Creamy, cold, rich tasting but healthy -- I love green smoothies.



I enjoy either a green smoothie or a green juice every single day. I love them and can't get enough. They make me feel energized and healthy. I'm always surprised to hear that people make my smoothie recipes. I rarely post smoothie recipes on this blog, mostly because they are a little out of scope for a baking blog. But I aim to please and I have been asked to share more of my smoothie recipes. I decided to share two vegan recipes which involve the same digestion-enhancing ingredients but are very distinct from each other in flavour. 



I have greatly improved my digestion over the last year or two and I think mango played a big part in that process as I always felt much better on days that I ate mangoes. When I say 'days where I ate mangoes', I mean I ate a LOT of mangoes. For the better part of last year I gave the Raw Till 4 lifestyle a go. For those unfamiliar with it, just google 'Freelee the Banana Girl' or watch a few of her youtube videos and you'll get the idea. Basically the goal is to eat vegan, mostly fruit and vegetables, grains and root vegetables. The vegan diet is very low fat and high carb, and you're encouraged to eat large portions of raw fruit daily before 4 pm, followed by a large cooked meal of grains or starches at night. You're also advised to eat a lot of calories in your first two meals of the day to ensure you aren't undereating. As much as in some ways I really enjoyed eating that way, I ultimately stopped following the diet a few months ago. Eating large volumes of fruit every day doesn't sit well with me to the extent that I've asked my doctor for a fructose intolerance test. Since reducing my fruit intake and eating a more starch based diet, I have found that I feel and look much better, so that's what I plan to stick to. If you haven't heard of the starch solution, google it too. Basically on that diet you also follow a low fat high carb diet, but with a greater focus on vegetables, grains and starches than on fruit. This seems to work much better for me so I am sticking with it. I still eat fruit every day but not nearly as much, and I now place greater emphasis on vegetables. 


What I will note is that the high fruit diet, especially eating lots of mangoes, seemed to greatly improve my digestion over time. I can say that I now have very consistent, good digestion. To some this may sound like no big deal but for me it is fantastic. I have suffered from lots of digestive issues since I started highschool 17 years ago. They only got worse when I became anorexic as a university student. Now that I am a healthy weight and eat a plant based diet consistently I can finally say I feel great most of the time. This is huge for me as I used to always feel terrible (stomach cramps, bloating etc.). 



Though I love fruit-only smoothies, I find that I feel about 10X better when I add greens to them. I make green smoothies all the time and usually load them with fresh and frozen fruit so that the green flavour isn't overpowering. My favourite greens for smoothies are baby spinach and baby kale. Both of these greens blend seamlessly into smoothies -- unlike mature kale which I find does not blend very well unless you have a pro-blender like a vitamix (which I do not). So, if you have an ordinary blender I highly recommend buying baby greens for your smoothies to ensure that the texture is smooth as silk. My other rule for smoothies is to ensure that you add a creamy fruit. My favourite fruits to add are fresh and frozen mangoes, frozen bananas, fresh ripe pears, and frozen berries. I love to use frozen fruit as it keeps the smoothie cold, gives the smoothie great ice-cream-like texture and masks the green flavour well. I also like to add strong accent flavours like ginger to my smoothies. Ginger is incredibly good for your digestion. I try to eat some daily to enhance mine. My favourite way to add it to a smoothie is to blend it thoroughly with the smoothie water and then strain it.


After a little effort you're left with this glowing yellow ginger extract. 


I then add that liquid to my smoothie so that the essence of ginger is infused without ginger's coarse texture which can be really unpleasant in a smoothie if its just added as is. 



So back to today's green smoothies. I have two recipes for you which involve mostly the same digestion-enhancing ingredients but are very distinct from eachother in flavour. Both feature mangoes and ginger (which are great for the skin and the stomach), and both are sweetened with frozen bananas which I adore in smoothies for optimal texture. One smoothie is vibrant green, the other bright purple. 


The green smoothie is my Spicy Mango Smoothie, the purple is my Wild Blueberry Zinger. Both feature a lovely spicy kick from the ginger. Both are super creamy and delicious. The only difference between the two is measurements of ingredients and blueberries. 


I love adding a new fruit to my go-to favourite smoothies to change up the flavour. If you're not into blueberries, raspberries or pineapple are also great in this. I hope you enjoy these! 

