Smoothie Sunday!

Yesterday, David and I went to Arden's Garden, a smoothie and juice bar here in Atlanta.
The special smoothie for the day was called a "Spinach Slam", a blend of fresh pineapple juice, frozen mangoes and about 5 or 6 cups of spinach! We saw the first 4 people in line decide to get it after a taste test, and so we ordered the same (I addend hemp protein to mine :).

It. was. awesome! And it reminded me of when I began to incorporate greens into my smoothies. So today, for Smoothie Sunday! I will be giving a Green Smoothie tutorial of sorts.

Don't be scared now; it's not as bad as it sounds.

1. As I said, the first green veg I decided to branch out with in my smoothies was spinach. Spinach has a great flavor that complements fruits well. And it pretty much goes with all fruits. So if you are a green smoothie newbie, I would start by adding a 1/2 cup of baby spinach to your smoothies when you make them. This would add some much needed vitamin A, calcium, iron, and a little protein to your smoothie treat.

I use Organic Girl (found at Publix and Whole Foods), but any organic baby spinach would do. And Costco has it sometimes for as little as $3-ish dollars a pound!
2. If you have already begun to experiment with some greens in your smoothie, then you are ready for the following yummy delicious recipies.

Here are recipes I have used as inspiration for my home-made green smoothies at home.

- Kale Creamcicle from Elena's Pantry - I use this as a formula for when I want something citrus and green. I usually use 1/2 grapefruit and a clementine in place of the orange because I can't find good oranges that are wallet friendly in the store a lot. I also add hemp seeds (instead of egg white protein) and 1-2 Tbsp of raw cashews for extra creaminess.

- Kristen’s Raw blog also has many fun recipes for experimenting with greens in smoothies, like this one with coconut water and Romaine lettuce.

- The Best of Raw Food also has this list of their top 5 green smoothies. At the bottom of this page is a basic percentage guide for making your own recipes at home.

Tips:

1. Blended smoothies work best in a high powered blender or food processor. I made my smoothies before I bought my Vitamix in my food processor all the time with frozen fruit. The thing to remember is that food processors don’t do well with ice. If a recipe you want to try calls for ice, then just replace it by freezing more of your fruit for the recipe instead of adding ice.
2. Start small if adding “green” scares you. You tastes may change over time. Leafy greens are usually a descent source of calcium. If you don’t eat dairy, like me- this is a great way to add calcium to your diet.
3. If you buy root vegetables from the store, like beets or turnips, try some of their greens in a smoothie- especially if you were planning on throwing them away. What have you got to loose? I found is a great way to use the whole food (from the store or our garden) when I didn’t feel like steaming or cooking greens. Beet greens are a nice complement to citrus and pineapple.
4. Juicing is another way to add greens to your smoothie. Wheat grass, though expensive, is now becoming more available in store freezer sections.
   
5. If you decide to add a store bought juice to your smoothies, I would encourage you to make sure it has no sugar added, and is not concentrated. Most likely, these juices will be pasteurized (and therefore, some of their vitamins might have been destroyed). If you can, try to find juices that are "flashed-pasteurized" (like Naked brand) or not at all.

Happy Green Smoothie Trying,
Eryn