Healthy drinks

Green smoothies provide a quick vitamin boost and are refreshing on hot summer days.

Green smoothies: preparation tips and recipes

Vital, healthy, refreshing: thanks to a good portion of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, green smoothies are real power drinks. Below are many tips regarding vegetables, blenders, preparation and recipes.

What is a green smoothie made up of?    It contains green vegetables such as rocket, spinach, garden herbs (parsley, basil, etc.), kale or celery. The formula commonly used is: 60 percent vegetables + 40 percent fruit + some water = green smoothie.

I enjoy making smoothies on busy days as they are quick to make and highly nutritious. I pick fresh spinach or kale from the garden during the winter and spring and freeze any excess that I have for times when it’s too hot here for it to grow. I also prefer to ditch the ice and use frozen fruit in my smoothies instead. There is always a supply in my freezer. For bananas make sure to peal them first and put them in pieces in a zip lock bag. Same goes for pineapple and mango.

The smoothie should consist of at least 40 percent vegetables. Experienced green smoothie drinkers can also try 50 or even 60  percent, however, the taste is then somewhat bitter. The most important factor is for the selected type of fruit to be ripe. The sweeter the fruit, the more digestible and delicious the smoothie is. Lemon juice, dried fruit, ginger, honey or agave syrup provide the missing acidity, sweetness or spiciness – according to your taste. The serving size is approximately 250 ml. 

Green leaves are bursting with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, which above all strengthen our immune system. It contains dietary fibers that support the development of a healthy intestinal flora and are a plus for good digestion. The green chlorophyll promotes cell structure. Trace elements and secondary plant substances push our performance.

Simple green smoothie formula (1 smoothie)

1.5 cups of Fruit 

Apples, pineapple, avocado, bananas, pears, grapefruit, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, mango, oranges, passion fruit

1 cup of Vegetables

Kohlrabi, beetroot, celery, leaves of radish, lettuce such as arugula, lettuce and lamb’s lettuce; spinach, chard, celery, kale, bok choy

1 cup of Liquids

Plant based milks, coconut water, water

Herbs & Special Ingredients:

Basil, dandelion, cress, mint parsley, chives, thyme, chia seeds, dates, goji berries, honey, coconut water, turmeric, linseed oil, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice

How To Prepare the ingredients

Apples and pears I core and chop up with the skin left on as it is the most nutrient-rich part of the fruit. The skin or peel of fruits and vegetables is generally higher in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals than the flesh component. I like to freeze my peeled bananas in pieces, that will save me from using ice cubes which will just make the smoothies watery. That said I will always have at least one frozen ingredient for my green smoothies. Spinach, kale or chard I like to use fresh while it’s in season. I grow the vegetables myself and have fresh produce during the winter and spring here in Spain. I freeze any excess greens and use them in the off season. 

how to prepare smoothies in blender

A good quality blender can have up to 30,000 revolutions per minute and can completely break open the cell walls of lettuce, spinach and is able to perfectly chop hard vegetables such as celery, nuts and frozen fruit and process them into a creamy puree. However, it’s not necessary to invest in fancy equipment if you only make the occasional green smoothie. Bear in mind though that if you use a low or average powered blender regularly, the device could eventually overheat. They are not powerful enough for greens in the long run due to the strong plant fibers. The following paragraph will explain how to make green smoothies in a regular blender.

 

Prepare and blend the ingredients:
Thoroughly wash the fruit and vegetables and chop them up roughly. Incorporate the whole fruit as the peel is the most nutrient-dense part. Obviously small fruit such as berries can be thrown in whole. 

Add the liquids first together with the green vegetables to break up the tough fibers. Use the pulse button to get the ingredients mixed if you are using a low-powered blender. Next add the fruit and special ingredients such as linseed oil, cinnamon, ginger or lemon juice. If it turns out too dense, more liquid can be added afterwards. 

 

my Favourite green smoothie recipes. enjoy!

Tropical Green Smoothie:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup mango
  • 1/2 cup pineapple
  • 1 banana

Orange Spinach Smoothie:

  • 1 cup fresh spinach
  • 1 cup coconut water
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 orange, peeled

Kale Apple smoothie

  • 1.5 cups of any nut milk
  • 2 cups of kale fully packed
  • 1 banana (frozen is best)
  • 1 apple sliced into pieces
  • 1/4 avocado (optional)

Fruit of the forest smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 1 cup plant based milk or coconut water
  • 1 cup of spinach
  • 1 banana (frozen)
  • 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

Strawberry Spinach Smoothie

    • 3 cups spinach
    • 1 frozen ripe banana 
    • 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
    • ¼ cup frozen pineapple chunks
    • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
 

Cucumber Smoothie

  • 1/8 of a medium sized cucumber
  • 1 small apple cored (sweet variety like Gala or Braeburn)
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple or mango chunks or half a cup of each
  • 1 bananas
  • 1/2 cup water 

Grow Veg Now