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Not All Green Smoothies Are Green
Well ... they are and they aren’t. To me, a green smoothie is all about putting lots of green leafy vegetables into a well-assimilated good-tasting drink. A so-called green smoothie based on raspberries or blueberries is more likely to be purple, blue or even browny! They’re not all green in color.
In fact I have enjoyed smoothies of colors of a wide spectrum from yellowy lime, to vivid green, to dark green, browns, purples and reds! A veritable smoothie rainbow.
The key is to have a couple of cups of green leaves (that are well packed) in each serving! The amount may increase or decrease because there are other green vegies that you may add that are beneficial.
For example if I am adding a stalk of celery, then the recipe may just call for 1-1.5 cups of greens. If I am adding herbs such as cilantro (coriander) or mint or parsley they may just add to the amount of greens. I often substitute a ¼ to a ½ cup of broccoli florets. A recipe may ask you to add in a handful of sprouts.
Our Obsession With Food And The ‘Best Way To Cook It’!
The world seems to revolve on the joy and fun of putting ingredients together. “Masterchef” style television shows pitting cooking prowess skills of amateurs head to head. Sometimes it seems the more detailed and the more steps you put food through, the more revered the result will be.
It’s great news that there is a movement against the scarily growing fast-food lifestyle. It’s not at all large enough, if you ask me. It’s going to take quite some time before the results of any healthy changes are obvious in our western cultures.
Some people are now subscribing to a ‘slow food’ philosophy, taking their time in the preparation and eating of their fare.
Probably the most popular new(ish) food movement is the Raw Food Movement!
Raw Food You Ask?
I do LOVE raw food and I do also eat amounts of cooked food. Eating raw food, as my family does in increasing amounts, is not only delicious it makes us feel vibrant, energetic and healthy.
But with children, unless you’ve started out with superlative habits, convincing your child(ren) that MOSTLY raw food is the way to go can be downright challenging.
There is a tremendous amount of evidence, both real and anecdotal which shows that plant-based foods and especially those that aren’t cooked are the elixir of life. Ha, a bold claim. But frankly, we are talking some amazing effects on the human body.
Put simply: Green smoothies help you consume more raw foods – EFFORTLESSLY!
In almost every case plant-based and raw foods have more nutrients for your system. In other words the body has a greater chance of assimilating all the goodness in the food. You see, cooking processes that use heat above about 115 degrees Fahrenheit (c 46 degrees Celsius) are responsible for making changes in the nutrients, often completely inactivating them.
There also seems to be quite a backlash against the mis-information that we are constantly fed by the big wheels of business; pharmaceutical, marketing, food companies and governments.
People (once they’ve had some kind of awakening) want to return to the simplicity of wholefoods, natural medicine, or even better, using food as the first port of call for healing conditions and diseases and in doing so maintaining health.
Ah yes! Raw food. It does seem logical that eating fresh fruit and vegetables in their raw uncooked state in most cases is going to deliver the cleanest, most nutritious form of nourishment for the body and soul!
Contrast that with those recipes designed to hide ground up vegetables in cooked meals to trick the children. Zucchini cake - I mean, really? Delicious, maybe, but what purpose does it serve (in most cases) but to subdue people into a false sense of security.
Most often the nutrition has, in all intents and purposes completely left its origin and that vegetable has now just become a ‘filler’. And pssst I have been guilty of disguising vegies in certain meals. Fortunately with green smoothies, it’s just easier and there’s nothing to hide – and the nutrition is there. It’s a win-win-win situation.
I am not a raw food evangelist and this blog is not at all political.
Raw Food Waiver
I think it’s worth issuing you a waiver here: While cooking food can kill enzymes and nullify the nutrition, there are foods which IF you choose to eat them, really MUST be cooked.
Some foods need to be cooked if they contain virulent (dangerous) bacteria or toxins. An example for you: You would never eat raw kidney beans. They can’t even be simply added to a stew, they need to be boiled first to kill the phytotoxin or to bring it down to non-toxic levels.
Certain components of certain foods are more potent when they are cooked making them better for you. While tomatoes are great raw, if you want to improve your lycopene intake (a potent antioxidant) then cooking improves lycopene levels.
Cooking carrots has often been recommended so that the cell walls can breakdown effectively and therefore release nutritional goodness. Cooking is also said to increase their level of beta-carotene (which converts to vitamin A). Cooking does however destroy levels of vitamin C.
In certain parts of the world people are being cautioned not to eat raw eggs, meat and even sprouts because of certain microorganisms.
If you pulverize your carrots in a blender or a juicer then you’ll get everything you need in very good amounts. Much of the work is done by your machine. The cell walls get broken down effectively and the nutritional wonder inside becomes more bioavailable.
From an ease of digestion standpoint cooking your carrots is good (especially boiled whole) because I can probably bet that you’re not chewing or pulverizing them in their raw form as well as your blender or juicer can. With the current juicing and smoothie-making trends you don’t need to cook them. Raw is my preference.
