What is a green smoothie?

A green smoothie is a smoothie made up of fruits and green leafy vegetables. Most people in the
western societies dont get enough greens in their diet and arent able to chew as many as they
require as our jaws arent powerful enough anymore due to lack of practice. Green Smoothies
were invented by Ann Wigmore and made famous by Victoria Boutenko when her family
switched to a raw food diet to rid themselves of numerous health problems.
What is the Green smoothie movement?
Green Smoothies are not just a passing fad. There are so many reasons why people are turning to
Green Smoothies, they are quick, healthy, easy to drink, a great way to get your greens and any
other foods that blend easily, and they taste lovely. People not only improve their health but lose
weight when they switch to green smoothies. As they are also so quick to make, this is the
perfect combination for a healthy habit that actually lasts the test of time. People are turning to
green smoothies in their droves, and not only are they loving green smoothies, they are
embracing and continuing with this healthy daily habit.
What is the Green smoothie power?
Green smoothies have the power to heal, the power to sustain you, provide your nutrients, help
you lose weight, reduce your cravings and give you massive amounts of energy. This is such a
powerful clean drink that doesnt cost the earth. There is so much power in a green smoothie.

What are the Green smoothie ingredients?

Green smoothies contain a liquid such as water, milk, coconut water, or fruit juice. Then a fruit is
added such as bananas, mangos, strawberry, pears or pineapple. Then the desired amount of
greens are added such as spinach or kale.
What is the Green smoothie mix?
The ideal ratio of green smoothie ingredients is about 60% or more fruits and 40% or less green
leafy vegetables.
What is in a green smoothie?
The best thing about a green smoothie is you can literally add anything to them. The only rules
are they contain greens and liquids. The rest of the ingredients you can add as you please. The
original recipes contain fruits as they mask the taste of the greens and make them more palatable.
However once you get used to more and more greens in your smoothies, you can add less fruit
and more vegetables if you desire. Many people also add superfoods and protein powders to their
smoothies. Green Thickies are Green Smoothies containing fruit, greens, oats and seeds/nuts.
These are filling green smoothies that keep you going until your next meal.

Best green smoothie ingredients/ best ingredients for green smoothies

It depends who you ask. Perfect ingredients for a basic green smoothie would be bananas,
strawberries, spinach and blended with some water. To make this more creamy and filling, throw
in some oats and seeds or nuts.
Green smoothie: Protein powder
Many people are obsessed with getting enough protein and are worried they arent getting
enough protein in their green smoothie so want to add more. My personal opinion is that we all
consume far too much protein and even vegans get more than enough protein so I wouldnt
advise anyone to add even more protein to their diet. However I understand many men especially
want to bulk up and adding more protein to their diet is a way to achieve this. If you were
inclined to add protein powder to your diet, the best type is a vegan protein powder such as a rice
protein powder. If you want to know more about avoiding dairy (whey) a good book to read is
The China Study by Colin Campbell.
Green smoothie shopping list
For basic green smoothies for a week, I would buy the following for a family of 3 or 4:
2 bunches/bags of spinach (and/or Malunggay leaves)
3 bunches/bags of kale
2 bunches/pots of basil
1 bunch/pot of cilantro/coriander
2 bunches/pots of parsley
1 bunch/bag bok choy/pak choy
1 celery
1 cucumber
2 avocados
2 bunches bananas
2 punnets strawberries
2 pineapples
4 mangos

3 pears
2 apples
1 melon
3 peaches
1 punnet/bag blueberries/mixed berries
1 bag lemons
1 bag oats (to make the more filling Green Thickies)
1 bag mixed seeds (to make the more filling Green Thickies)
1 bag cashew or almond nuts (to make the more filling Green Thickies)
However, it depends how many people you are feeding or whatever was in season or reasonably
priced where you live. I am making at least 1 green thickie per day for 2.5 people (the .5 being
my baby). If I have ingredients left over Ill make more green thickies for lunch or just eat the
fruit raw or make kale chips with the kale. I live in the UK so we dont have access to the same
variety of greens or fruit as the USA, so feel free to adjust your own shopping list accordingly.
Best vegetables for green smoothies
The best vegetables for green smoothies are dark leafy greens as these are the vegetables we
struggle to eat the most of and they are the best for us. You can put other vegetables in the
blender too but ensure you have enough creamy fruit to balance out the fibrous textures.
Best greens for green smoothies/ green smoothie greens/ what are the best greens for green
smoothies
Spinach, lettuce, parsley, kale, chard, basil, cilantro, bok choy, celery, and cucumber are all great
in green smoothies. The darker the leaf the better it is for you. You can also add beet tops, celery
leaves and strawberry leaves in to your green smoothie. If you are looking for a mild green, the
best green to start with is spinach as you can easily hide the taste with sweet fruit. You can
include herbs to make the green smoothie taste very fresh. I personally love herbs in my green
smoothies.
Best fruit for green smoothie
The best fruit for green smoothies are fruit with more soluble fibre as it blends more easily and
makes the smoothie creamier, sweeter and hides the taste of the greens more. The best fruit to
use are banana and mango as these are the sweetest and will make your smoothie creamy. You
can combine either mango or banana with any different types of fruits such as peaches,

