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Green Berry Smoothies
Author: Alyice Edrich
Six months ago I decided to stop complaining about how nasty yogurt tastes or how tart berries were and find a way to fit them into my diet. After a little research, I opted for combining them in a Berry-Yogurt Smoothie and drinking them.
As a person who isn't always keen on eating breakfast, I found the smoothies to be a great alternative to skipping meals. The smoothies made me feel as though I was doing something good for my body and they often left me feeling energized.
So when I heard what Green smoothies could do, I decided to give them a try, too. The idea of drinking something made with dark, leafy greens, wasn’t appealing at first; especially since I barely started to stomach fresh greens two years ago—and could only eat them if they were cooked and smothered in some sort of seasoning. But the more I researched Green Smoothies and the more I learned about the health benefits of dark, leafy greens, the more I wanted to incorporate them into my diet.
Green Smoothies are an all-natural drink made up of fruits, green vegetables, and water. Aside from their high nutritional value, dark, leafy greens contain insoluble fiber.
Insoluble fiber:
- lowers bad cholesterol;
- reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease;
- lowers the risk of diabetes; and
- prevents overeating by making the body feel full faster.
Dark, leafy greens also contain a substance called chlorophyll which:
- acts as an anti-inflammatory;
- cleanses the blood and intestines;
- detoxifies the liver of heavy metals and toxins;
- promotes a healthy digestive track;
- regenerates our bodies at a cellular level;
- stimulates the immune system to fight infections and heal wounds; and
- elevates hemoglobins, causing increased energy and improved circulation.
The key, I’ve been told, is to start out with more fruit than greens so that the bitter taste of the greens are masked with the sweet aroma and taste of the fruits. Then, as the body becomes adjusted to the greens, more greens can be added. So I set out to make a Green Smoothie that incorporated 70% fruit, 20% greens, and 10% liquids.
After several unsuccessful attempts at making a Green Smoothie that my family and I could tolerate, I opted for a master formula similar to my Berry-Yogurt Smoothie.
My only caveat is that you won't get a true "smoothness" to your smoothie if you opt to use an everyday blender. Even with my Ninja blender, which does a much better job than the average blender, I still can't get the greens to completely blend in.
Alyice's Green Berry Smoothie Recipe
- 1/2 C ice cold tea
- 1/2 C cold liquid (100% juice, coconut water, almond milk, rice milk, or hemp)
- 1 C frozen berries (mixed or single: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries)
- 1/2 C frozen fruit (mixed or single: mango or pineapple)
- 1/2 C cold sweet fruit (mixed or single: apple, kiwi, papaya, Ugli fruit)
- 1 C ripe banana, sliced (approx. 1 large)
- 1 C fresh or frozen dark leafy greens (mixed or single: spinach, collard greens, romaine lettuce, arugula, chard, and/or kale)
- 1 Tb flaxseed meal
Prepare Ahead
- Rinse raw greens, remove stems or spine, and pat dry. Chop greens, place into baggies, and freeze for future use.
- Rinse berries, remove from stems, and pat dry. Place berries into baggies and freeze for future use.
- Peel overly ripe bananas, slice into small pieces, and freeze.
- Make a gallon of tea using one bag each: Organic African Nectar tea and green tea.
Instructions
- Remove fruits and greens from refrigerator and freezer.
- Rinse, peel, and cut sweet fruit into chunks, removing seeds.
- Place liquids in blender and top with greens.
- Blend until greens are no longer noticeable.
- Place sweet fruit in blender and blend until smooth.
- Place flaxseed, frozen fruit, and banana into blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve immediately.
Optional
- For a creamier drink, add 1/2 to 1 C vanilla yogurt when adding liquids.
- Replace Organic African Nectar tea with African Rooibos tea.
- Add more greens, in 1/2 C increments, until greens are no longer palatable. When adding more greens, add 1/3 C more liquid, too.
- When using fresh greens, berries, and bananas, make cold by adding 3-4 ice cubes. (Try freezing juice and tea into ice cubes.)
- Instead of freezing your own, you can buy readily frozen fruits and greens. Just make sure they have not been cooked first, and are without added syrup, sugars, or preservatives.
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