Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Smoothie Recipe for Beginners
Greetings Greenies!
Today, I wanted to write up a couple of basic smoothie recipes for you to try out at home. Remember, if you are making them for the first time, it may feel a little odd to pop your kale into the blender along with some fruit, but what I do ask is that you please, please refrain from judging these strange looking concoctions until you've at least tried them for three mornings in a row.
Anyway, here we go, you will need the following.
Beginners Basic Kale
3 to 4 leaves of kale
2 soft, ripe pears
3 to 4 dates (pitted)
1/2 cup of water (more if desired)
Blend everything together in a blender. I like to blend my greens up first before adding my fruit. I also remove the really strong stalk if I am using a less powerful blender, but also because they can add a bitter taste to your smoothie. Pour into smoothie container (if you have one) or glass (if you don't) and enjoy...An oldie, but a goodie!
Mangolicious
1 cup of spinach
1 ripe mango
Handful of pineapple
1/2 cup of water (or more if desired)
Bananatastic
1 cup spinach
2 bananas
1 cup water
For both mangolicious and bananatastic, blend all the ingredients together in blender. If you feel you would like a green smoothie that is less thick, please feel free to add more water to get it to to a consistency that is perfect for you.
Sometimes I add a little lemon juice to make the mixture even more alkalising, not to mention helping the body absorb the calcium from the spinach. You don't have too, it's just a good thing to get into the habit of doing when you are using spinach.
Remember, green smoothies are meant to be delicious, nutritious, creamy drinks, so feel free to change any parts of the above to suit your own palate. The idea is to help you introduce more greens into your diet, and if you're anything like me, you will only do this if it is easy to make and delicious to taste, so please, no suffering in silence, no nose pinching and most certainly, no "bottoms up"! Adjust and amend to your liking.
I think you will be very surprised by what you think of these lovely greens that you are making part of your life for the next 3 days. Whatever you think, I'd like to hear about it. Please write to me with your experience...I don't even mind if it's really bad or that you are never, ever, going to try one of these drinks again! Your comments mean that I can improve and understand more about how others feel about taking greens in this way.
Well, that's it from me for now.
Keep up the good work!
Kitchen Greenie.
Today, I wanted to write up a couple of basic smoothie recipes for you to try out at home. Remember, if you are making them for the first time, it may feel a little odd to pop your kale into the blender along with some fruit, but what I do ask is that you please, please refrain from judging these strange looking concoctions until you've at least tried them for three mornings in a row.
Anyway, here we go, you will need the following.
Beginners Basic Kale
3 to 4 leaves of kale
2 soft, ripe pears
3 to 4 dates (pitted)
1/2 cup of water (more if desired)
Blend everything together in a blender. I like to blend my greens up first before adding my fruit. I also remove the really strong stalk if I am using a less powerful blender, but also because they can add a bitter taste to your smoothie. Pour into smoothie container (if you have one) or glass (if you don't) and enjoy...An oldie, but a goodie!
Mangolicious
1 cup of spinach
1 ripe mango
Handful of pineapple
1/2 cup of water (or more if desired)
Bananatastic
1 cup spinach
2 bananas
1 cup water
For both mangolicious and bananatastic, blend all the ingredients together in blender. If you feel you would like a green smoothie that is less thick, please feel free to add more water to get it to to a consistency that is perfect for you.
Sometimes I add a little lemon juice to make the mixture even more alkalising, not to mention helping the body absorb the calcium from the spinach. You don't have too, it's just a good thing to get into the habit of doing when you are using spinach.
Remember, green smoothies are meant to be delicious, nutritious, creamy drinks, so feel free to change any parts of the above to suit your own palate. The idea is to help you introduce more greens into your diet, and if you're anything like me, you will only do this if it is easy to make and delicious to taste, so please, no suffering in silence, no nose pinching and most certainly, no "bottoms up"! Adjust and amend to your liking.
I think you will be very surprised by what you think of these lovely greens that you are making part of your life for the next 3 days. Whatever you think, I'd like to hear about it. Please write to me with your experience...I don't even mind if it's really bad or that you are never, ever, going to try one of these drinks again! Your comments mean that I can improve and understand more about how others feel about taking greens in this way.
Well, that's it from me for now.
Keep up the good work!
Kitchen Greenie.
The Benefit of Green Smoothies
I think it is inherent in every human's body and mind to instinctively know that they really should eat more greens. However, when I am told that something is food for me, I automatically think to myself “well, how good”? Not that I want to fully understand every biochemical action and reaction within my own body s chemistry when I do eat something that I know is good for me, but having a general knowledge helps me understand how I am faring throughout any given day.
