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Greens
In summary, go to your market and taste different greens. If they’re mild then feel free to substitute for any recipes that specify mild greens. If they are more bitter or pungent then substitute them for greens in recipes that specify stronger greens.
The key is to create a balance in your eating. Do NOT rely on all baby spinach to the exclusion of every other green. Have a selection of washed and carefully stored greens. Know which ones are mild or strong.
Mix And Match
When the recipe says 2 cups of mild greens, reach into a single bag for 2 cups of greens for a single green smoothie, or take a cupful of 2 different varieties. The taste won’t be that different between the mild leaves.
For example, I will often use the following when making a green smoothie with 2 cups of greens: asparagus lettuce and sweet potato leaves, different choy varieties, cabbage and sweet potato leaves, chickweed and spinach. The list goes on because the combinations are endless.
So, when it comes to greens, the world is your (vegetarian) oyster. Put your greens on rotation, do some experimenting.
A List Of Mild Greens
As you can see, you will be spoiled for choice. I surveyed green smoothie makers (the people!) and found that they felt restricted by recipes that said that they needed to use chickweed or lambsquarters. They told me that if a recipe recommends a particular green then that’s the one they feel they have to use.
I’ve taken a different approach that you’ll love! My recipes give you the freedom to mix and match your greens in the way that suits you. You could buy a variety of greens and use whatever you want depending on whether the smoothie recipe you decide to make is better with 2 cups mild greens, 2 cups strong greens or even 1 cup of each.
Here’s a list of mild greens. I am sure you’ll find plenty that will fit your needs.
- baby spinach
- bok or pak choy or gay choy
- sweet potato leaves
- pumpkin leaves
- papaya leaves
- chickweed
- asparagus lettuce
- kale (smaller leaves can be milder than large ones) comes in many varieties and some are mild and others could be considered stronger.
- tatsoi lettuce
- chard (same group as spinach and similar in taste)
- collard greens
- carrot greens
- beet greens (similar to spinach in taste)
- cabbage
- mizuna
- butter lettuce
- wandering jew
- romaine or cos lettuce
- purslane (similar to spinach in taste)
- pigweed (similar to spinach)
- lambsquarter (similar to spinach in taste)
- amaranth
- marsh mallow
- alfalfa sprouts
- broccoli sprouts
- lentil sprouts
- mung bean sprouts
- sunflower sprouts and sprouts from garbanzo beans (chick peas), lentils, buckwheat, soybeans (edamame), quinoa, fenugreek, peas, barley, oats, millet and wheat
- and so on
So for example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of mild greens I could easily add 1 cup of bok choy and 1 of sweet potato leaves, or 1 cup kale and tatsoi. You get the picture.
A List Of Stronger Greens
For stronger greens I will use
- rocket
- watercress
- endive (can be bitter)
- mustard greens (can vary in their spiciness to be VERY peppery)
- dandelion greens
- radish tops
- radicchio
- radish, mustard, onion, chive and other hot sprouts
- sorrel (not bitter but in the strong list due to its pronounced lemony flavor)
Remember, find your supplier at your markets or local store and get to know your greens.
Try Before You Take The Plunge
You know, sometimes you can buy rocket, watercress, mustard greens or other strong greens that are anywhere from mildly spicy to peppery to downright bitter. It’s a good idea to taste test them before you go sticking 2 big cupsful into a smoothie. Mind you, you will be very pleasantly surprised how well strong greens go in some quite sweet smoothies.
Our daughter wouldn’t dream of eating a salad with rocket in it, but happily slurps down an entire smoothie with 2 cups of the stuff when it’s accompanied by mango and mint.
Don’t be afraid to put them in. But if you taste a particularly strong batch of greens, put anywhere from one handful to one cup in instead of 2 cups. Make up the difference with a cup of mild greens and it will all ‘even out in the wash’.
Can’t Find Chickweed? Don’t Know What It Is?
You see, you may live in a part of the world where you can’t find chickweed. You can go to the substitution list and choose something that will give you the same effect.
Where you live and the season you’re experiencing will also determine what greens you’ll find.
Maybe you’re in a part of the country where you have an incredibly wide range of sprouts and leaves. Get to know the different types by taking them home and testing them.
If, on the other hand, you’re somewhere that’s not so much on the frontier of healthy eating, then perhaps you’re only going to find basics such as Baby Spinach, Kale, Silverbeet and Romaine lettuce. Maybe you’ll start to grow your own different varieties.
Lambsquarter? Pigweed? Purslane? Goosefoot? Fat-Hen? Yikes!
OK, OK! So you’ve read other recipes elsewhere that make claims as to the better varieties of greens and that some are more magical than others. The truth is that this may indeed be true. When it comes to the names above I can tell you that there is some confusion even to which one is called what!
So, here’s my advice. You will only have access to a certain number of greens. That number will be more limited if you only ever to go your average commercial supermarket or outlet. If you go to a farmers’ market then you may have more from which to choose. You may choose to grow certain varieties yourself.
The Art Of Following Recipes: Two Types Of People
There are 2 types of people in this world when it comes to following a recipe:
- Those that MUST have everything in that recipe list to the letter; and
- Those that intuitively know how to improvise.
I want to take the hassle and stress out of having to have precise and particular greens AND give you the joy and freedom to add in nutrition and variety without having a significant effect on the taste outcome of your Green Smoothie Magic experience!
