart. Chewing really well helps to “break” the cell walls and an allow access to the nutrition inside but unfortunately few people chew their food that well, especially children.
This is just another reason that green smoothies are so wonderful. Using a blender to pulverize the greens breaks these cell walls apart and gives us a nutrient boost we would not otherwise get. The blender literally “chews” the greens for you!
The idea of blending greens and other vegetables to make a healthy liquid meal, a sort of “magic potion”, is not new. If you search the web and local bookstores, you will likely find some resources about the subject. They may come under different names – some call them green smoothies, green soups, blended salads, green concoctions or whatever else – it does not matter.
Green Smoothie Recipes to Get You Started
Verry Berry Blaster Smoothie
When looking at the photos below, you may wonder where’s the green? Fact is, this is a great recipe for beginners. Berries are excellent for masking taste and color of greens in smoothies. When in doubt, leave out the greens, and just stick with celery.
This is a classic combination: strawberry and banana. Plus kale. But you won’t even notice. Or if you do, you won’t mind. I promise!
Strawberry Kale Green Blaster Smoothie
Lime Oatmeal Smoothie
You may be wondering what do oats have to do with green smoothies, but if you try this recipe you’ll really be amazed at how good it tastes. This is a more filling smoothie, perfect for breakfast or snack.
Banana Almond Butter Smoothie: Super Creamy Sensation!
I started adding nut butters to my son’s smoothies, and now I’m getting addicted to them. If you never tried adding almond butter, or peanut butter or other nut butter to a smoothie, you are in for a treat! Almond, peanut, hazelnut, macadamia, cashew butter, tahini, etc. – adding any of this will make your smoothie deliciously rich, creamy and distinctly buttery.
Plus, the fats in these butters will help with absorption of nutrients, and slow down the release of the fruit sugar into your bloodstream (great for people with high blood-sugar level issues).
They will also increase calories in the smoothie – something I’m looking for when making smoothies for my very active nine-year-old son. He is not a big eater in the morning, so a smoothie with nut butter, with some oats, is a good option. (If you are trying to lose weight, make sure you don’t drink too much of these rich smoothies, or cut back some in other areas.)
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!
I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!
Wow, what a great source of info on great smoothies; I was very skeptical at my introduction to this odd colored smoothie. This drink is bright green! Now I am really looking forward to trying out the green smoothie very soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Thank-you for this wonderful article!
Diane :))
Drinking green smoothies is an excellent way to stock up on plant protein and it complements your fruit consumption (fruits have negligible protein in them).
Drinking green smoothies is an excellent way to stock up on plant protein and it complements your fruit consumption (fruits have negligible protein in them).
This drink is bright green! Now I am really looking forward to trying out the green smoothie very soon Thanks for sharing.
I’m so excited about these green smoothies! I also believe in the book Eat Right 4 Your Type and my husband is a blood type A and they need more fresh fruits & veggies and it’s so hard for him to eat that way with being a truck driver. So with this smoothie this can really help him loose weight and get more fruits and veggies in him. I also hope that my kids will drink them also….getting past the green look. Can’t wait to start making these. Are there anymore recipes than the ones posted already? I prefer to follow a recipe than make my own…don’t want to waste anything by it not tasting good. Thanks so much for this info and hope for a response back from you.
Smoothies are very appealing to people today. The demand of smoothies maybe a reason of the changing environment. Whatever it is, business owners are taking advantage of it especially if their customers are health conscious.
I for myself don’t love eating this green stuffs but because of our time we ought to take in this goodies. Thanks to you, now I can try this in a different way…. Hope to like it and share it with other people.
Green stuffs means life and we must take it in our systems. Thanks to this informative blog post, surely this will help people like me a lot…
So how does smoothies save any time? You still have to pluck and wash the leaves which wastes so much time. You still have to chew them (although you are not mentioning it) which takes several minutes (besides one have to overcome throwing up)
@ Kannan
For me it does save time, because I can prepare a smoothie in advance, and then drink it when I’m in the car or doing something else. For me it’s much easier to prepare a smoothie than to make a salad – I know I would not be eating as much greens and veggies if it were not for green smoothies! But of course you are entitled to your opinion – it’s too bad you feel like throwing up – how about experimenting with different ingredients?? (have you even tried them???)
Smoothies are a great tasting way to get your servings of fruits and veggies. Particularly if you are not fond of veggies alone. You can often slip your greens in with better tasting fruits and still get the nutrition with good flavor.
Sounds great, except NOT great for a type II diabetic. Fruits have lots of natural sugar in them, so that would diminish the appeal of this “healthy craving-buster” for a Type II diabetic.
Frank,
Thank you for your comments. Fruits are OK for type II diabetes – as long as you eat them WHOLE and RAW. Even the American Diabetic Association says so. To be on the safe side, use more greens, celery, etc. in your smoothie and choose fruits that are less sweet – apples, berries, etc. skipping the bananas.
I tried one green smoothie the other day and I’m addicted to them now. I absolutely love the taste!!
Thanks for the good writeup. It actually was a enjoyment account it. Look advanced to more delivered agreeable from you! By the way, how can we keep up a correspondence?
So excited to have found this site. I’ve ordered my Vitamix and looking forward to starting the New Year drinking green smoothies. One of my resolutions is to improve my eating habits and getting more green in my diet is a great start! Happy New Year!
Im drinking a green smoothie as I type this! I have know about the power of green smoothies for a while now – but have never made it a habit to drink them regularly. Im on day three of drinking two quarts a day. Of course my body is still detoxing and it will take at least a month for me to see real results. However, I woke up this morning and felt ALIVE! Im 5’11 and 170 lbs (male) and have gained twenty pounds because I started a job at a restaurant (a very unhealthy one) – So I was 150-155 when I started. So I would like to lose 10-15 lbs and I think that goal can be achieved in a months time, two months at the very most. IM READY TO BE HEALTHY AGAIN!
Also I am very excited to see how it affect my skin, hair, nails etc – energy levels – and overall happiness/motivation. Im really going to do it this time… I kinda have to. Wish me luck!!
Dante
This is great! Of course I wish you luck! Keep updating us on your progress.
I have been having a green smoothie every morning for about 2 months – i am completely addicted and truly do love them. I feel so much better for having them and have better mental clarity and more energy and generally feel happier!
I love all the tips, thanks for sharing them. I have a question though. If I were to steam my carrots, then freeze the water I steamed them with into ice cubes, would I still get all the vitamins that way?
I love that blog site layout ! How was it made. Its very sweet!