pineapples, strawberries or other berries, pears, kiwi, oranges, papaya, grapes etc. The worst fruit
to blend on its own is an apple as it has a high amount of insoluble fibre so it doesnt blend very
easily or mask bitter tastes.
*Can be used as an alternative meal for Breakfast and/or dinner. If Kale is too pricey
for you, Use spinach or malunggay leaves as a base for every smoothie you will
make. You can also make fruit only smoothie
Sample List of Fruit & Veggie Smoothie:
Green Tea Smoothie

3 cups frozen white grapes (or 1 sliced Banana)

2 packed cups baby spinach

1 1/2 cups strong brewed green tea (see Tip), cooled

1 medium ripe avocado

2 teaspoons honey

Preparation
1. Combine grapes, spinach, green tea, avocado and honey in a blender; blend
until smooth. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes

Tip: To brew strong green tea, use twice the amount of tea (or two tea bags),
but do not oversteep. Green tea should be steeped for no longer than 3
minutes; oversteeping will give the tea a bitter taste.

Nutrition
Per serving: 345 calories; 15 g fat ( 2 g sat , 10 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 56 g
carbohydrates; 6 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 9 g fiber; 36 mg sodium; 1110 mg
potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (72% daily value), Vitamin A (63% dv), Folate (36%
dv), Potassium (32% dv), Calcium (23% dv), Magnesium (18% dv)

Silken Tofu Smoothie

2 cups diced frozen mango

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice

3/4 cup silken tofu (if not available, you can use low fat yoghurt, low fat /
Almond or soy milk)

1/4 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

Preparation
1. Combine mango, pineapple juice, tofu, lime juice and lime zest in a blender;
blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Per serving: 254 calories; 3 g fat ( 0 g sat , 1 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 54 g
carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 6 g protein; 3 g fiber; 10 mg sodium; 714 mg
potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (149% daily value), Vitamin A (37% dv), Folate (27%
dv), Potassium (21% dv), Magnesium (17% dv)
Carbohydrate Servings: 3 1/2
Exchanges: 3 fruit, 1/2 medium-fat meat

Green Tea, Blueberry, and Banana Smoothie

3 tbsp water

1 green tea bag

2 tsp honey

1 1/2 C frozen blueberries

1/2 med banana

3/4 C calcium fortified light vanilla soy milk

Nutritional Facts per serving

269 Calories; 2.7 g Fat (0.2 Sat); 52.3 mg Sodium; 63.4 g Carbohydrates; 38.5 g
Sugars; 7.8 Fibre; 3.7 g Protein

Berry Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana, cut into chunks

1/2 cup fat-free milk (cold in the summer, warm in the winter)

1/4 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries

1/4 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries

1 teaspoon peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon honey

Directions
In a blender, combine the banana, milk, blueberries, strawberries, peanut butter,
and honey. Process about 1 minute, or until the consistency of a thick milkshake.
Nutritional Facts per serving
224.9 Calories; 3.4 g Fat (0.7 Sat); 91.9 mg Sodium; 45.5 g Carbohydrates; 28.8
Sugars; 5.2 g Fibre; 7.5 Protein
Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

1 1/4 cups cold apple juice

1 ripe banana, sliced

1 kiwifruit, sliced

5 frozen strawberries

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

Fruit and Veggie Smoothie

handful of spinach or Kale

whole apple, cored but not peeled

1 carrot, peeled (you really dont have to peel, thats my weirdness)

1/2 cup blueberries

2 tablespoons flax seed (optional)

1 cup cranberry juice OR 1 cup grapes

1 cup cubed ice or low fat yoghurt / milk

*You can use banana and/or any fruits if flaxseed, cranberry juice is not available