So let’s get started with some great recipes. Remember, what’s delicious to me may appear slightly differently on your own taste scale. That’s life. I have tested these smoothies with many people, including my 9 year old!
Some of the smoothies that I think are amazing I get agreement from everyone. Others that I think are so-so get a 10 out of 10 with smoothie skeptics. While with others it’s the other way around.
All in all I have given a range of flavors and consistencies with palatable and yes, delicious tastes and effects. Some are light and fresh and tangy. Others are smooth, luxuriant, sweet and creamy. Others have a citrus note, others taste more herb-laden.
You’ll start to tune into what works best for you and sometimes it just won’t matter how it tastes, it will be how you FEEL after having something so healthful and life-giving!
Choosing Your Greens: A Quick Primer
Here’s what you need to do:
- Taste what is available to you
- Determine if it’s mild, medium or strong in its taste and
- Vary your intake. Remember not to take only one or two varieties of greens.
- Have several in your refrigerator each week. Vary from week to week so you can purchase significant amounts of say, 4 types rather than small amounts of say 8 varieties
Storage And Use For Smoothies
In my mind it’s best to have everything EASY to find and use. You will see that I recommend washing, drying and storing your greens so that they’re accessible at a moment’s notice. You want everything to be as easy as it can be. That will continue to inspire you to further success and even more vibrant health. It will keep you on track to make good decisions too (rather than reaching for the ‘wrong’ stuff!).
Below you’ll see some suggestions. If you prefer other ways then go with that.
TIP: Wash Your Greens As Soon As You Get Home!
I believe you need to set yourself up for success! I have found that an invaluable thing to do is to wash your greens when you bring them home (or in from the garden). Fill up the kitchen sink so that the leaves you have float.
Remove the twist ties or rubber bands or other packaging from your greens.
Cut off the roots of plants that you don’t need or intend to use. Separate whatever leaves need separating from the stem. Clean the dirt off. Check for little bugs because they do hide in there especially if you buy organic produce.
Other Essentials
Maybe your first step has been to actually buy this and perhaps other smoothie books and other items that inspire you to great health. Other essentials are a blender, a good knife and a chopping board. Consider other items that could inspire you including juicers, books, eBooks, a special knife or maybe some new glassware for your smoothies.
Bare minimum: You need recipes, knife, blender and your produce.
Drying Your Greens
Use a colander to strain most of the water from your leaves. If this is all you did and put them in the fridge your greens would still perish. Drying them well is essential. So drain them and then move them from the colander to a clean dry tea towel that you lay out on a bench, table or in a bowl. You can pat the leaves dry. If you have a salad spinner this is very useful.
While it can be time consuming, it’s well worth the effort to spend the time to process your greens straight away. It really is a joy to get your washed and dried greens out of the fridge and pop them straight into the blender.
Storing Your Greens
Place the greens into bags or boxes. When you do, place either a tea towel or some kitchen paper on which to sit your greens so that condensation is mopped up and the greens have less contact with the plastic (which can cause some spoiling).
Stems
You don’t need to discard the stems. Many recipes will tell you to only use the coriander leaves (cilantro). With green smoothies, you get to use more of the plant. Enjoy using more of your parsley, coriander and even mint. Simply avoid using the very woody stems as thick and fibrous green stems won’t blend well.
Some people believe that the stems have least nutrition. This is not the case. However, they do have more fiber and for that reason may be less enjoyable in salads. The upside is they are an excellent source of flavor and fiber for your smoothies.
Herbs In Water
Maybe you want to store your bunches of herbs upright in a glass or cup with the roots or cut stems covered with water. You can do that in the fridge covered with a bag however I could never fit much else in my fridge so I prefer to wash them. Besides you’ll use these things often.
The other way to store your herbs is again, in a cup or container and then leave them to enjoy the fresh air on your kitchen bench top. Keep them out of strong direct sunlight if possible so that they last longer. You would probably have to wash them as you need them.
Of course you can grow pots of herbs in or near your kitchen. It’s glorious to have access to a basil or coriander plant right there at your fingertips. It’s a great alternative too, for people in apartments with little or no garden or just a balcony.
Different Ingredients Add To Your Health And Help Weight Loss
You may be here reading this because you want to lose weight or trim some shape. You will notice that some smoothies have nuts in them. These provide taste, texture and yes, fat. The vitamins you need in your whole diet are water and fat soluble.
You need fats in your diet. They are essential for your hormonal (and other) systems to thrive. There are 4 fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K. So feel confident that inclusion of obviously more fatty ingredients are as valuable to you as the other ones! Besides most foods have some amount of fats in them. It’s the quality of fat that you’re looking to include by adding nuts and seeds.
In eating a balanced diet you need a good range of fats. You need them for nerve function, for vitamin absorption, to keep creating healthy cells and a healthy immune system. The right fats will help lower cholesterol and decrease risk of heart attacks.
There are fats in your fruit and vegetables but you may not get all the fatty acids (particularly omega-3) you need without getting them from sources such as nuts, seeds, legumes and good quality non-hydrogenated plant oils.
For example you’ll find monounsaturated fats (they’re good) in almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias and brazils. You’ll find omega 3 in chia seeds, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil, pumpkin seeds and oil. Good all-rounder candidates which provide poly and monounsaturated fats are brazil nuts, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds (and their oils of course).
While you can find omega-3 fats in fish, you are probably not going to make any fish smoothies!
