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What is a Green Smoothie?

In one word, Awesome!  It’s my new addiction.  Green smoothies have forced me to rethink my entire diet.  I also just finished the book, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, which thoroughly convinced me that I’ve been thinking about food completely backwards for my entire life.  A green smoothie fits right in with Pollan’s suggestions and even takes the convenience factor of healthy fast food to another level.  According to Wikipedia, a green smoothie is “a smoothie or beverage made by blending green leafy vegetables, such as spinach or kale, other vegetables such as broccoli, and fruit with water or ice. To balance flavor and nutrition the typical ratio in a green smoothie is about 60% fruit to 40% leafy greens.”  Essentially, it’s a healthy, nutritious, and tasty way to consume the stuff you may not get enough of in your normal diet.  If you’ve ever been to Smoothie King or even created your own traditional fruit smoothie at home, it’s essentially the same thing, only you eliminate refined sugars and add in fresh vegetables.

Here’s Why You’ll LOVE Eating Green Smoothies

1. Deliciousness

A few weeks ago I created my first green smoothie at home and it turned out much better than I anticipated.  I was nervous it would taste like vegetables did when I was a kid, really really gross and disgusting and yucky.  I was wrong.  It was delicious, thanks to the fruit.  Natural sugar does wonders for rather stale and bland foods.  Depending on your blender, it may have chunks of stuff you’d rather not swallow whole, which is why I’m hitting up the market for a rather pricey high-powered blender.  The best blenders out there will chop up everything into tiny particles that will dissolve easily and minimize the vegetable flavor on your taste buds.  Don’t get me wrong, I like some vegetables, but green smoothies are perfect for consuming healthy foods you wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

2. Real Healthy Food

If you decide to eat green smoothies often, you’ll end up consuming a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables you’d normally NEVER dream of putting on your plate.  The best part is that you get to choose the ingredients, so you know exactly what’s in your drink.  Obviously, the goal here is to choose the highest quality, natural, organic, healthy food you can find.  The optimal freshness will come from living greens, or foods that are literally still alive when you blend and eat them.  You can pick through the produce department in the grocery store (not the best choice), grow your own food (awesome choice), visit a farmers market (really awesome), or join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program where farmers bring you a ration of fruits and vegetables (wickedly awesome).  To learn more about CSAs, visit http://www.localharvest.org/csa.

When it comes to variety, you can literally add whatever you want. According to Wikipedia, “The primary ingredients are leafy greens, other vegetables, and fruit, preferably raw. These may include spinach, kale, wheatgrass, blue-green algae, spirulina, kiwi, bananas, and apples.”

“Who eats a big plate of plain, raw, kale, collards, spinach and celery? Mustard greens, arugula, turnip greens, dandelion greens, beet greens, and chard don’t end up in too many salads.”

- Robyn Openshaw from GreenSmoothieGirl.com

3. Weight Loss

Cut the crap and gain the good stuff.  Green smoothies are full of antioxidants, which help speed metabolism and fat burning.  Besides the fact that you’ll be eating healthier fruits and vegetables in the greens smoothie, you’ll hopefully be eating fewer bad foods at the same time.  This swap could provide a radical switch in your health and overall weight that will having you looking and feeling better very quickly.  Be warned that suddenly consuming healthy your body isn’t used to won’t come without side effects.  If you’ve ever consumed a mass amount of leafy greens before, you may remember frequent trips to the bathroom.  Be careful not to go overboard and switch your entire diet overnight or you may simply end up making yourself sick and decide you hate healthy food.  Keep it slow at first and watch how your body responds.

4. Replace Bad Addictions with Good Ones

Alcohol?  Caffeine?  Nicotine?  Junk food?  Drugs?  Pills?  Supplements?  What is your latest addiction?  Do you have a healthy alternative?  Green smoothies aren’t a wonder drug.  However, they can act as a replacement for many foods and beverages you probably should minimize or eliminate completely.  As you’ll see below, green smoothies provide you with the natural nutrients you need to get and stay healthy.  You won’t have to worry about taste if you add in fruits you enjoy and you’ll cleanse your body of the toxins you have collected from the not-so-healthy habits.  If you’re going to be addicted to something, wouldn’t it be nice if it was actually good for you?  Personally, I’d rather be chugging green smoothies by the gallon than whiskey.

5. Ridiculous Energy

Fruit provides natural sugar. If you use caffeine as a crutch to stay awake, natural energy from the fruit and veggies in the green smoothie could pump you up even more.  Similar to the weight loss effects, the nutrients in the smoothie will energize you but you will also experience a boost from the lack of bad food.  Fast food, excess red meat, processed foods, and other traditionally unhealthy foods can make you feel sluggish and heavy.  Bad foods inhibit you from feeling great and having excess energy.  By simply removing the bad food you will do yourself a great favor.  By adding healthy fruit and vegetables via your green smoothie you will complete the transformation and rocket your energy through the roof!  Not literally, but you know what I mean.  Green smoothies can also increase mental clarity, remove toxins, and can be a great source of omega-3s, protein, minerals, and nutrients.

6. Easier than Salads

Salads are great but many people never actual ever eat them.  The only way they can is by smothering the healthy greens in a fatty salad dressing just to get it down.  Green smoothies are basically the equivalent of a liquid salad, without the unhealthy dressing.  Take the same ingredients from your salad and throw in some extra fruit and vegetables for flavor and nutrients, blend it all together with some water or orange juice, and you end up with a healthier alternative that actually tastes great.  You can make the green smoothie a side item during a meal or a complete meal replacement depending on your caloric needs.

7. Permanent Positive Lifestyle Change

Beyond the weight you’ve lost, the massive energy you’ve gained, and the exposure to new foods you’ve never seen before, green smoothies will completely alter your lifestyle.  Much like training for a marathon or joining Jenny Craig, eating green smoothies often can change your entire outlook on food and exercise altogether.  Once you start eating better it will exponentially expand into other areas of your life.  Now, if you find yourself slipping back to a fast food restaurant or a long night out at a bar, your body will remind you (sometimes violently) that you are a healthy person who shouldn’t eat or drink bad foods any longer.  It’s amazing if you listen to your body what it will tell you.  Learn to change your habits and respond to your body’s desire for natural healthy sources of energy and nutrients.  Green smoothies just might be the open door that leads to a permanent and extremely positive new life.  Enjoy!

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Recipes

My First Green Smoothie (makes about 1 pitcher, but you can vary the quantity at will)

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Recipe + Price Estimate – from GreenSmoothieGirl.com

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Resources

The Clueless Graduate,



Jeff Sanders

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”