What is a green smoothie? Imagine getting a whole lot of living green goodness that is already chopped up so tiny that you get an almost instant energy hit. Now put some fruit with it, blend and drink.  That’s a green smoothie.  All you do is blend a couple of big handfuls of the green leaf of your choice with an equal amount of fruit of your choice and a couple of cups of water and there you go… nutrients and taste all in one hit.

Green smoothies are best absorbed on an empty stomach so this is the perfect breakfast.  The nutrient dense quality of the green smoothie means that you are less likely to suffer from cravings during the day and since a chlorophyll molecule (the green in leaves) differs from a human blood molecule by only one atom you are really giving yourself an amazing start to the day.

Dont be tempted to add super foods to your Green smoothie- the detoxing quality of just leaf and fruit can be interupted by the addition of other ingredients so save your maca for a Choco Maca Bliss later in the day.

If you do nothing else to increase raw food in your diet but this then you will still be making an enormous difference to your health.

here are some guidelines (not rules, we hate rules)

Start in the spirit of adventure and be prepared to be surprised

cycle through 7 greens if possible a week- this will mean you will discover leafy greens you never knew before- YAY!

Definitely don’t have the same green every day… don’t eat the same anything every day… it leads to boredom and nature intended you to have more fun.

Try different fruits. Think about their colours, tastes and fragrances. Banana is good at hiding the taste of almost any green and kids love it – bananas tuen any green smoothie into a healthy kids snack. Freeze peeled fruits to have some on hand every morning and save time.

Leaving 20- 40 minutes either side of your green smoothie where you don’t eat anything is a great idea.

Be kind and gentle to yourself, grow and learn.  If you become discouraged or frustrated reach out and talk to someone, swap recipes, take a break… raw vegan chocolate heals all wounds- oh no, that’s time… Raw vegan chocolate is just a temporary pleasure but worth investigating all the same.

Green smoothies are yum!

The basic Meta recipe for a green smoothie is to take a couple of big handfuls of leafy green; kale, silverbeet, rocket, baby spinach… you get the picture. Think green, crisp leafy goodness and lots of it.
Put this goodness filled abundance of greens in a blender with some water and blend until it is drinkable. Easy but not all that yummy. The yummy bit comes next.
Add to the blender some sweet fruit, with or without skins as is your preference and blend. If you have a penchant for sweet things then add a little Stevia for calorie free sweetness or honey or agave for sweet and nutritious. You call the shots here but you should keep it simple, a couple of kinds of fruit is great and there are so many to choose from. Start with bananas, pears, apples, blueberries, mangos, papayas, and pineapples. Aim for 50/50 leaf and fruit.
Think of all that fragrant delightful fruit and leaf, bright green and full of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and chlorophyll. You really couldnt get a better start to the day.
Smoothies can be part of detox diets and any healthy eating plan as well as a excellent indulgence to wake the senses and kick start your energy for the day

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