Some people recommend starting very low on the green scale (by maybe throwing in just a tiny amount of greens) and work their way up. If you have a smoothie skeptic in the house then this may or may NOT be necessary. Just make sure you start with something that you’re SURE they’ll love.
That’s why I gave my daughter raspberry and banana. I didn’t need to start on low greens. It was so yummy she’s been happy to try anything ever since.
I have friends who will drink a smoothie regardless of the taste because they just KNOW that it’s good for them. If a smoothie is just halfway palatable that’s good enough for them. I can get through a not-so-delicious smoothie once in a while. Taste with nutrition is the ultimate aim.
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Every smoothie recipe is going to have significant green content! As I have hinted at elsewhere, I have tried in most if not all cases to put at least 2 cupsful of green leafy vegetables. This may include celery or broccoli.
Oftentimes you’ll find quite a bit more than 2 cups especially when you add herbs. You will find smoothies just with greens as the base, with greens and herbs (yep, that’s right, more greens) broccoli florets and other items that add to the 2 cup minimum.
Every smoothie is going to need some fluid added to it. That will be in the form of:
- Water
- Ice
- Nut milk or even nuts and water (I will explain the difference between these 2 similar ingredients later)
- Coconut water
- Seed milk or seeds and water
- Oranges and other juicy items such as celery which will likely reduce the amount of separately added fluid comparatively
When you do add fluid, you’ll always be safe adding just plain (filtered if you have it) water. You can optionally add coconut water or you can add nut milks. As I mentioned above you can also use nut milk or nuts and water.
Should I Add Nut Milk Or Nuts?
In writing this book I found that I have had extraordinary results with using nuts. I am a practical kind of gal! I know that there will be MANY people out there and perhaps you’re one of them, that neither has the time nor the inclination to make a liter of nut milk as yet another step in the process.
Making nut milk usually entails putting nuts or seeds (soaked or not) into a blender, adding water and processing. After the nuts or seeds are pulverized and your milk is ready the nut milk is separated from the pulp through a piece of material (muslin) or a nut milk bag.
Although simple it does a) introduce another thing to do and b) takes the pulp away which still has nutritional value.
I experimented with using a handful of nuts in the blender with a cup of water first. In blending the nuts or seeds first you are able to make your nut milk first so that it’s lovely and smooth and then continue blending your smoothie by adding the other ingredients in your recipe at this stage.
In this way you keep ALL the nutrition and your improve the consistency. By the way you can soak those nuts first if you wish. (See the next section about soaking).
If you have a really good blender you may not even need to make the milk first prior to adding the other ingredients. In any case, for the sake of simplicity I will often split recipes into stages so that you can get a smooth finish.
Unlock The Living Magic
Did you know that there is a way to potentially unlock the living magic inside every nut and seed? You may have heard of recipes that ask you to soak nuts before you use them.
Why Soak The Nuts?
Have you ever noticed how a bowl of almonds can stay on your table for literally weeks or months and they can still taste fresh? Well, that’s the ‘enzyme inhibitors’ at work. Those little miracles will keep the nut from sprouting until the conditions are right.
Is Soaking Necessary?
When you soak the nuts for a recipe then you are getting rid of enzyme inhibitors. This means your food transforms itself from a latent life-on-hold scenario to one that is brimming with life’s potential and full of activated growth enzymes. Sometimes, too, the nuts taste better and any bitter taste can disappear. They blend better as well.
How To Soak Nuts
Cover the nuts with water. Allow them to soak. Almonds and macadamias should be soaked overnight. Cashews, walnuts and pecans need much less time – about 2 hours. Sunflower seeds can be soaked from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Making It Easy For You
Look I have made it a little easy for you! A handful of soaked nuts and water in a smoothie, well blended will provide both the milk base and thickener in one easy step*, AND you get the nutrition from the pulp.
You may not be one to make your own nut milks. Just because I do it doesn’t mean you have to. In fact now that we have smoothies every day we just have some soaked nuts on hand. I have found that simply throwing in the nuts and seeds this way is an excellent alternative. You just have to measure the amounts. That’s easy!
* The better your blender, the easier this is! Saves time too :)
Cyanide Anyone?
There are certain foods that contain cyanide that you may be eating from time to time. The technical term is: Cyanogenic glycosides. In small amounts it is OK. Cyanide is a poison. The one food that we encounter with the potential ability to form free hydrogen cyanide is the bitter almond. Apparently it’s the bitter almonds that have the most glycosides.
By the way ‘sweet almonds’ are very low in cyanogenic properties. Sweet almonds are great for smoothies and almond milk. Some almonds have none of these toxic compounds. It’s comforting to know that only sweet almonds are grown commercially.
