It’s not easy ensuring we get the right number of fruit and vegetables into our diets. The government tells us to eat our ‘5 a day’ but in reality many of us are struggling to eat even 1 or 2 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and actually many health experts say we should be aiming for more than that.
Juicing vegetables in the morning is a really great way of ensuring that you get your goodness in a glass, but what about making a Green Smoothie for breakfast or having it as a 4pm snack? Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘that sounds disgusting!’ But it really isn’t – honest!
Recently I bought a smoothie maker. Not just any smoothie maker, a NutriBullet. To be honest, I was quite excited, it was promising some amazing things and so far, I’ve not been disappointed. It has a very powerful motor and can break through nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetable skins to ensure that you get all the goodness in a drinkable form. It markets itself as an extractor rather than a blender or juicer.
I’ve been so happy with my NutriBullet that I’ve been having a Green Smoothie every day for over a month now and I’m loving it. They take only minutes to prepare, are easy to drink and digest and mean that if I fall of the bandwagon later, at least I know I had a really great start to the day.
Benefits of Green Smoothies
Green smoothies are loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. So depending on the fruits/vegetables you use in your smoothie, you could be getting a great dose of vitamins A, C, E and K as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and potassium.
Consuming green smoothies is a great way to increase your daily vegetable intake. Think about it, how many quality vegetables do you really consume in a day? We could all use more. Kale and chard are two superfoods that are rarely eaten as side vegetables, but can easily be added to a smoothie as green ingredients.
Green smoothies deliver a natural source of energy. Rather than going for a coffee or a fizzy drink, try a green smoothie. The natural sugars from the fruit and vegetables will give you a boost, but the high fibre content and vitamins and minerals will help to prolong the energising effects. Remember, your body is better fuelled by real foods than food substitutes.
Green vegetables can help decrease inflammation, aid in blood purification and even improve digestion. Consuming green smoothies is a great way to be proactive in the fight against ageing and disease.
Green smoothie recipe
This is a recipe I’ve been making a lot and as it contains a fairly high proportion of fruit (which is great if you’re just starting out because your taste buds might need a bit of time to adjust!) But ideally you want to keep fruit down so aim to have more vegetables than fruit or add lemons to balance out the flavour of the greens. Ideally use organic vegetables for the most health benefit.
-1 banana
-4 strawberries
-Handful of spinach leaves
-3 inches of chopped cucumber
-2 romaine lettuce leaves
-1 tablespoon of Raw Green Protein powder (I like the brand, Purple Balance)
-1 teaspoon of Chia seeds
-Then top up using the desired amount of water or milk substitute (I often use half Oat milk, half water)
Whizz! Enjoy.
You can experiment with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. You might want to think about using chard, kale, rocket, mango, berries, yoghurt, almonds, nut butters, avocado etc. The possibilities are endless! Plus it’s also a great 4pm pick me up. Many people go for sugar or caffeine at this time, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how a green smoothie could energise you for the rest of the day.
I would love to hear your recipes for green smoothies, so please comment on the blog via the form below.
Until next time, have a happy, healthy week!
Claire Zarb LCPH
t: 07582 269569
e: claire@clairezarb.com
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