Green Smoothies

According to Victoria Boutenko greens are the primary food group that match human nutritional needs most completely.

Greens are loaded with amino acids, (the building blocks of protein), minerals, vitamins, fibre & chlorophyll.

Greens can be combined with any other food and enhance digestion by stimulating enzyme production. Hence the combination of greens and fruit in green smoothies is very acceptable i.e. versus the combination of fruit with other food types, and starch with protein e.g. classic SAD fair such as cheese and bread, milk and cereal (See the book, Fit for Life for more detail).

Chimpanzees are the closest animal relative to humans sharing over 99% of the same genes. They eat a diet consisting of 50% fruit, 40% greens and 10% pith, bark and insects. This is all raw and whole food.

Over 50% of most SADs contain cooked carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, pasta and rice. Approx 35% fats, oils and animal proteins and the rest fruit, veg and greens.

Even the average raw food diet has about 35% plant based fats and oils and a small percentage of greens.

The chronic diseases of humankind are not seen in wild chimps so why not take a leaf out of their book and see what their big secret is? No secret, lifestyle and diet are blatantly different.

A diet of 50% fruit, 40% greens and 10% or less fat is the ideal diet according to many experienced raw fooders and those with the best health. Hence green smoothies are an excellent way of getting extra greens into your diet in addition to eating alot of salad!

Greens are biologically very hardy on a molecular level as they contain cellulose. Nutrients are stored within the plant's cells and their cell walls need to be ruptured to release them. This requires a significant amount of chewing, which humans struggle with, our jaws are not strong enough and we are very impatient. We also need strong stomach acid which many of us lack.

To get enough greens, blending them in a smoothie is ideal as it ruptures the plant cell membranes releaseing nutrients very easily. Victoria Boutenko recommends a quart (1 litre) a day of green smoothie.

Any greens eaten whole are still encouraged, however they should be chewed very well!!

Available to pre order from Amazon now and available in July 2009

See below for for details in the book section!!

Firstly can I say that green smoothies don't taste horrible. They look green but taste like the fruit in them. Obviously if you go overboard with the greens it will taste pretty green, but generally speaking you don't taste the them much if at all.

All recipes below are approximately enough for two large glasses of green smoothie holding 2 cups or 16 fl. oz or 450mls.

It is generally recommended to use 40% greens and 60% fruit. If you do happen to overdo the greens, try a bit of vanilla to take the edge off.

Greens I use are usually a combination of kale, silverbeet/chard and spinach. If kale is used I usually use it with a milder green as it can be strong. I have also recently experimented with my regular salad mix when I have run out of my 'greens for green smoothies container' in the fridge. They are also great, however be mindful that the red leaves are generally more bitter.

I have also used celery (stalks and tops), carrot tops & parsley stalks. Any green can be used but be careful it is not a mustard green or rocket as the taste is dreadful!!! Experiment yourself however don't use the same one all the time. Rotate your greens to get a variety of nutrients and to respect the seasons.

Try to buy your greens organic, they won't contain pesticides and herbicides and will contain more nutrients than conventional greens. If you can only buy non-organic please wash them very thoroughly with a good quality and chemical free fruit and vegie wash. Even better, grow them yourself. Silverbeet is so easy to grow, even someone without green thumbs can do it!

Be sure to blend thoroughly to break up all the greens, rest your blender if needed if you have a cheap one...I still do, touch wood it still works and gets a good workout a least once a day.

Please only use filtered water.

Enjoy!

If you feel like more than a freshly squeezed OJ and less than a full on smoothie and this hit the spot!!!!

Juice from 4 large oranges
Half a cup of blueberries
8 fresh strawberries
Handful of greens

blend and serve for two

2 cups fresh pineapple
1-2 bananas
generous handful of mint leaves
1 cup of water

so simple, and so stunning..................

2-3 frozen bananas sliced (sliced before or after freezing doesn't matter)
1 mango
1 cup young coconut milk
1 cup water or 2 cups if no coconut milk
1 big handful or 2 of silverbeet
1 tsp vanilla

Blend lots...it's so creamy, just close your eyes and go to your special place!!

4 bananas or
2-3 bananas and 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
2 tsp bee pollen
2 tsp InLiven ProBiotic Superfood
1 sachet of Berry Radical Antioxidant Superfood
1 cup of water or fresh squeezed orange juice
generous portion of greens - currently kale or silverbeet
1 tsp vanilla extract (this is the secret of calming down the greenness that can sometimes overpower the smoothie, if you have put a bit too much in taste wise)

2 bananas
1 cup red papaya
2 celery stalk ends with leaves (pale green ends)
2 handfuls of middle romaine/cos lettuce leaves
1 cup water
2 tsp InLiven Probiotic superfood (optional)

This green smoothie creation was a a bit of a mish mash of left over ingredients, but turned out a beautiful pale green, despite the significant amount of greens in it.