You will also find cyanogenic glycosides in apple seeds and apricot pits. A small amount of apricot seeds are said to contribute to your good health as they are a source of vitamin B17. I don’t include apricot kernels in any recipe but you are welcome to add them optionally to a smoothie here and there!
As for apple seeds, including in a smoothie from time to time is fine. Eating apple seeds accidentally in a smoothie if done occasionally poses no risk (according to my research) and it’s not necessary to avoid them. You need a LOT of apple seeds to create a toxic situation. You would need many handfuls of them. Apple seeds are said to contain vitamin B17 as well. The jury’s out on their anti-cancer role.
Cut out your seeds if you feel concerned.
The risk of cyanogenic glycosides in commercially available almonds is very low (even though some bitter almonds can be part of a sweet almond harvest). The good news is that soaking almonds and apricot kernels reduces the amount of cyanogenic glycoside content.
Don’t be alarmed. The main reason you will soak your almonds in any case is to remove the ‘enzyme inhibitors’. The side benefit is, that if there are any cyanogenic compounds in there even that amount will lessen.
So, soak your almonds (and your apricot kernels). Soaking overnight is best. Then discard the soak water and rinse well. If you don’t have the time and particularly want to use unsoaked almonds from time to time that will be fine too. Just use a maximum ¼ cup of the nut per smoothie.
It will give you the taste and texture you’re after. Almonds as you may remember are a wonderful source of calcium. Remember you can use other nuts too.
Using Nuts To Make Milk
You will find a number of recipes that use nuts or nut milk, and other ways to add fluid that are neither water nor dairy.
Substitutions
Here are some hints and tips for you so that you can substitute different ingredients to make your recipes adaptable.
Nut Substitution
Some ideas for you:
- If you have allergies to ingredients on a recipe list then make a substitution. Perhaps you will use sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, a different nut, coconut water instead.
- Don’t want to use, or don’t have nut or coconut milk? Choose water.
- Don’t have nuts handy to make your own? Use packaged nut milk or rice milk or oat milk.
- Want to use dairy milk? That’s your choice. I personally don’t like to do that with smoothies. If you’re after vibrant health or weight loss, it is my belief that there are much better choices than using cow’s milk.
Fruit Substitutions
Feel free to change up the ingredients of any recipe. The result will be different but you can change things to give the same effect. Here are just a handful of suggestions:
- Substitute nectarine for peach either as fresh or dried.
- Use apple or kiwi or pineapple interchangeably.
- Grapes are a good substitute for apples or pears. Just make sure they are seedless.
- For a smooth consistency you may try interchanging banana, mango, young coconut flesh or avocado.
- Change out dates and use different dried fruit, or add a sweet fresh fruit such as a pear, banana or mango.
It’s Your Smoothie, So You Choose The Thickness
In every smoothie you will add some liquid. Generally I have deliberately underplayed the amount of liquid you can add. This way you’ll be able to create the smoothie of the perfect consistency for you. It’s easy to add more fluid.
Icy, Cold Or Just Room Temperature
I have a preference for cold (but not icy) green smoothies.
You’ll notice that I add ice on the ingredients list on every smoothie. How much you add is up to you and it depends on what you put in in the first place. Let me explain.
When you add your fruit you may be adding fruit from a bowl on the bench, fruit from the fridge or even the freezer. The thickness and temperature of your green smoothie will change depending on the nature of the ingredients you put in.
Naturally, the more warm or fridge-temperature fruit and vegetables you add, the warmer it will be. In just about every case the recipe will call for you to start by adding only one cup of water.
It is at that stage that you can test the thickness and temperature. If the temperature is too warm and it’s too thick then simply adding ice usually does the trick.
If you’re adding frozen fruit the result will of course be different. Maybe you’ll have added a frozen banana or a cup of frozen mango (or even both). In this case you may only want to add water if it needs it.
Rule Of Thumb For Adding Ice And Water
Generally if you’ve only used fridge or bench temperature fruit you’ll add ½ to 1 cup of ice. If you’ve used only frozen fruit you’ll probably add some water, ice optional.
Add ice and water depending on whether you prefer thick or thin, room temp, cold or icy. Smoothies can thicken (and sometimes separate into layers) over time if left sitting. You’ll probably want to give it a quick stir and decide if you need more water or ice.
It’s easy to change the consistency and customize your smoothie! You’ll be a specialist in no time. You’ll learn that a thinner lighter smoothie can thicken up quite beautifully with a big cup or more of ice. It makes it kind of half smoothie half granita. Perfectly refreshing!
