Green Smoothies

Green leafy vegetables are really good for us, but we still don't tend to get enough greens in our diet. I know we eat a lot of greens in our Asian dishes and we eat salads but it's still not nearly enough. A green smoothie, however, is a great way to get a lot of greens in your diet and is full of fresh nutrients. I was introduced to green smoothies when we visited Cami, my sister-in-law in Australia, as I had previously mentioned, and she got Jeremy and I hooked on them. She drinks a whole blenderful of green smoothie for breakfast every morning. I could go on about how full they are of antioxidants, fiber, minerals & nutrients, how they give you a full day of energy and that we know people who suffered with acne for years and after 2 weeks of drinking a green smoothie a day, their skin cleared up but there are plenty of websites out there already. Just look up "green smoothie." The basic idea of the green smoothie is to blend together approximately 60% fruit and 40% greens--and you've got yourself a yummy green smoothie.

This is the recipe that Jeremy and I have been using:

juice of 3 oranges, freshly squeezed
organic kale
organic spinach/swiss chard
2 Medjool dates, seeds removed
handful of goji berries
2 T of flaxseed, ground fresh in a coffee grinder
2 large pears/ 3 small pears
2 medium to large bananas

The trick, if you have an ordinary blender like ours, is to start with the orange juice. Cut the oranges in half and then squeeze out the juice using a citrus reamer. Pour the juice into the blender. We take roughly 2-3 leaves of kale and tear the leaves off the stem and fill the blender loosely full of kale and then blend until smooth. Then we fill the blender full of spinach or swiss chard or a combination of the two and blend again. You can add a little water if it's too thick or your oranges didn't give out much juice. I usually throw in the dates, goji berries, and flaxseed once the leaves have been blended and let it blend together for 2 minutes or so to make sure the greens are blended smoothly. In the meantime, I'm cutting the pears in quarters and cutting out the seeds and stem. Then I throw in the pears and the 2 peeled bananas, blend until they're all smooth and then pour the smoothies into glasses. Jeremy and I usually split the blender and we usually end up with 1 and a half to 2 cups each. The smoothies are really very yummy and I love how green it is because it looks so fresh. I know some people have a green phobia, my brother among them, so if the green color turns you off, you could try throwing in some fresh or frozen berries--it turns the smoothie into a berry shade and you'd never know there was any spinach in there. It's a great idea for kids who won't eat their greens.

My mother and brother throw in most of the oranges (the white stuff is also good for you, especially for allergies) and my mom adds carrots as well. Just find what works for you and what fruits and greens are in season. Sprouts are especially great for you. You can put any leafy vegetable but the darker the better. We've found kale to be too thick by itself and that's why we mix it with other greens. It is also recommended that you vary your greens and not always use the same ones. Enjoy the healthy goodness of the fresh and natural!