Super Green Smoothie
Gotta get your greens every day. We hear this all the time. How are you doing? Most Americans are not faring well in this category. In a report released last year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that only 12 percent of Americans eat the minimum amount of fruit recommended — a cup and a half to two cups a day. And only 9 percent get the two to three cups of vegetables a day that are recommended.
Wow! We’ve got a ways to go. And here’s the sobering part. Seven of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States are from chronic diseases. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables daily can help reduce the risk of many leading causes of illness and death, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. We’re not helping ourselves!
What’s a dietitian/mom to do? True story: two out of our five children refused to eat anything green through their high school years, except green M&M’s or Skittles of course. After multiple efforts of exposing them to greens throughout their childhoods, most often without much success, both have added greens to their dietary repertoire! The youngest still won’t eat a green salad, but there’s hope! Moral of the story: keep feeding greens to your kids. It might take up to 20-30 exposures before they turn the corner.
One awesome way to get kids and adults to eat their greens is to blend them in to smoothies. I like my smoothies emerald green color . . . in fact some of nature’s most nourishing foods are emerald green, i.e. broccoli, cucumber, avocado, green grapes, kiwifruit, snap peas, spinach, kale, celery, green beans and peas, edamame to name a few. They are rich in vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber, all beneficial for fighting chronic disease, including cancer.
This smoothie is so delicious; you’ll forget exactly what you put into it and really you can put whatever you want to put into it depending on what you have on hand. Just a word of caution, if you add red grapes or berries the color goes brown, not my favorite color to drink unless it’s this tasty PB2 Banana Protein Smoothie. So I save my berries for my Simple Purple Protein Smoothie or this High Protein Strawberry Banana Smoothie.
I use my VitaMix to blend these whole vegetables and fruits. It definitely makes good work of the fibrous varieties, but a less expensive blender can also do the job if you add the ingredients one at a time rather than all at once. However you blend it, this is a great way to get more of your green vegetables into your diet.
I also like to boost the omega-3 fatty acid content by adding ground flaxseed, chia seeds and avocados. The added fat from these three ingredients provide satiety in the absence of protein. Feel free to blend in Greek yogurt or whey protein powder if desired to boost the protein content.
- Super Green Smoothie
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sliced cucumbers (unpeeled, if desired)
- 3 ribs celery, sliced
- 10-12 green grapes
- 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 1 fresh clementine, peeled
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (juice of one small lemon)
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp ground flax meal
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Add spinach to blender. Add water and blend together for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and all leafy chunks are gone.
- Add in remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle a few chia seeds on top.
Notes
Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days in air-tight container. Color may darken over time. Shake well before drinking.
You might also enjoy:
Simple Peach Coconut Green Smoothie
