Learn How to Make Healthy and Nutritious Green Smoothies
Green smoothies are a well-rounded food source thanks to their nutritional value. They're great for detoxing our body and they have antioxidant and diuretic properties as well.
Discover how to jump into the world of green smoothies and learn how they can help you be healthier.
What are green smoothies?
Nutritious green smoothies are creamy blends that use fruits, vegetables and any kind of healthy ingredient for its make-up: grains, nuts, cold-pressed oils, etc. They don’t contain any kind of dairy product nor refined sugars, making them very healthy recipes that are suitable for everyone.
These smoothies are green because the pigments in the vegetables usually overpower the other colors. However, the resulting flavor is sweet and fruity, which usually makes it a hit with the entire family.
Even though you can easily find green smoothies for sale, it’s better to make your own green smoothies at home using in-season ingredients of the highest quality. You only need a blender.
By making your own smoothies, you can make them how you please and choose your favorite ingredients.
Also read: The Major Benefits of Including Smoothies in Your Diet
What properties do they have?
Green smoothies have the following health benefits:
- First of all, they’re wonderful for reaching a healthy weight whether we have to lose or gain a couple pounds. These smoothies help our intestines better absorb nutrition.
- In weight loss diets, they help you feel full more easily.
- These smoothies are a super antioxidant, making them ideal for preventing cellular aging.
- Plus, they improve organ function and boost the body’s capacity to detox as well as help you feel better from any kind of disorder.
- You can digest smoothies easily and they even improve your digestion.
- They’re diuretics, therefore they fight bloating and liquid retention.
- Green smoothies improve skin health and any skin problem such as eczema, psoriasis, etc.
- They strengthen your hair and nails.
- These smoothies help you feel better, more energetic and alive throughout the day.
How and when can you drink them?
The best time to have a green smoothies is in the morning for breakfast. If you’re still hungry, you can choose eat a small, solid food a little later. If you’re not used to having a smoothie for breakfast, you should make your smoothie a little more watery and sip on it throughout the morning as if it was juice.
You can also substitute your lunch with a smoothie from time to time if you want to make up for eating too much the day before or to give our digestive system a break. However, you shouldn’t drink the smoothies for dinner, because it could wake your body up too much and keep you from resting properly.
Green smoothie preparation
The ingredients for a green smoothie are the following:
Green leaves
Green leaves are the main ingredient of the smoothie and it’s what gives the drink it’s characteristic color. Check out the various options below:
- Celery
- Spinach
- Chard
- Arugula
- Parsley
- Beet leaves
- Corn salad
- Watercress
- Turnip leaves
- Cabbage
Try finding ecological greens to avoid pesticides in your smoothie.
Fruit
Fruit is what gives our smoothie its flavor and sweetness. Try choosing one or two different fruits per smoothie:
- Apple
- Pear
- Strawberries
- Cranberries
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Banana
Then, you can even add a little zest from an organic lemon.
Also see: 6 Fruits to Detox Your Body
Superfoods
To finish off the smoothie, we recommend adding foods of your choice that have high nutritional values. Doing so will turn the smoothie into a powerful nutritive and medicinal remedy.
- Cold-pressed vegetable oils: coconut, flaxseed, wheatgerm
- Dried fruits: prunes, raisins, apricots
- Seeds and nuts
- Oats
- Millet
- Pea protein
- Hemp
- Maca
- Pure ceylon cinnamon
- Ginger
- Moringa
- Wheatgrass
- Turmeric
- Cacao
To sweeten your smoothie, you can use stevia. However, some fruits will already sweeten the mix with their natural sugars.
Basic recipe
This is a basic recipe for a smoothie that could be a part of everyone’s daily diet.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 apple
- Handful of spinach (50 gr)
- 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin coconut oil (15 gr)
- 1 tablespoon of oats (12 gr)
- A spoonful of cacao
- 5 walnuts
- Stevia, to taste
- 1 cup of water or vegetal milk
Preparation:
You just need to blend all of the ingredients together until the mixture is homogeneous and it’s ready to go.
