Okay, I’ve had a ton of questions since my last post about how we make our green smoothies + why we drink them.
Well my parents have THE awesome vita mix blender and have been making green smoothies for about a year now. We had tried a few and thought, those aren’t too bad! Then we ran across this documentary called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. We just watched it on Netflix one Saturday afternoon. It really got us going. We also watched Food Inc. and Food Matters. All awesome and really started us into this crazy health kick. We knew we wanted to get more greens into our diet. We bought our own Vita mix blender. They are pretty pricey, we looked into juicing first, but realized you loose a lot of nutrients + fiber- juicing instead of blending. Right now we drink the Green Citrus Dazzle in the mornings.
Here is our recipe:
Green Citrus Dazzle
1 bunch baby spinach
1 handful Kale
1 handful parsley
4 peeled whole regular size oranges
1 c. frozen raspberries
1 cup fruit juice (I use 100% apple juice)
1 cup water
1 T. extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1-2 T. flaxseed
1-2 T. wheat germ
Don’t let the color fool you, it’s awesome!
Then we eat a regular, healthy lunch.
For dinner we drink the original vita mix
Monster Green Smoothie
1 cup water
1 cup fruit juice ( again I use apple)
1 handful spinach
1 handful Kale
1 handful parsley
blend
1 cup mixed fruit (I buy the big Dole mix from Sam’s with pineapple, strawberries, mango + peaches in it)
1 cup blueberries
1 whole apple
1/2-1 whole lemon peel on.
blend
1/2 T. protein powder
1/2 tsp. flaxseed
1/2 tsp. coconut oil
handful of almonds (optional)
Zach also likes to add bananas to all of his smoothies
Both of these recipes make approx. Two 12 oz. smoothies.
I have to admit I was worried about starving, but the truth is we drink our first smoothie around 8 am and I’m not a bit hungry until lunch time around noon or even one! It’s crazy. Some of the benefits we’ve seen in just the 3 weeks we’ve been doing it: more regular bowel movements, clearer skin, more energy, Zach has lost 10 lbs, I’ve lost 3 and at least two inches around my tummy (we are not exercising at all with this diet.) Even if we hadn’t lost weight, it just makes sense and we feel so much better. We honestly crave these fruity smoothies now. They are easy and quick to make. Braxton drinks one with us, Brooklyn can’t get over the color quite yet, I fix them normal meals.
Tip: We get our organic baby spinach from Sam’s Club, our Kale & Parsley in the organic section at Fred Meyers and so we aren’t running in town constantly for fresh ingredients, we like to buy a bunch and really stock up, we bring it home, wash it and throw it in freezer zip lock bags + into the freezer. It’s a cinch.
Tip: I also bought this Fruit & Vegetable Wash- it is proven to remove pesticides, waxes & chemicals. It’s great. You can get it anywhere in the produce area of your grocery store. Another great tip- cut out the blossom & stem of your apples, this is where most of the pesticides stay after the fruit is picked.
Let me know if you have any questions. Shoot me an e-mail or just leave a comment. I’m happy to help if I can. I’m not a pro yet, just sharing what is working and helping us. We are trying to venture out and try new smoothie recipes so if you have any you love PLEASE do share!!! :)