So, some facts about greens that you may not have known:
Greens contain more beta-carotene than carrots, more vitamin C than oranges, more Vitamin E than whole grain wheat and more vitamin B2 than dairy milk and they contain a complete amino acid profile
Greens provide the best source of the alkaline minerals calcium, magnesium,
and iron as well as many others. These alkaline minerals create the perfect
environment for health by cleansing your body of bad bacteria, parasites and unwanted
yeast.
Now for some of the added benefits that you will receive by including raw greens into your diet every day:
Clearer thoughts
Better mood
A healthier body weight
Reduced stress levels
Increased vitality
A healthier heart
A supply of vital chemicals into your blood stream that can
unclog arteries
The slowing down of your body’s natural aging process
The ability to stimulate your body to make more killer cells to ward off infection.
Beautiful healthy skin, hair and nails
Now, I think that this is a pretty impressive list and one that has me totally hooked!
Happy Blending!
Kitchen Greenie.
So, some facts about greens that you may not have known:
Greens contain more beta-carotene than carrots, more vitamin C than oranges, more Vitamin E than whole grain wheat and more vitamin B2 than dairy milk and they contain a complete amino acid profile
Greens provide the best source of the alkaline minerals calcium, magnesium,
and iron as well as many others. These alkaline minerals create the perfect
environment for health by cleansing your body of bad bacteria, parasites and unwanted
yeast.
Now for some of the added benefits that you will receive by including raw greens into your diet every day:
Clearer thoughts
Better mood
A healthier body weight
Reduced stress levels
Increased vitality
A healthier heart
A supply of vital chemicals into your blood stream that can
unclog arteries
The slowing down of your body’s natural aging process
The ability to stimulate your body to make more killer cells to ward off infection.
Beautiful healthy skin, hair and nails
Now, I think that this is a pretty impressive list and one that has me totally hooked!
Happy Blending!
Kitchen Greenie.
Feeling Good On Greens
For me the best thing about loading up on greens in my morning smoothie is that I feel that if the rest of my day doesn't go as well as planned, food wise, then I at least know that I have helped my body to alkalise and receive some of the nutrition it needs to remain health and whole.
Today happened to be a particularly good foodie day, but I also know that I am going out later, will be eating late and will be going to a restaurant where I know the food is not what I would normally eat, so I am glad that I've eaten well earlier. You might ask, then why am I going? Because being a friend is also high up there on my list of priorities and tonight's bash is in aid of a friend who most definitely would do the same for me. So, over the years, what I have learned is that when it comes to food, there are certain sacrifices to be made. Keeping a dinner date with friend is just as important as making sure I eat nutritious, healthy food.
Yes, in my youth, I was a die hard, perfectionist, but then again, having no friends to dine with will put a stop to that less balanced way of eating. I took me a while to wonder why the invitations to dinner had begun to dwindle.......Of course, what I would really like to be eating tonight is a wonderful raw meal, followed by a cacao ganache with some dairy and sugar free ice cream, but then can't I make that possible tomorrow?? That question is a rhetorical one my green friends...of course I can!
Bye the way, this morning's green eyed monster was a little over half a bag full of spinach (the one not washed in chlorine), two whole peaches and one avocado. Now, I didn't have any lemon juice, and to be honest, it needed it. I might also have put in a little agave or stevia to sweeten my little green monster. However, it all went down very well nonetheless and left me feeling, revived, nourished and ready to green the day with passion and lust for life.
Well, that's it from KG for now anyway. I'm off to paint my toe nails before this evening. (yes, it is formaldehyde and tourmaline free)
Leafy green ones to you.
KG
Today happened to be a particularly good foodie day, but I also know that I am going out later, will be eating late and will be going to a restaurant where I know the food is not what I would normally eat, so I am glad that I've eaten well earlier. You might ask, then why am I going? Because being a friend is also high up there on my list of priorities and tonight's bash is in aid of a friend who most definitely would do the same for me. So, over the years, what I have learned is that when it comes to food, there are certain sacrifices to be made. Keeping a dinner date with friend is just as important as making sure I eat nutritious, healthy food.
Yes, in my youth, I was a die hard, perfectionist, but then again, having no friends to dine with will put a stop to that less balanced way of eating. I took me a while to wonder why the invitations to dinner had begun to dwindle.......Of course, what I would really like to be eating tonight is a wonderful raw meal, followed by a cacao ganache with some dairy and sugar free ice cream, but then can't I make that possible tomorrow?? That question is a rhetorical one my green friends...of course I can!
Bye the way, this morning's green eyed monster was a little over half a bag full of spinach (the one not washed in chlorine), two whole peaches and one avocado. Now, I didn't have any lemon juice, and to be honest, it needed it. I might also have put in a little agave or stevia to sweeten my little green monster. However, it all went down very well nonetheless and left me feeling, revived, nourished and ready to green the day with passion and lust for life.
Well, that's it from KG for now anyway. I'm off to paint my toe nails before this evening. (yes, it is formaldehyde and tourmaline free)
Leafy green ones to you.
KG
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