Green Smoothie Recipes

Victoria Boutenko writes in her newsletter: “Some of my favorite greens to add to smoothies are parsley, spinach, celery, kale and romaine lettuce. My favorite fruits are pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, mangoes and apples. Strawberries and raspberries taste superb in green smoothies, when combined with ripe bananas.”

Here’s delicious fruit-green combos from Victoria. Greens are the perfect food for building strong bones and teeth – nearly every animal on earth has discovered that, except the big cats and polar bears!

Recipes from Victoria's newsletter,

Blend one of the following:
·          2 large mangos, 1 bunch parsley, water
·          6 peaches, 2 handfuls spinach leaves, water
·          2 mangos, 1 handful wild weeds (e.g. lambs quarters, stinging nettles,   purslane), water
·          1 cup strawberries, 2 bananas, 1/2 bunch romaine lettuce, water
·          4 apples, 1/2 lemon juiced, 4-5 leaves kale, water
·           4 very ripe kiwis, 1 ripe banana, 3 stalks celery, water
·           4 ripe pears, 4-5 leaves kale, 1/2 bunch mint, water
·           10 finger-bananas, 2 handfuls of spinach leaves, water
·            3 bosch pears, 1 handful raspberries, 4-5 leaves kale, water

Raw Family's favorite Green Smoothie:
·           1/2 pound fresh lamb's quarters, or 1/2 bunch fresh dinosaur kale, 2  ripe mangoes, 2  very ripe bananas, 1 quart water.

Blend thoroughly in a Vita-Mix (SEE BELOW) blender. Yields 1/2 a gallon of delicious smoothie. Will keep for 24 hours in the fridge or cooler, stored in a glass container.

Are YOU drinking YOUR quart of GREEN SMOOTHIE today? Buy bunches of greens, a variety of fresh fruits, a  Vita-Mix (SEE BELOW) Blender, and CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Courtesy of Victoria Boutenko  www.rawfamily.com

Occasionally in the course of human history someone or something comes along that blows our little mind. The green smoothie newsletter of Victoria Boutenko was just such an occasion (for me).

Green smoothies are simple – take any fresh greens you like and blend them with fruit. My current favorite is parsley with 2 big or 3 small pears. Parsley builds strong bones!

Remember the Variety Rule – don’t eat today what you ate yesterday. Blend different fruits and greens each day. Vita-Mix (SEE BELOW) is the best blender.

Smoothies are so easy to make, so quick, and taste divine – unless you do something truly stupid, as I did the other day, and mix arugula (rocket), spinach and parsley in one smoothie (talk about bitter).

Here’s Victoria on Green Smoothies

“Last summer [2004] I re-discovered green smoothies. I like them so much I bought an extra blender for my office so I could make them throughout the day. More than half the food I've had in the past few months has been green smoothies. I have so much more energy and clarity.”

My note: wow, more energy and clarity for a mother who’s buzzing with energy from six years of 100% raw food – the higher you go, the higher you go! (whoever wrote “the harder you fall” was on cooked food).

Victoria continues: “Green smoothies are nutritious. I believe the ratio in them is optimal for humans: 60% ripe organic fruit mixed with 40% organic green vegetables. Green smoothies are easy to digest ... all the valuable nutrients are blended into small particles easy for the body to assimilate, they start to get absorbed in your mouth.”

“Green smoothies are a complete food because they still have fiber. Smoothies are simply the best tasting dish for the majority of adults and children ... the fruit taste dominates, yet the greens balance out the sweetness, adding a nice zest. I always make extra smoothie and offer it to my friends and customers. They all finish it with compliments. They’re surprised that something so green could taste so nice and sweet.”

“By consuming two to three cups of green smoothies daily you will eat enough greens to nourish your body. Many people do not eat enough greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll [in green leaves] has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to Dr. Ann Wigmore, to eat chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.”

“Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. They’re a perfect food for children of all ages, including babies when introducing new food after mother's milk. Be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.”

“When you eat your greens in the form of smoothies, you can greatly reduce oils and salt in your diet. People tell me that after a couple of weeks of drinking green smoothies, they start to crave and enjoy eating more greens.”

My note: over time, blended and juiced greens eliminate all desire for potato chips and corn chips. Greens are the best source of alkaline minerals like sodium and calcium, and have high-quality essential fatty acids. Green leaves are the plant’s food factory where all these nutrients are made.

“I encourage you to start playing with green smoothies. Discover the many joys of this wonderful, delicious and nutritious food.”

A Green Smoothie Caveat

If you experience a colon reaction, EAT SLOWER. Chew your Smoothie. If needed, refrigerate it and eat over an hour or two, instead of all at once. Get those GREENS into you!

The incredible density of nutrients in blending will feed every cell in your bodymind. We don’t get enough nutrition from eating the greens whole. I experienced this when on vacation recently. My gums were bleeding within three days, with no green blends, even though I was eating a salad of fresh garden greens daily.
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DIANA STOEVELAAR's
FAVOURITE RECIPES

Carob Bliss Smoothie

by Diana Stoevelaar

Ingredients:

4 Bananas

1-2 dates, pitted

2 tbsp raw carob powder

1-3 tsp extra virgin coconut oil

1/8 tsp non-alcohol vanilla extract

½ cup water

4-8 ice cubes

1 drop essential oil of peppermint, optional

Instructions:

Blend all the ingredients together, pour into your favourite glass, get comfy and enjoy this calcium and magnesium rich smoothie. It will sooth your frazzled nerves.

Apple a Day Green Smoothie

by Diana Stoevelaar

Ingredients:

½ cup water

2 Tbsp raisins, figs or dates, soaked, reserving soak water for the smoothie

2 Tbsp of goji berries, soaked reserving soak water for the smoothie

2 cups of spinach, Romaine lettuce, or greens of your choice

4 apples, cored and cut into eighths, using an apple slicer for efficiency

2 ribs of celery, chopped

½ cup frozen mango or ½ cup ice

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients together, pour into your favourite glass, sit back and enjoy this high nutrient smoothie for breakfast, as a snack or as a first course before you start preparing dinner.

Popeye’s Secret

by Diana Stoevelaar

Serves 1

Ingredients:

½ - 1   Cup water

2   Bananas

1-2    Cups Fresh spinach, according to taste

½  cup of frozen mango

1-2  Medjool Dates, optional

Instructions:

Put the water, bananas (cut into 1/3 pieces), spinach, frozen mango and the dates in the blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

If you prefer a colder smoothie, you may substitute a frozen chopped banana in place of a fresh one, or substitute a few ice cubes for some of the water.

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Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

Zucchini (approximately 1 per person)

Instructions:

1. Using a Turning Slicer* (contact info@awesomerawsome.com), spiralize the zucchini. Cut the strands to reasonable lengths. Pour Marinara sauce over the noodles and toss. You may eat as is or warm the dish in the dehydrator*(contact info@awesomerawsome.com ) at 105°F for ten minutes.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

2      Cups of sundried tomatoes, soaked in purified water to cover

1- 2 Tomatoes quartered

1      Red pepper chopped

2      Cloves of garlic     

2- 4 Drops of Stevia (optional)

½     tsp. celtic sea salt

½ -1 Tsp. Italian seasoning.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: Fresh basil, fresh or dried parsley, chopped or sliced mushrooms, chopped or sliced olives, chopped tomatoes.

Instructions:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a Vita-Mix (SEE BELOW)* blender or other blender until the sauce is smooth. Then add optional ingredients and stir together. Serve over zucchini noodles.