Ode to Green Smoothie
By Victoria Boutenko

As the Russian proverb says: New-is something old, that has been long forgotten. This summer I re-discovered green smoothies. What do I mean by green smoothie? Here is one of my favorite recipes: 4 ripe pears, 1 bunch of parsley and 1 big cup of water. Blend well. This smoothie looks very green, but it tastes like fruit. I like green smoothies so much that I bought an extra blender and placed it in my office, so that I could make green smoothies throughout the day. More than half of all the food I’ve had in last several months have been green smoothies. I have so much more energy and clarity that I have removed green juices from my diet. (Juicing has been something that I’ve been doing regularly for years.) Green smoothies have numerous benefits for human health.

Green smoothies are very nutritious. I believe that the ratio in them is optimal for human consumption: about 60% - ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% - organic green vegetables.
Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, all the valuable nutrients in these fruits and veggies become homogenized, or divided into such small particles that it becomes easy for the body to assimilate these nutrients; the green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.
Green smoothies, as posed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber.
Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the green vegetables balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding nice zest to it. Green smoothies are simply the best tasting dishes for the majority of adults and children. I always make extra smoothie and offer it to my friends and customers. Some of them eat a standard American diet. They all finished their big cup of green smoothies with complements. They were quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice and sweet.
By consuming two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough of greens for the day to nourish your body, and they will be well assimilated. Many people do not consume enough of greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, to consume chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.
Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. Many people told me that they do not consume green juices on regular basis because it is time consuming to prepare green juices and clean the equipment after juicing, or to drive to the juice bar.
Green smoothies are perfect food for children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old when introducing new food to them after mother’s milk. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.
When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.
Regular consumption of Green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. Several people told me that after a couple of weeks of drinking green smoothies, they started to crave and enjoy eating more greens. Eating enough of green vegetable is often a problem with many people, especially in children.

10. Green smoothies can easily be freshly made at any juice bar, restaurant or health food store for the great convenience of health-oriented customers.

Mango-parsley                       Strawberry-banana                Pear-kale-mint
2 large mangos                          romaine                                   4 ripe pears
1 bunch parsley                        1-c. strawberries                       4-5 leaves of kale
Water                                       2 bananas                                 ½ bunch of mint
½ bunch romaine                      water
Water

Peach-spinach                        Apple-kale-lemon                   Finger banana-spinach
6 peaches                                 4 apples                                    10 finger –bananas
2 handfuls of spinach leaves      ½ lemon juice                           2 handfuls of spinach
water                                        4-5 leaves of kale                                    leaves
water

Mango-chard                          Kiwi-banana-celery                Bosc pear-raspberry-
By Gayle Bradshaw                           4 very ripe kiwis                               kale
2 chard leaves                           1 ripe banana                            3 bosc pears
1 avocado                                3 stalks of celery                       1 handful of raspberries
½ c pineapple                           Water                                       4-5 leaves of kale
1 mango                                                                                   www.rawfamily.com

¼ c cilantro
½ Cucumbers
½ c fresh spinach leaves
put in greens, add enough water to blend
then add chopped fruit
You can also add fresh sea weeds, umm good

Spinach
Handful of spinach
½ Cucumbers
Mango
Pineapple

Put in blender with some “clean pure” water.

My favorite,
Head of butter lettuce
½ cored pineapple
big bunch of grapes
1 large avocado
½ cucumber
Yummm.

Hippocrates Green Formulas
(this is a juice made with a juicer not a blended drink)

16-18 oz 3 x’s a day

½ Green Veggies
Kale (small amount)
Cucumber
Spinach
Celery
Lettuces, dark green only (chard – collard greens etc)
Cabbage

½ Baby greens / Sprouts/ weeds
Sunflower Greens
Pea Shoots
Dandelion
Arugula

Note: from Gayle

Parsley is a great herb and useful in many ways. We know it is high in vitamin C and that it freshens breath. However, in large quantities, such as juice, parsley actually reduces the amount of calcium available for absorption! It contains an extremely concentrated source of oxalates which bind with calcium greatly reducing its bioavailability. Parsley contains about 1700 mg oxalic acid per 100 gms - almost double the concentration of oxalic acid in spinach (around 900 mg per 100 gms). If, for example, you add a bunch of parsley to your green juice, along with kale, which is an excellent source of highly bioavailability calcium, it could negatively impact the usability of it's calcium. This would not be a huge issue if total calcium content of the diet is high, but if we are hoping to boost calcium intake with a green juice, we would defeat our purpose. The same is true of Swiss chard and beet greens and to a lesser extent, spinach. Here is a great recipe for green juice that is high in calcium and protein:
Green Power Juice
Yield: 3 - 4 cups (2 servings)

1 bunch kale (8 to 12 ounces)
1/2 head Romaine lettuce (8 to 12 ounces)
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise
4 ribs celery
1 lemon, peeled

1. Juice all of the ingredients.
2. Serve immediately.

Back to Top These drinks taste GREAT

Veggies in Blender

blended green drink