Drink your leafy greens
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We know leafy green vegetables are good for us. We know we need to eat them for optimal health. But do we? Do you? I do my best to get a serving of leafy greens every day. Some days I do. Some days I don’t. I’m much more likely to get my leafy greens for the day when I consume them for breakfast and my favorite way to do this is with a green smoothie. I also find I’m more likely to eat healthier throughout the rest of the day when I start out with a green smoothie.
Maybe you are familiar with green smoothies. Maybe you think that sounds, well … ewww. I promise you, drinking your leafy greens is not only beneficial for your health, it can taste really great too.
Typical smoothie ingredients often include fruit, yogurt and juice. These are good basic ingredients to start with. By adding a little creativity and willingness to experiment with new flavors and combinations, you can make a breakfast, or anytime, smoothie bursting with health and flavor.
To be clear, leafy greens are things like lettuce, spinach, chard, collards, kale, parsley, beet greens, bok choy, baby greens, endive, arugula, sweet potato leaves and mustard. There are many varieties of regional leafy greens utilized in various cuisines across the world. The ones I’ve mentioned are fairly basic ones that you will usually be able to find at the grocery store, health food store or farmers market.
Why are leafy greens so darn good for us? Leafy greens are an excellent source of minerals, including iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium as well as vitamins K, C, E and many of the B vitamins. They contain fiber as well.
If you are not partial to leafy greens yet, I recommend starting with some of the more mild flavored ones like lettuce and spinach and using fewer greens in your smoothie at first. Move up to using more greens and try chard, collards, parsley, and kale. Continue to explore with others. My taste buds have yet to graduate to mustard greens.
Two of my favorite green smoothie recipes:
Beginner’s Green Smoothie
• one cup of milk or milk
substitute (I prefer coconut or
almond milk)
• splash of orange juice
• heaping tablespoon of yogurt
(Optional. I prefer plain, full
fat).
• handful or two of greens
• half a cup of fresh or frozen
raspberries
• half a cup of fresh or frozen
mango
Green Goddess Smoothie
• one cup of milk or milk
substitute (I prefer coconut or
almond milk.)
• the juice of one lemon
• handful or two of greens
• one inch of fresh ginger,
peeled and chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh mint
• one banana
• half an avocado
• one granny smith apple,
chopped
With all green smoothies, add your liquid to the blender first, then greens, and finally other ingredients. Add additional liquid if needed. Experiment with any fruit, juice, cinnamon, nuts that have been soaked in water overnight, flax seeds, dates, nut butters, fresh herbs like cilantro or basil, and anything else your heart desires.
If you would like more green smoothie recipes, need tips to make yours taste better or would like to share your favorite green smoothie recipes with me, please feel free to contact me at (406) 270-3288 or through my website www.kristinhertz.com.
Wishing you all vibrant health and happiness.
