Green Smoooooothies
On Monday I went to an enlightening workshop given by Victoria and Valya Boutenko all about green smoothies.
Victoria’s family have been “Raw” for 15 years and they really know their stuff, plus they were sweet and charming which goes a long way with me.
The upshot of all of the info that they gave us was that if we were to have a diet that was about 50% fruit and 48% green leafy veges with the remaining 2% made up of seeds nuts etc then that would be ideal. I know my diet is pretty heavy on seeds and nuts and has little fruit but lots of veges of the cruciferous variety so this is going to be another challenge.
Their suggestion for getting this massive amount of leafy green into you is to make a green smoothie in the morning and aim for 40% green 60% fruit to start with. I admit I went for 60/40 the other way because I really dont mind the very chlorophyll taste of all that green plus I like my results fast. So no nuts or fats of any sort in the smoothie… just green and fruit. Leafy green to be clear is not broccoli or other veges it is LEAFY! The advantage with making a smoothie is you are making the food the right consistency to be absorbed quickly into the body- again quick result.
Things to remember to do as you get in a routine of making this divine green breakfast is don’t eat anything 40 min either side of your drink. Rotate through at least 7 types of green. Drink slowly. Be happy… actually I just added that because I am so very happy 
aren’t you?
Honestly it takes me 5 minutes to make the whole thing and wash the blender AND the little peeps will drink it happily so bonus!
Recipes:
Apple-Kale-Lemon
4 apples
1/2 lemon juice
5 Kale leaves
2 cups water
Blend!
Strawberry-Banana-romaine
1 cup strawberries
2 bananas
1/2 bunch romaine
2 cups of water
you guessed it… Blend!
My smoothie fave goes like this
1/2 fresh pineapple
1 cup strawberries
150 gms (thats a biggish bag) mixed salad leaves/rocket/spinich
B-L-E-N-D
See ya
I have Victoria’s book on green smoothies, and I generally love them – my only concern is that, honestly, if I just blend them as directed I feel hungry again a few hours later (or less). I’ve simply got to add some hemp protein, hemp or EFA oil, at the least.
I’m finding Brendan Brazier’s book, Thrive, to be very helpful in this regard… and he is quite heavy on nuts and seeds. Unless I start to gain weight, I’m not sure this is so bad? All things in moderation…
Me too but I think that is ok. I like to think of them as express nutrition and I am not getting a lot of calories from them (less than 200cals) so I dont expect them to replace a meal. I
I also love Brendon Brazier’s book Thrive. I noticed from your blog you are a runner. If you run a lot you will need the extra calories from the nuts. I think I ate too many nuts when I first went Raw Vegan and put on weight but now I get more protein from lower fat alternatives like pea protein powder mixed in a shake.
I do make a nut/choco/maca/dried fruit bar as a energy snack for the days I run and try not to eat them on the days I don’t have increased nutritional needs. Easier said than done… they are yummy.