cross-posted from another thread:
I'm interested in the smoothies you prepare, did you already write about them somewhere?
Hi paradoxx,
I have mentioned them, didn't write about them. So here is some information and a typical recipe of what I prepare.
I have started green smoothies because it is a great way to consume a large volume of healthy veggies, and fruits, and other healthy food, in a tasty and easy way. I had difficulty in particular with eating some kind of green veggies, even in salad. For example, kale is one of the best greeny leafs there is from a nutritional point of view, but I don't enjoy at all eating raw kale, and not even in a salad. But they easily blend in my green smoothies !
Here is a typical recipe of my green smoothies: Organic kale 2/3 to 1 cup ( always included !)
Organic broccoli 2/3 to 1 cup ( Always included too! I use the stem, the leafs too when some left, not only the flower tops)
Source water 100ml / 4 oz ( to ease the mix in the blender - you can add more for a more liquid result, I like mine more like a puree, semi-liquid, that I eat with a spoon)
2 organic bananas ( always included, great for the taste)
1 organic apple
1/2 to 1 organic tomato
Organic virgin, cold pressed coconut oil 2 to 4 tablespoon, depending on your taste, but I really like it ( to know if your oil is a good brand and has not been tempered with, it has to smell coconut - if no smell, it has been processed )
Grapefruit juice 100ml/4 oz ( good for the liver, but
caution, grapefruit juice is a potent CYP3A4 inhibitor, an important enzyme in the liver, so it interacts significantly with many prescribed and OTC drugs, and those interactions can be severe, so check out with your pharmacist or physician if you can take grapefuit or grapefruit juice, or just use another fruit juice , since this is quite specific to grapefruit juice and some rare citrus like Pomelo and Seville oranges - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit%E2%80%93drug_interactions for more details. Of course, the safest alternative is to skip the juice, or replace it with source water or coconut water to work the smoothie to the desired consistency ) )(P.S. 2020-08: Organic grapefruit juice is not available anymore, so I use another organic juice, like orange and mango, and add the zest of one organic lemon - that zest is full of vitamins and add a great citrus taste ! Also, safer alternative than grapefruit for those taking other medications - see above in red for details)
Frozen mango chunks 1/2 cup ( this with banana add up to a great taste ) ( I use the no pesticides-no gmo Nature's Touch brand from Costco , or President's Choice organic frozen chunks of mango, from Loblaws, now that it is available )
some frozen organic strawberries ( 100ml/4oz)
Organic basilic one or two leaves
Organic parsley a little bit
Organic chia or hemp hearts 1 or 2 oz ( source of complete proteins, and lots of vitamins and minerals, and omega-3 too)
Sometime, I add organic red beets, that are good for the liver... turn my green smoothie to a red smoothie, of course !
I can also add some of what I have on hand: some organic spinach, or some red berries, or some blueberries, or some organic green peas, or some organic carrot, or organic sweet pepper bell, and so on.
I add sometime some organic ginger, or organic cinnamon, or organic cacao powder, or else. But never again I will add spiruline in my smoothies, for me it totally spoils the taste ! ( I take spirulina powder apart, in water).
I mix everything in the blender, make about 1,5 liters ( around 50 oz/ 6.5 cups). I will add some liquid or solid to complete if necessary, depending on consistency I want. I put the result in 3 full, 16oz Mason jars, in the fridge, and I am ok for about a week or so .
The taste I get has nothing to do with high sugar commercial preparations, but since I had cut refined sugar for a long time now this is very tasty to me and sweet enough.
I aim at 100% organic fruits and veggies, because standards ones have been 100% grown with chemical pesticides and herbicides - I do those smoothies for optimal health, so the choice to go full organic is clear. And nowadays, there are large organic stores with reasonable pricing ( those who smokes find the money for their cigarettes, and harm their health... why wouldn't I have the extra money for my health ?)
After nearly six months , I got used to get a result that suits my taste. But at the start, it happened I had to adjust the final result by adding some maple syrup or organic vanilla soya drink, to make it more tasty and more enjoyable.
If I run out of my smoothies and did not have the 30 mins or so needed to do the next batch, I have back ups in the form of healthy organic juices or smoothies. Either the Biotta Breuss (
http://biotta.ch/en/products/biotta-classic/breuss/ ), or the Suja Mighty Dozen organic greens, that I used to buy at Costco ( see
https://www.burpy.com/costco/suja-essentials-organic-mighty-greens-juice/product-detail/1146247 , but unfortunately, not available anymore in Canada...), or an Organic "Dose" juice ( my favorite is the really green "Cactus" -
https://dosejuice.com/product/cactus-2/ ), or also the frozen, ready-to-use smoothie cubes of Evive (
https://en.evivesmoothie.com/ - my favorites blends are yogi and pure ). I do not use those back ups very often, like once or twice a month. But this way, I can have my daily dose of organic veggies and fruits, even if I have much work to do, or a family event, or anything else.
Let me know if you have any questions. Of course, anyone interested should start slowly, with only a few ingredients - my recipes have grown to become quite elaborate, after all these months. just 4 to 5 ingredients can do for a starter, and I use to go for half fruits - half veggies in volume, in the beginning, but I am now more leaning toward 2/3 veggies - 1/3 fruits. Experiment !
Cheers !
P.S. 2020-09 After more than 3 years, I still eat my green smoothies regularly
