January/February 2007 Alternative Health
Ode to Green Smoothie: Love Your Veggies

by Victoria Boutenko

What is a green smoothie?

Here is one of my favorite recipes: 4 ripe pears, 1 bunch of parsley and 2 cups of water, blended well. This smoothie looks very green, but it tastes like fruit. I enjoy 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.

Green for Life Smoothie Recipes

These green smoothie recipes provide basic ideas for your green creations. Feel free to substitute these ingredients with your own choice of greens and fruits. Enjoy!

Apple-kale-lemon
4 apples
½ lemon juice
5 leaves of kale
2 cups water

Peach-spinach
6 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
2 cups water

Mango-weeds
2 mangos
1 handful of edible weeds, such as lambsquarters, stinging nettles or purslane
2 cups water

Strawberry-banana-romaine
1-cup strawberries
2 bananas
½ bunch romaine
2 cups water

Pear-kale-mint
4 ripe pears
5 leaves of kale
½ bunch of mint
2 cups water

Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a 60 to 40 ratio of fruits to veggies, the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the greens balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it. People who eat a standard American diet enjoy the taste of green smoothies.

Green smoothies have numerous benefits for human health. A molecule of chlorophyll closely resembles a molecule of human blood. According to Dr. Ann Wigmore, consuming chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion. Many people do not consume enough greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. By drinking two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens for the day to nourish your body, and the beneficial nutrients will be well assimilated.

Nutritious and Easy on the Tummy

Green smoothies are very nutritious. Green smoothies, as opposed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber. Consuming fiber is important for our elimination system.

Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, most of the cells in the greens and fruits are ruptured, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. Green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

Start playing with green smoothies, and discover the many benefits of this wonderfully delicious and nutritious addition to your menu.

Find more facts about green smoothies in Victoria Boutenko's book, Green for Life, available at www.rawfamily.com.