Of...LOVING These!

O.K., so I know you have all been biting your nails, waiting for my promised post on green smoothies. I will tell you, I picked up this book by Robyn Openshaw over conference weekend, read it in a day and a half, and have had a green smoothie almost every single day since, and it's been almost two months. Yes, surprisingly, they are that good. Excuse me while I expound, and perhaps rant and rave about these for just a minute.

Curtis, who is usually a little slower to jump on the bandwagon of my various attempts at better health, loves these, and requests them. I load them with tons of leafy greens--more then we could ever eat in a salad, and many that I don't use often (or ever), such as kale, collards, chard, carrot tops, etc., and lots of yummy fruit, to make them taste delicious. The kids enjoy them as well. The leafy greens contain micronutrients, protein, iron, calcium, live enzymes, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and make you feel great. They act as a broom for your intestines, sweeping out toxins and other gunk. For me, they also help me curb my sugar cravings. If you do a little searching on the internet, you will find testimonial after testimonial about how amazing these drinks are for your health. In Robyn's book, she includes quite a few testimonials at the end. Her criteria for submissions was that the person had to have had at least a pint of green smoothie three times a week, I think, for at least a month. People experienced remarkable results, many of whom were able to get off medications they had been taking for years. (Robyn says ideally, adults should have a quart a day, and kids a pint.)

 Best of all, they take only about 10 minutes to make from prep to cleanup. I don't have the cool blenders that most "green smoothers" use, but my Osterizer is working fine until I can save up for a better one!

 Anyway, all green smoothers seem to have a favorite recipe, and here is my general standby: I like to use a base of a cup or so of coconut water (or plain water) and drop a couple of fresh oranges in, while blending. Then I stop the blender, stuff it up to the top with spinich (or whatever else I want) then let it puree for a couple of minutes until it is completely blended--no chunks. I then add usually a ripe banana, and whatever other fruit is in season. A favorite lately has been mangoes and pineapple.

When I first started making these, I always threw in a cup or two of berries, because the green color of the smoothies threw me for a loop, and the berries were enough to turn it a beautiful purple color. By now, we are used to the green, and it doesn't bother us anymore, but the berries were a nice transition. It is fun to try new combinations.

 I will admit, I have had to throw out a couple of my concoctions, including a brown rice smoothie, which the kids still tease me about, but all in all, we have thoroughly enjoyed these delicious and healthy treats, and as far as I am concerned, we will be eating them daily the rest of our lives! Give one a try!