4-5 ripe fresh figs
1 cup of red seedless grapes
1 cup of water
1 cup of ice blocks
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp InLiven Probiotic superfood

This is not my creation I am afraid but worthy of your pleasure! It's Sarma Melngailis' Fig and grape cleansing shake and I have added my Probiotic Superfood to make it qualify (sort of) as green. You could put greens in it but I didn't. It takes a bit earthy (nor dirty, I did wash the fruit!)and is so satisfying I have had it for lunch.

Flesh and milk from a young coconut
2 tsp of cacao powder (preferably raw)
1 banana
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 Tbs coconut oil/butter
Agave or honey to taste
Big handful of greens

The MCFAs in coconuts are the healthiest fatty acids to consume and apparently aid weight loss! Bring it on!!
Coconut oil and butter are the same thing, it's oil above about 26 degrees celsius (79 Farenheit), and buttery below that. It can change forms with no issues regarding its stability

1 cup of blueberries
1 cup ripe strawberries
1 banana
1 whole just peeled orange so some pith still on
1 tsp of raw cacao powder
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp carob powder
1 tsp goji powder or a handful of goji berries
2 tsp bee pollen (careful if allergic)
big handful of greens
1 cup of water
1 sachet of Berry Radical Antioxidant Superfood
2 tsp InLiven Probiotic Superfood
A dash of agave nectar or honey to taste

Cacao is rich in Magnesium (amongst other things) and Carob is rich in Calcium so they marry well together as these minerals need each other.
Maca is geat for hormone balancing and energy.
Goji is rich in Vitamins, Omega 3 EFAs and protein.
The Berries are antioxidant rich.
Bee Pollen is a complete protein and has B vitamins including B12.
The whole orange for bioflavaniods and Vit B17

1-2 cups fresh pineapple chopped
1 banana
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup water
big handful of greens

This is a good one when getting used to the green-ness of smoothies, as the sweetness and acid of the orange and pineapple cuts through any green taste.

2 bananas
1 cup chopped papaya (red or yellow)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
a big handful of greens

This naturally enzyme rich smoothie is easy to digest as it won't tax your own pancreas! Yay!

3-4 whole oranges only just peeled
2 bananas
1 cup of water
big handful of greens

Keeping some pith on the oranges reveals the rich bioflavanoids which are excellent during menstruation as they are capillary (baby blood vessels)strengthening. Furthermore the pips have Vitamin B17, a potent anti-cancer agent.

This was a case of 'what on earth is left in the fridge'. I had some:

Leftover fesh, young coconut milk
The tops off a baby fennel that I had the bulb in a salad for
Some pineapple

I added a bit more water and my usual InLiven probiotic Superfood and oh my God what a taste sensation!! The sweet acidity of the pineapple and the aniseed from the fennel is amazing...and so wickedly green!

Blend it lots though becuase the fennel tops are a fine green.

1-2 bananas
1-1.5 cups of frozen or fresh pitted cherries
(or blueberries if you can't get cherries)
2 cups of water
(or baby coconut water to make it even sexier!!)
a big handful of greens

InLiven is a certified organic probiotic superfood containing all 13 Lactobaccillus strains, predigested greens and more. More info and links below.

Berry Radical is a certified organic antioxidant superfood with a higher ORAC score than Goji berries/juice. More info and links below.

Chia seeds For insoluble fibre and omega 3 add a tbsp full to your smoothie. You can blend them dry into a powder before adding wet ingredients or add them whole while blending, they go soft unlike flax seeds so are easy drink and munch. Don't leave your smoothie too long before drinking though cos it will thicken it as Chia soaks up liquid big time.

Chia contains
8 times more omega 3 oils than salmon
The highest plant source of omega 3 oils
Highly stable due to high antioxidant capacity (unlike unstable sources like flax and fish and hemp)
It's a complete protein and has 18 amino acids
5 x more calcium than milk
3 x more iron than spinach
15 x more magnesium than broccoli
ORAC score 4 x higher than blueberries (antioxidant measurement)
source: www.powersuperfoods.com

Bee Pollen
Though not vegan, bee pollen is an amazing source of nutrients and cannot be synthesised in a laboratory.Bee-gathered pollens are rich in proteins, free amino acids, vitamins, including B-complex, and folic acid. Bee pollen is a complete food and contains many elements that products of animal origin do not possess. Bee pollen is more rich in proteins than any animal source. It contains more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese of equal weight. Bee pollen is particularly concentrated in all elements necessary for life.
source http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/bee.htm

Bee pollen can have allergenic reactions in people so must be used with caution. We started using in in our smoothies to assist with my husbands hay fever. We started with a 1/4 tsp and built up slowly to 1 tsp each. I know others take bigger doses but we have stopped at this amount out of some respect to the bees!