MANGO GINGER SMOOTHIE 
(vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)

• 1 cup water
• 1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 cup baby greens (I use baby kale or baby spinach), packed
• 1-2 fresh ripe mangoes, peeled, pit removed
• 1 cup frozen bananas
• 1 cup water or coconut water   

Add 1 cup water and the peeled ginger to a blender. Puree until smooth. Strain liquid into a glass through a fine mesh sieve. Clean blender to remove debris. Add the ginger extract back to blender along with remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. Enjoy. 

WILD BLUEBERRY ZINGER SMOOTHIE
(vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)

• 1 cup water
• 1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 cup baby greens (I use baby kale or baby spinach), packed
• 1-2 fresh ripe mangoes, peeled, pit removed
• 1.5-2 cups frozen bananas (the more you add, the creamier it will be)
• 1 cup water or coconut water   
• 1 cup frozen wild blueberries 

Add 1 cup water and the peeled ginger to a blender. Puree until smooth. Strain liquid into a glass through a fine mesh sieve. Clean blender to remove debris. Add the ginger extract back to blender along with remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. Enjoy. 

 
After my fantastic green smoothie experience this past Wednesday night I decided to forge ahead with my plan to reincorporate more virtuous smoothies into my diet.

Though I often end up eating similar things for supper out of habit, when it comes to smoothies and baked goods I really like to change it up. Tonight's smoothie was very different than Wednesday's. My Purple Elixir smoothie was more thin and sweet than the smoothie I am referring to today as Red Rhapsody.

While the Purple Elixir was citrusy and fresh, the Red Rhapsody is rich and velvety. The texture is much closer to a sorbet than a juice. I find that frozen raspberries give smoothies great body and tang. I tried this smoothie without cocoa at first and it was boldly raspberry flavoured and fresh, but I was craving something with more depth of flavour, something more unique and rich. I love adding a cocoa accent to a smoothie. It provides warmth and a comforting flavor you can't quite pinpoint if you don't know it's there. It also adds a small kick that really picks me up.

I used raw beet in this smoothie for its natural sweetness, instant energy, and to tap into its potent blood cleaning and detoxifying capabilities. Beets are ridiculously good for you. Most people who consume them raw just juice them, but they also work well in a smoothie like this if you use a blender powerful enough to purée them. The beets and raspberries totally masked the smoothie's greens.



I tested out this smoothie on my husband. He  doesn't enjoy mostly green smoothies, but he liked this one. 

For him, or someone like him, adding more fruit or a touch of stevia (if you are avoiding sugar) would be a good idea, or perhaps a teaspoon of vanilla extract to mask the beet flavor. If you are cleansing for Spring, give this smoothie a go, you might really enjoy it.

If you need an excuse to make this drink, here are just a few reasons why its a good idea:

• it tastes lovely
• it's full of vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A
• it will help detoxify your liver
• it's full of fiber
• it's full of anti-inflammatory foods
• it's rich in magnesium
• it's full of antioxidants
• it's full of copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus

 If those reasons aren't leaving you searching for your blender, just look at how pretty this 'green smoothie' is!


 
Makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small smoothies

• 2 small leaves of purple kale, woody stem removed
• 1 small leaf of green kale, woody stem removed
• 1 small leaf of red Swiss chard
• 1/4 red beet, peeled and sliced thinly or peeled and grated
• 1/2 small red bartlett pear, chopped
• 1.5 cups loosely packed frozen red raspberries
• 1/2 cup filtered water or juice of choice or ice chips
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp 100% cocoa powder OR raw cacao powder
• Tiny pinch coarse sea salt

Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor until very smooth. Taste! If the smoothie is too thick add more water/juice/ice. If the smoothie is too bitter for your taste add 3 drops of liquid stevia or add 1/4 frozen banana and blend until smooth. Pour into a large glass or two small glasses and enjoy.

Ever wake up with the idea that you need to clean your slate? That winter has dragged on for far too long and now that Spring is here your body hasn't quite caught up? That is how I felt yesterday. I was sluggish, my stomach ached and I felt totally drained. I knew that I needed some plant-powered nourishment.