Tuning Into You
When you consume your green smoothies you will notice a change in your relationship to food (if you haven’t already). It feels so empowering to reject old food choices easily and naturally while preferring things you may have even felt ambivalent or repulsed by before.
Case in point: I simply cannot imagine my daughter consistently sitting down to a plate of salad with 2 cupsful of green leaves along with a pile of other foods. It would seem a very daunting (and large) task. She now has AT LEAST that every time she has a smoothie. It feels like a victory to her parents, but to her, she feels empowered and happy to know she’s easily contributing to a lasting legacy of health (deliciously).
The benefit is that, over a short amount of time, you really learn to tune into what your body really needs and wants. It responds so well to the clean fresh ingredients. You will find that choosing what you need becomes intuitively easier – without effort.
Isn’t it time to welcome some Green Smoothie Magic into your life and into the lives of those around you? Especially kids. Here’s your chance to deliver LARGE amounts of the most nutritious food available to you in a delicious and easy to drink fashion.
My little sister (and it’s funny now that I am well into my 5th decade I can still call my sister little!) said to me when I told her I was writing a blog about Green Smoothies: “The idea of drinking lettuce makes me want to throw up.” But now her family has the same blender as mine, and we both compare Smoothie Magic Success interstate and over the phone.
Her very first experience was very funny. My own daughter Isabelle’s favorite smoothie is one she gives the impossible score 311 out of 10! It has bananas, raspberries, greens and mint, vanilla, cinnamon and ice. Easy!
When my sister prepared one of her son’s his first smoothie right in front of him, the sounds of disgust when he saw cupsful of baby spinach go in were to say the least amusing. Dominic rejected that particular smoothie! But what is funnier is that his first one was his own concoction of carrot, celery and apples, berries, banana and ice, which he loved.
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Don’t Get Stuck With The Same Green
You know what they say? Everything in moderation. There is some talk in ‘smoothie world’ that eating the same greens all the time is actually a way to become sick. The alkaloids in plants are nature’s way of plant self-preservation and they form part of the plant’s defense.
If you ate say, only baby spinach leaves in all your smoothies every day, every smoothie, then you run the risk of having what would be considered toxic levels of the specific alkaloids found in spinach.
There are different kinds of alkaloids and different effects. Rather than make this a scientific or scary subject, let’s take the drama right out of it. The answer is simple. Don’t ever just eat the same greens over and over again. Eat a variety.
To make it super simple I will provide you with list of green leafy vegetables. You won’t need to lock yourself into one green for any particular green smoothie. I will give you suggestions that will give the same results!
When I give you a recipe with 2 cups of green leaves – then feel free to make up your 2 cups of greens out of one of the lists. Say for example you are making my Vanilla Pudding Smoothie! You definitely won’t want to be choosing any sharp tasting greens. You wouldn’t choose Arugula (Rocket) or Watercress.
Instead you’ll choose from the following: Asparagus Lettuce, Baby Spinach, Chickweed, Tatsoi, Pak Choy, Bok Choy, Sweet Potato Greens. Mid tasting ones can be Kale, Chard depending on the variety. Maybe you’ve heard of Purslane, Lambsquarter, Romaine or Cos, Beet Greens, Carrot Greens. Stay tuned for a long list of greens.
Knowing Your Greens – Substituting For Holistic Nutrition
I know you’ll always find some greens in your supermarket or local store. You’ll also find greens at your local market. Of course buying freshly picked produce is always better. In my opinion I would always prefer organic produce. Sometimes however it is availability and financial considerations that determine what you do buy.
Make sure you find a variety of greens. Taste them all. Farmers’ markets are great for asking stallholders if you can taste a leaf or two of varieties you are unfamiliar with. Get familiar with what kinds of greens are mild, medium and strong. When you find a recipe I will often specify a particular green to use.
However, if you for example, cannot find Bok Choy then substitute a different mild green. The taste will be substantially similar and perhaps identical.
By the same token, if that smoothie with Bok Choy in the ingredients list is your all-time favorite concoction and you drink it several times per week then substituting other mild greens will ensure that you have a good complement of nutrients in your diet (and you won’t over-ingest those particular alkaloids).
Substituting greens will give you wonderful freedom in your smoothie preparations.
Seasonal Greens
In winter, the range of greens available is naturally much smaller. Winter greens are high in vitamin A. Enjoy including Kale, Collard Greens, Chard, Spinach and even Mustard Greens (careful they are spicy).
You’ll find Arugula (Rocket) and even Turnip Greens can be used. Use Beet Greens, Carrot tops and Winter Purslane. You’ll find Endive and other Chicory varieties (also a little strong or bitter), Cabbage and if it’s not too cold, Mizuna lettuce.
In summer you’ll find many different lettuce varieties thrive. You’ll find the tight head of Iceberg, the loose leaf varieties include Red Oak Leaf and Butter Lettuce, and other ‘fancy’ lettuce. Romaine (or Cos) has an elongated head. Happily, you’ll still find the winter greens above.
The list of all greens is very long. I have included many in the next section Remember to visit any local markets to see what’s actually in season or grown fresh locally.
