Green Smoothies

Recipes

They also crowd out the desire to eat less nutritious foods. With the right mix of fruit and greens they can be sweet enough to satisfy sweet cravings and provide the real nutrition that your body is craving. Best of all, they are a simple and delicious way to clear out toxins!

I (Cindy) love green smoothies. They are huge part of what I eat every day. On a typical day, I make 2 quarts in the morning and drink most of it for breakfast. I have friends who drink 4 quarts a day.

Do I Have the Right Blender?

You can use any blender that you already own or purchase. However, if you develop the healthy habit of making your smoothies daily and you want for them to be the creamiest and most nutritious possible, you’ll need something more powerful. I learned the hard way by burning up three blenders over two years’ time with my daily batches before I finally bought the Vita-Mix blender. Click that link and you'll see a video on how to make green smoothies using the powerful Vita-Mix.

This is by far the best whole foods commercial food processor on the market. It's much more than a blender and useful for many of your detox recipes. If you decide to purchase one, make sure it comes from the factory to get the 7-year warranty. If you click through to the Vita-Mix website from our site, you will automatically receive Free Shipping. Or if you call Vita-Mix, receive free shipping using our coupon code: 06-004146.

But don’t let the lack of a great blender stop you from starting – simply use what you have or buy the best quality one that you can afford.

Basic Recipe

2 cups filtered water

2 bananas

2 oranges

1 apple

1 lemon

1/2 inch chunk fresh ginger (optional)

½ - 1 head of romaine, spinach, chard, beet greens, or kale

Filtered water and organic fruit and greens are best – but again, do the best you can with what you have. Apples and berries are more important to select organic than are peeled citrus and bananas. Chop the fruit and ginger - a stronger blender can take larger chunks. The orange and lemon can be juiced or just peeled with seeds removed. Apples and ginger can be left unpeeled for extra nutrients.

Make Your Own Variations

• You can use any fresh or frozen (unsweetened) fruits and any greens.
• Nutrient-packed herbs like parsley and cilantro are also great additions in your green smoothies.
• Spinach and romaine are the best greens to try first as they are more mild than kale or beet greens.
• Carrot tops and dandelion greens are very nutritious and deeply cleansing greens.
• Fruit juices are another option in your green smoothies if you cannot access enough fresh fruit or want to add some variety. Use only 100% juice without added sweeteners and organic when possible. Bottled juices are pasteurized (heated) so their fruit sugar is more concentrated and they do not maintain the same amount of nutrients as fresh or frozen fruit.
• Try adding avocado, celery, tomatoes, carrots or beets.
• Add spirulina, hemp powder, ground flax, bee pollen, maca, or other superfoods to boost the protein and the nourishing/cleansing effect of your green smoothies.

The Best Way to Digest

These smoothies are very nutritious and deeply cleansing. People often detox, lose weight or notice improved skin and increased energy after simply adding green smoothies to their regular diet. Drinking them daily is a great step toward clearing up your toxicity symptoms.

Here are other recipes to give you ideas, but remember there are no set rules here. Use whatever combination of fruit and greens work for you.

More Green Smoothie Recipes

Jo's Favorite

1 cup water

1/4 inch of fresh ginger root (peeled)

1/2 banana

3-4 leaves of kale or spinach

1/2 cup parsley

1/4 of a fresh mango (or 1/2 bag of frozen mango)

1/2 tsp bee pollen

1 teaspoon spirulina

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup of juice of your choice

Tropical Pineapple

2 cups water

1/4 of a fresh pineapple

2 bananas

1 orange

1/2 head romaine

Strawberry Delight

2 cups water

1 pint strawberries

1 apple

1 banana

2 cups spinach

Mango Mama

2 cups water

2 mangos

1 apple

1/2 bunch parsley

4-5 leaves kale or chard

Chocolate Power

2 cups water

2 handfuls spinach

1/2 bunch romaine

2 bananas

1 apple

1 pear

1-2 tablespoons raw cacao powder or nibs

1 teaspoon spirulina or other green powder

Victoria's Savory Smoothie

2 cups water

6 leaves red leaf lettuce

1/4 bunch fresh basil

1/2 lime (juiced)

1/2 red onion

2 celery sticks

1/4 avocado