Creating an awesome tasting, nutritionally balanced, easy to digest green smoothie is something of an art form. That being said, it’s quite easy to become a smoothie artist, let me show you how. Here are some general guidelines to follow, as well as our “formula” for making green smoothies.
Smoothie Creation Guidelines
1. Water rich fruits like melons and grapes are best in water based smoothies. You should try to avoid adding almond or coconut milks to smoothies containing these fruits. These fruits also go best with lighter greens and lighter veggies and may be a little difficult to digest in smoothies that have added fats.
2. Fruits like bananas, berries, pineapple and mango go great with nut and seed milks. These fruits can stand up to heartier greens and veggies as well as the addition of some fat.
3. Really tough veggies like beets, broccoli and carrots should be blended with care. Some will find that these veggies are just too difficult to digest in combination with fruits and fats, so pay very close attention to your body. If you find you have a sensitive digestive tract, or any bowel or colon issues, these veggies are best juiced.
4. Avoid using high oxalate greens on a daily basis. Swiss chard, beet greens, kale and spinach are the 4 highest oxalate content greens. We suggest that you use these greens raw only every other day, or even less if you have a history of kidney stones or kidney issues. Alternative greens to try: celery, cucumber, red or green leaf lettuce, basil, fennel.
5. Start simple: Begin with basic smoothies and see how they make you feel and how they taste. As you learn what does and does not work together you can start to play with more complex smoothies.
How to Create Your Own Green Smoothie
- Choose 1-2 servings of fruit
- Choose 1-2 servings of greens/veggies
- Choose 1 cup of liquid
This is your basic green smoothie recipe. You can play around with different flavors and combinations as much as you like. From your basic recipe, you can start getting more creative. Here’s how:
- Add 1-2 herbs (a few leave to a handful is good, depending on how much flavor you want.)
- Add 1-2 super foods (usually 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. to start.)
- Add a scoop of protein powder. (plant-based protein powders are excellent, especially hemp.)
- Then just blend, taste and adjust if you need too, and there you have it, a green smoothie artist you’ve become!
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