Green Breakfast Smoothie
I’ve heard all sorts of people say that they’ve never felt better after drinking ‘green’ smoothies- with lots of green veggies like celery, spinach, kale, avocados as well as other things like beets and carrots. Chock full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, they’re said to help detox the body, or cleanse it. To be honest, it just never seemed appetizing to me. I never heard anybody say “yum” after drinking some thing green. Would you think that would be the case?
Well, I’ve reading more and more and viewing some documentaries about getting serious about short and long-term health benefits of drinking your veggies and finally decided it was time to get out the Montel (blender, that is). I don’t have a Vitamix (yet) but if I keep going down this juicing path, I just might have to get one…
There I go, thinking about new kitchen appliances (all those Costco demos tend to stay in your head, I must say).
Back to the smoothie. I played around with this recipe and I finally have found one that I enjoy very much, but I encourage you to use it as a base recipe and use similar ingredients you have in your fridge.
For example, I use kale- but you can use spinach instead. You can also add Romaine lettuce, if you have that. I also add a red apple, but a green apple will give it a more tart flavor. I add avocado to smooth out the drink, but you can leave that out. To make it sweet, I add some honey, but you can add two pitted dates instead. I wouldn’t skip out on the banana, that just makes it really good. Throw it all in the blender with some filtered water or freshly squeezed orange juice and blend away.
I never thought I would like drinking green juices as much as I do now, and it feels good to start my day with these instead of coffee (although I have coffee later in the day after I’ve taken in some food). How about you? Do you drink green smoothies? Why or why not?
If you have your own smoothie recipe to share, you can submit it here.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a physician for medical questions and concerns.
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1 cup kale
- 1 banana, cut in half
- 1 small red delicious apple, quartered
- 2 tablespoons honey or two pitted dates
- Juice of 1/2 lemon (no seeds)
- 1/2 avocado
- Thoroughly wash all ingredients. Pour water into the blender and then add all of the other ingredients. Blend on high for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until all of the ingredients are completely combined.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are organic and that the water is filtered in order to reduce the risk of pesticide or chemical intake.
- Rinse out the blender as soon as you're finished making the smoothie. It'll make it easier to clean later if you can't finish doing it right away.
My husband and I have been green juic-ing (almost) every morning for the past few months and Alhumdulillah if feels great to start our day off right. We usually have mostly the same ingredients as you (minus honey/dates-we feel it is sweet as is) kale, parsley, red apple, banana, pineapple, baby carrots and strawberry/blueberries in soy milk.
I find it great when the green juice message is being spread, especially as a concerned to-be public health professional (completing my masters right now). Keep spreading the positivity!!
Can you add berries to this mix instead of an apple (as I am out)? I’m curious as to what the flavor would be.
@Asbah- yes, you can. I think that would be delicious!