Liven Up Your Diet With Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are all the rage nowadays. I remember peering skeptically at my first one-- how could a green drink actually taste good? It just doesn't look as appetizing as a nice bright pink drink.

But, what I was forgetting is that you can throw in lots of yummy white foods to sweeten the green ones, and it still qualifies. Pears, bananas, and apples are all sweet and help give your green smoothie body and flavor.

Green smoothies are full of fiber, and because all the veggies are smashed up already, your body has no trouble absorbing them! All those great vitamins and minerals go right into your body. Forget what vitamins come from what fruits and veggies? The great thing about green smoothie recipes is that you can basically make them up on your own.

Here are great greens for smoothies:

• dandelion greens and kale (tons of calcium)
• lettuce
• celery
• watercress
• escarole
• mustard greens
• turnip greens
• carrot tops
• broccoli
• asparagus
• cabbage
• Brussels sprouts
• collard greens
• kohlrabi

Then add some combo of fruits like:

apples
• pears
• bananas
• oranges
• papaya
• pineapple
• kiwi
• blueberries
• raspberries
• strawberries
• watermelon
• cucumber

I could go on and on. There's really nothing that can't be added into a green smoothie.

One thing that's really helpful is to have a great blender. I love my VitaMix because it pulverizes everything within 15 seconds, but if you can find one that will crush ice, you will be fine.

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Sample Green Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients:

2-3 fruits
1-2 watery vegetables like cucumber, celery, or squash
1 large bunch of greens


Directions:

Blend fruits first, then add watery vegetables and then greens. You can add ice if you have a great mixer, or some cold water to thin the smoothie.


Serves 2-3.


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Orange, Carrot, Banana and Spinach:

Ingredients:

1-2 carrots
1 orange
1 ripe banana
1 c. spinach or swiss chard
1/3 c. ice


Directions:

Blend orange and banana, then add carrots and ice. This won't come out completely green, but it's so sweet and smooth that it's a great place to start.


Serves 2-3.


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Mango and Parlsey:

Ingredients:

2 mangoes
1 bunch parsley
1/3 c. ice


Directions:

Blend mangoes, then add parsley and ice.


Serves 2-3.


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Greens and Blueberries:

Ingredients:

2 pears
2 mangoes
1 c. blueberries
1 c. greens
1/3 c. ice


Directions:

Blend pears and mangoes, then add blueberries, greens, and ice. In the VitaMix, just add everything together at once and blend!


Serves 2-3.


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Pear, Raspberry, and Kale:

Ingredients:

3 pears
1/2 c. raspberries
5 leaves of kale
1/3 c. ice


Directions:

Blend pears and raspberries, then add kale and ice. In the VitaMix, just add everything together at once and blend!


Serves 2-3.


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