The yoga studio I attend (Yoga North) has been raving about these "green smoothies". I've been watching rather dubiously as more and more folks have been running around with mason jars full of what only appeared to be pond water. You know, when it's August and the top of the pond is this vibrant shade of green; sometimes it's algae, sometimes it's duckweed and if you go swimming and you open your eyes under water and you can see the bits and pieces of aquatic vegetation suspended in the dappled sunlight...
Yes, mason jars of what appeared to be just that.
The green smoothie is from a book called Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko. The premise behind this blended green concoction is we don't eat enough veggies, and by making a smoothie out of greens and fruits we not only meet our daily intake of veggies and fruit we can surpass it. Boutenko and her family are raw foodist's and she found for her and her family that even with the amount of fruits and veggies they were eating, they hit a 'health plateau' and this was her answer to moving beyond that.
Now, this is my opinion only, but I found the book to be poorly written and the claims dubious. For example, early on in the book she was explaining why her family went raw-food and ultimately to raw-food and green smoothies: her son had type 2 diabetes, her husband had debilitating arthritis and could barely walk, someone else had severe allergies, and she had a heart arrhythmia. Yet they started the green smoothies and in three months they all ran a 10k. Um, right. I am in pretty decent shape between yoga, bicycling, spin class, gardening, hiking, etc, and I couldn't run a 10k without issues. Walk it - yes. No problemo. Run? No.
However, the premise of a green smoothie makes sense. You are drinking 12-16oz of blended spinach, kale, or Swiss chard with banana's, oranges, pineapple, mango's, cantaloupe, blueberries...pick your fruit, daily in addition to your regular diet. The initial quantities should be 40% leafy green veggie, 60% fruit, and water. Blend together and waa-la! You just drank a goodly portion of your fruits and veggies for the day.
So at the recent studio open house I got to try one. And it was good. Really good. So I went home and combined some Swiss chard leaves, a couple of banana's, part of an orange, water, and because I can't just follow a recipe without changing it, some yogurt. The yogurt is purely optional and not part of Boutenko's recipes. Result? A bit vegetal, but pretty darn good! I think I had too many Swiss chard leaves.
I've been drinking one daily for a week now: alternating between having it with breakfast or as a mid morning snack. I'm still trying to figure out how to transport it as I think it's best cold, plus I'm adding yogurt for the calcium and to make it thicker. My smoothies have to be thick! Frozen banana's are a great thickener as well.
Some folks are using it as a breakfast replacement because they really aren't breakfast people. Others are just noshing on it all day long (I recommend keeping it cold somehow - potentially fermenting fruits and veggies could do some less than interesting things to the digestive tract). I like it as a mid morning pick-me up or as a evening meal for those nights I get home at 8:00p from class.
And here's my basic recipe:
2 big handfuls (about 2 packed cups) spinach, Swiss chard, kale or a combination
2 banana's (can be frozen)
1 orange (or pineapple)
+/- 2/3 cup water
about 6 oz (2/3 cup) vanilla or plain organic yogurt (purely optional)
(I don't have a Vitamix blender - just a Cuisinart - so some extra hand chopping is necessary.)
Chop larger green leaves (Swiss chard) into smaller bits, place in blender with water. Start to puree. Once greens are blending well, add banana chunks and orange (try not to sploot green smoothie on cupboards or ceiling...) and then add yogurt. Makes 2 servings.
The Swiss chard and kale are going to be a bit more 'vegetal' tasting. Spinach is not as strong. Adjust fruit/yogurt to desired taste.
Other variations: pineapple and banana, peach and banana, peach and mango...use your imagination here! I did pick up some frozen peaches, mango, and blueberries to have on hand as they cost $$$ for fresh.
I like to make a batch in the evening so it's ready to go the next morning when I'm trying to get myself out the door and puppies fed and watered. One batch will last me two days. Like I mentioned above, I'm still trying to figure out how best to transport it for consumption later in the day. I'm also going to try experimenting with adding some soy protein powder as I need a bit more than my diet is providing right now.
Truly, this is really good and the fruit combinations are really versatile.
2 comments:
I have had some green pre-made store stuff (Happy Planet having one) that I LOVED. it's funny how spinach can be masked by basically any fruit!
This summer, Andrew and I made smoothies from bananas, a berry/fruit and a bit of honey and some local blueberry or pomegranate juice. We poured the mixture into some popsicle containers and had instant yummy popsicles! :)
Thank you for this recipe... I should really try it! (and I agree with you, i'm a little dubious about the whole 10k claims...)
Eco Yogini - I've been trying to find some popsicle containers to make homemade popsicles but no luck yet. It doesn't help that I started looking *right* before Fall...
And a follow-up: I experimented with adding a heaping spoonful of Vanilla Soy Protien Powder and it was decent if drinking right away. The texture became rather gloopy when allowed to sit overnight and I didn't care for the aftertaste.
I'll probably just stick with yogurt in the future.
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