Green Smoothie Blueprint
Aside from a few discovered favourites, when we make green smoothies, we rarely follow a recipe as we usually use what we have on hand at the time and 9 times out of 10 they are a hit. In order to assure that it does indeed taste good, we usually follow a sort of guideline or blueprint if you will and here is our go to blueprint in the order the ingredients are added to the blender:
- ½ - 1 Cup Liquid (Water, Coconut Water, Orange, Apple, or Pomegranate Juice)
- 2 Cup Greens (Spinach is most mild, I just stuff as much into the blender as I can)
- 1-2 TB Flax, Chia or Hemp seeds
- Any additional superfoods such as goji berries, nuts and/or dried fruits like, currants, raisin, dates or figs.
- 1-2 Fresh Fruit (1 banana & 1 apple, pear, mango or pineapple slices. Banana adds sweet.)
- 1½ - 2 Cup Frozen Fruit (blackberry, raspberry, blueberry mix turns it purple)
- Option: Your chosen sweetener (See Sweet Options for my preferences)
- Option: Avocado ( ½ -1), Kefir (1-2 TB), Yogurt ( ¼ C)
- Blend liquid, spinach, seeds and superfood additions until smooth.
- Then add the fresh & frozen fruit, and other optional ingredients
- Blend till smooth and serve.
- Careful not to over blend or you’ll have a warm smoothie! This is why I blend the greens & hard nuts, seeds & dried fruits first before I add my fruit & frozen ingredients.)
Tip: Make 50% greens your goal but with kids, it may be a good idea to start out with more fruit, less greens and then go from there. If you are getting more than 50% greens you are a superstar! Also start with spinach and romaine and work up to other greens like beet greens, kale and chard as these are a bit stronger.
For more info about green smoothies I recommend The Green Smoothies Diet by Robin Openshaw in hard copy or as a kindle ebook by clicking on the image below:
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