Green Smoothie.

Sometimes on long busy days it takes a little extra effort to get plenty of healthful veggies into meals on the run.  On these days, for breakfast especially, I really like a refreshing smoothie that I can load with tons of fruits and veggies and sip throughout the morning.

Juicing seems to be quite en vogue these days, at least in the city, with juice joints popping up all over and everyone touting the benefits of a juice cleanse.  I have yet to add a juicer to my tiny, cluttered kitchen, and instead opt for smoothies made with my trusty immersion blender.  This makes it tough to add hard vegetables like carrots and beets but there may be some benefits to having a smoothie rather than a straight juice.



When the nutrients and sugars in fruits and vegetables are eaten (or drunk) with their fiber, the body is able to more slowly and thoroughly absorb the nutrients.  As an added trick, you can add a little fat in the form of some coconut oil or flax seeds because the fat will slow down sugar absorption, preventing a rapid spike in blood sugar that may cause a sugar high followed by a crash, and promoting a feeling of satiety.  Fiber and fat make for a satisfying drink that will fuel your body for hours.



If you are new to vegetable juices, know that it is a bit of an acquired taste and drinking something bright green may be a turnoff.  I would recommend starting by adding just a handful of fresh spinach leaves to a basic fruit smoothie.  Spinach is soft and mildly flavored enough that you won't really notice it in the finished drink, but you will still have the added benefit of its nutrients.  Once you're comfortable with this, you can start to increase the vegetable to fruit ratio.  Follow the recipe below but try replacing the romaine lettuce with some pineapple or an apple to make it a little sweeter.  Or if you're brave, jump right into this greens heavy recipe.  The citrus and ginger add a good punch of flavors over the greens and with a strong enough blender the consistency is easy to drink.  And check out that green color!  Just in time for St. Patrick's day, you know, after you've had your fill of Guinness and corned beef.

Enjoy!

Green Smoothie

Total time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1 as a meal

Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
1 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 stalk of celery, cut into 1" pieces
1 sprig of fresh, flat leaf Italian parsley
1 handful kale, roughly torn into pieces
1 handful fresh spinach leaves
1 handful romaine lettuce leaves, roughly torn into pieces
1 cup cold water or cocunut water
1 T. coconut oil or freshly ground flax seeds (optional)

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Notes: This is best drunk soon after blending as nutrients degrade over time and the fiber may separate from the liquid.  I often put it in a mason jar to take with me in the mornings and a quick shake is all that is needed to get it back together.