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blended drink benefits, blended greens benefits, fruit and veggie smoothie, fruit salad drink, fruit salad smoothie, green drinks, green smoothie, green smoothie recipe, Health, healthy pregnancy, healthy smoothie, healthy snack, kale and fruit smoothie, kale spinach and fruit smoothie, leafy greens smoothie, no dairy fruit smoothie, vegan smoothie
Would you rather consume your greens by eating them in a salad or blending them into a drink? According to Raw Food Health: Blending a salad in any way is the equivalent of chewing a food extremely well with your teeth. The blender can possibly do a better job of it than you can, especially with very tough greens.
The woman who came up with the green smoothie idea~ Victoria Boutenko & The Raw Family says: Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended, most of the cells in the greens and fruits are ruptured, making the valuable nutrients easier for the body to assimilate. Green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.
Frederic Patenaude author of several raw food books adds: Blended foods are easy to eat, but they are also very concentrated. They are fast to prepare, and can also be fast to consume! The problem is that consuming blended foods too fast doesn’t give your body the time to digest and assimilate them properly. You need to consider your blended foods “food”, not “drinks.” Take your time to enjoy them and your body will thank you for it.
So- when you make your smoothies/shakes make sure you sit down and enjoy each sip instead of drink them down in one gulp like I have done many times. Your saliva needs to have a few seconds with those greens before is passed any further down your body.
Fruit Salad Smoothie adapted from the Vitamix Whole Food Recipes Book
Ingredients
- 1/2c. grapes (red or green, I used green)
- 1 medium orange (I used two tangelos)
- 1/2 thick slice of pineapple, core included
- 1/4 cucumber, peeled (I used 1 persian cucumber and left the peel on)
- 1 medium carrot (I used 4 organic medium-large sized baby carrot sticks)
- 1/4 medium apple (I used honey crisp)
- 2 large handfuls of spinach (optional)
- 1 leaf of green curly kale (optional)
- 2 cups ice cubes
Directions
Blend all ingredients. If you have a Vitamix you can add all these ingredients at once and blend. However if you have a normal blender, it’s best that you just blend as you go. Add one or two ingredients, blend til smooth. Add a few more ingredients, blend til smooth. It also helps to have the ingredients cut up into smaller pieces before adding them to your blender.
If you have a regular blender you may want to add some liquid depending on how powerful your blender is. If you think you will need some liquid you can add 1/2c. purified water or maybe white grape/apple/orange juice.
If you are adding leafy greens start with the those on the bottom and add the other ingredients next. Blend.
It might look scary but it tastes sweet like fruit!
This smoothie has 8 different fruits and veggies. Which means in one drink you will get all your recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables! Count me in!
If this smoothie was pink would you be more likely to drink it?
Have you recommended green smoothies to anyone in your family and have they tried it out yet?
Are you a fast eater or do you concentrate on taking your time for meals and even beverages? Do you have to try to eat slow or does it come naturally?
I didn’t know you need to drink your green smoothies slowly! I will start slowing down while drinking any type of smoothie! It makes sense though!
I really need to get a vitamix! I’ve wanted one for a while but just haven’t taken the plunge! All your smoothies make me envious each day! I still haven’t made one for a while but have been craving them lately. Maybe this is the recipe that will make me like kale in my drinks!
Thanks for sharing! I love how informational this post is!!!
yea kale is a strong flavor… it takes some getting used to. I find that the more sweet fruit you put in a drink with kale the less you can taste it. Just try a fourth, or half of a leaf the first time you use it in a smoothie and work your way up.
The Vitamix is definitely worth the money. We were at Costco one time and there was a lady demonstrating the Vitamix, she made us strawberry ice cream out of green cabbage carrots and strawberries, tortilla soup (it was served hot straight from the blender and it was made with all raw ingredients) and she made us some lemon lime fruit smoothie. I could have watched her all day. Then I went home and googled recipes and got really into it and I went back a day or two later and bought one! Costco has great deals on them – I think we saved ourselves like $150-200 vs. buying it online.
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