Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Green Smoothie Fun

Hello :) A week or so ago my fancy new blender arrived... yay! I had been thinking of buying one for a while now, but looking at the price of a Vitamix (no way I am paying almost $1000 for one of those !!) probably scared me off. Eventually, after looking at reviews and comparisons for longer than I really wanted to, I decided to buy an omniblend. Just in case you were curious, I paid $305 for the blender (here), which I think is quite reasonable as I am going to be using it most, if not everyday.

Ok, let's talk green smoothies! My main reason for buying the blender was to make daily green smoothies to boost my vegetable and nutrient intake. I have been making them every day for the past week, and have been learning a lot. The first few I made weren't great (too goopy! too much kale!) but now I have a basic recipe which I think works well.

 a basic Green Smoothie recipe- 

3 cos lettuce leaves
1 stalk celery
1/2 cucumber
2-3 kale leaves
1/3 cup coconut milk (with 2 tbsp chia seeds mixed in & left overnight)
1/2 apple
1 tsp barley grass powder
half lemon squeezed
chilled water

some other nice additions-

mint or basil leaves
ginger
lime juice
frozen berries
raw cacao
coconut water
mango


I just happened to make a similar one to that yesterday, but it changes- I don't always have that many greens vegetables on hand. Sometimes I add whey protein, if I want it for breakfast (& then maybe some coconut oil too), and I've been experimenting with maca powder too. Ages ago I bought some barley grass powder (which tastes yuck mixed into plain water!) so am glad I can finally start using it disguised in these smoothies.

Also, I've noticed a lot of recipes add at least 2-3 serves of fruit, but personally I try to limit my sugar intake, and if I do eat fruit, I prefer to eat it whole. In saying that, I do usually add 1/2 an apple or 1/2 a frozen banana to sweeten it a little, and coconut milk adds sweetness too. A big squeeze of lemon also gives it a nice bite, and I add plenty of chilled water so it ain't too goopy.

Sarah Wilson also recently wrote an article about why she prefers green smoothies over juices (here) &  I definitely agree with her about the waste thing- juices do have a lot more wastage versus smoothies!

So I'd love to hear your recipes for green smoothies, or maybe even nut milks ??? 

Hannah x

1 comment:

  1. Wow, this is great ! Fresh, quick and easy recipe that good for everyone. Thanks for the resources, it inspires everyone to cook healthy foods.
    Zespri Green Kiwi fruit website

    ReplyDelete