After celebrating Passover on Monday night I began feeling quite ill. I had been sick with the flu for the week before, but this was a different icky feeling. I attribute this malaise to what I ate that night -- lots of animal protein in the form of salmon and some hard boiled eggs. There was lots of salad too and a potato casserole, but after being vegan for the past month, salmon did not sit well with me. The only other time in my life I distinctly recall feeling this gross was the day after I caved to a meat craving after being vegetarian for years. In a word, I felt disgusting. Over the course of my vegetarianism I have allowed myself to eat the odd piece of fish or chicken when

 I cannot silence my craving for it. This has been ok for my body for the most part.

 Red meat is another story however.

In my last year of University, I accompanied my roommates and some friends to a great Italian restaurant that has since become my favorite place to eat out. I ordered fish (which I ate occasionally at that time) and lots of vegetable side dishes which were delicious and served family-style for our whole group. My friends were all meat-eaters and promptly ordered lamb and beef for their dinners. One of my friends ordered some braised beef that smelled absolutely intoxicating. The portion size was ridiculous (think Fred Flintstone) and she only managed to eat one third of her dinner. She didn't want to take it home and offered her leftovers to the rest of us. Everyone else was so intensely full that they rejected the beef but I was curious -- it had been so long since I ate meat.

I went for it...all of it.

To say that the beef didn't taste amazing would be a lie. I am not one of those vegan/vegetarians that thinks meat tastes gross. It can taste amazing and even makes me feel great at times when I let a craving take hold. I think the real problem was that it had been so many years since I ate any red meat that my body just couldn't handle the animal protein or fat in the dish.  

I felt really great at first. It was like having a B-12 shot. I was bouncing off the walls with energy.

That energy stuck around though...I couldn't sleep all night. I started sweating profusely. I 
just couldn't handle it the way I once could. This is more or less how I felt this past Tuesday after Monday's fish dinner. I had night sweats, my stomach killed and I have been feeling off ever since. Until today! Last night I knew exactly what I needed to patch my weary self together. I used to make green juices and smoothies daily. They really energized me and left me feeling clean. I used to work from home and make them for lunch but I got out of the habit when I started working in an office.

For awhile I bought smoothies out.They were way too expensive and honestly, my homemade versions tasted better with better quality organic ingredients. 

I have been avoiding eating fruit at night so my homemade-smoothie-kick has stopped dead. Fruit in the evening disrupts my sleep and gives me a stomach ache. However it is ok when I eat fruit alongside vegetables at night. Since going gluten free, my body craves what it needs.

Last night I thought that a fruity green smoothie might lift my mood and ease my pain. Man was I right!

Have you ever consumed something that made you feel right as rain? This drink did that for me. I instantly felt energized, vital...


It was like life itself was surging through me to parts of my body left for dead.  

It makes total sense. If your digestion is sluggish you may not absorb the nutrients your body needs properly from solid fruits and vegetables (which I eat in abundance). Liquifying your produce makes your food way easier to digest and makes the nutrients in your food amazingly easy to absorb in your body. I really should be doing this more often. The craziest part is that I couldn't sleep after this smoothie. I felt really happy and alert, high even. Despite the fact that I barely slept a wink last night, I woke up with more energy today than any day in the past month that I can recall. My eyes were brighter too. 

I have experienced fairly poor digestion for years from gluten intolerance and asthma medications that are notorious for disrupting your system. I have been concerned lately that I am not absorbing the much needed nutrients from my food properly. I obviously need to add a regular liquid nutrition boost to my diet and hope to incorporate more green smoothies into my nights from now on. 

This smoothie had a beautiful purple tone. It was full of fresh fruit and vegetables and had great flavor. 

I call it my Purple Elixir.  




  
Makes 1 very large smoothie or 2 small smoothies

• 2 small leaves organic purple kale, coarse stem removed
• 1 small leaf organic green kale, coarse stem removed
• 1/2 leaf of red swiss chard
• 2 very small orgranic seedless blood oranges, peeled (mine were the size of a lime, you could replace them with oranges, lemon or lime as well)
• 1 small and ripe Red Bartlett pear   
• 1/4 cup filtered water OR 1/4 cup fruit or vegetable juice OR 1/4 cup non-dairy milk OR 1/2 cup chopped ice
• 1/3 cup frozen wild blueberries or another frozen berry (to make your drink nice and cold)
• Tiny pinch of sea salt (optional)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional for a thicker smoothie full of good EFAs)
• 1 tsp organic ground cinnamon   

Blend all ingredients together in a high powered blender or food processor until very smooth. Taste. If you need it to be sweeter, add more frozen berries. Pour into a glass and enjoy.