Do you ever feel like you want more salad in your life but simply lack the motivation to get everything out, chop it up, make a dressing, and put it all together? I know I do, and that’s why I’m drawn to green smoothies, especially lately. By making green smoothies like the one I’m sharing with you today, I’m able to get light and fresh greens in my diet… and, it’s quick which is important to me. I’m a busy mama who home schools, reads, plays Words with Friends, socializes on play-dates at the park, and makes all of our meals from scratch. Oh and I clean the home on occasion. So, yeah. Busy.
Green smoothies are pretty regular in our house, but they’re probably not the same as the green smoothies you see so often on the web which are usually full of dark leafy greens like kale, chard, or even spinach. If I eat those, I cook them for proper nutrient import and export.
I also don’t feel drawn to a high sugar or carb-heavy diet these days, even if it is from fruits, so you won’t see many fruits in my smoothies. I do eat berries and some seasonal citrus, and I’m not opposed to fruit in general, but I find that I feel better if I’m not eating too much of it. So these days, I like to keep my smoothies sweet-fruit-free.
You might be wondering what on earth I put in my green smoothies, if they’re not loaded with dark greens or fruit which is so common on the internet (and used to be common back in my raw plant based days, but I know better now… err at least I think I know better now – time will tell). Anyway! Since my green smoothies aren’t loaded with dark bitter greens they don’t require sweet somethings to offset that bitterness. Moreover, by using the light greens, I don’t need fruit to make them yum. (If you did want some sweetness though, you could add a few drops of stevia or 1/2 a banana or a little drizzle of something sweet like raw honey or maple syrup especially if you add something spicy like a hot pepper or fresh ginger… or, you can add fat such as brain boosting MCT oil or coconut oil or be a bad-ass and add raw pasture-raised egg yolks to help offset spice or bitter.
What light greens do I usually put in my green smoothies? I make my green smoothies with things like (always organic) cucumbers, romaine, nutrient-powerhouse herbs (such as rosemary, cilantro, parsley, thyme, tarragon, oregano, basil, dill, mint, etc), sometimes fennel, celery, etc. It’s like a light salad blended up. Very refreshing.
Ginger Cream Green Smoothie
Serves 2
- 1 organic cucumber, chopped
- 1 large knob of ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 + cup filtered water
- juice of 1/2 a juicy lemon or lime
- handful of parsley
- 3 to 4 basil leaves
- 1 1/2 stalks celery
- 5 to 8 drops vanilla creme stevia (to taste)
- splash organic grass fed whipping cream (or coconut milk)
Blend it up with a great blender like a VitaMix. Enjoy!