I'm just curious as to the consistency of the smoothies that long-term smoothie drinkers make??..

How runny or thick do you prefer your smoothies to be??..Do you find it easier or more difficult to consume a particular amount of smoothie depending on it's thickness??..How much smoothie by volume do you usually consume at a meal??..Do you follow smoothie drinking with any water??..

Any suggested combinations of fruits & or veggies for someone finding it difficult to smell & swallow the typical green smoothie??..Smelling kale, collards, broccoli, romaine, & spinach in a green smoothie starts to trigger my gag reflex..I have not actually vomited, but several times my gorge has risen from trying to force myself to drink green smoothies..

The conundrum is that none of the green vegetables in question are in any way repugnant to me when eaten raw in whole form..I can eat most (99%) veggies raw with nothing more than the normal gastric distress, read gas, from the members of the onion & brassica families..

Any suggestions & advice would be appreciated..

Bruce

Mine are pretty darn smooth. I prefer my smoothies to be on the thicker side. They are usually 1 litre or more. I have a couple glasses of water throughout my day usually... when I feel I need to.

I'm not sure what to suggest because I have never had a gagging problem with them. I love all the greens you listed as triggers. You could just try using less of them? How much are you putting in now?



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

I usually only make two types of smoothies because I prefer to eat whole raw food as is. The first one is fresh young coconut juice and pulp blended very smooth with a few ice cubes. The second type I make is a green smoothie. I put just enough water to cover the blades. I start the vitamix and through the top add some ice cubes. Then I put spinach or romaine in until it is fairly thick like a soup and blend very smooth. I eat almost all of my meals as mono meals and the blended meals are no exception.

I like my Green Smoothies on the Liquid side, with lots of
ingredients. I've just about given up on Solids, preferring
to Juice and Blend. Also, I do best without any Fat. I know
one person who can eat 1/4 of an Avocado per day, and stop
there....I can't.....WY

Lisa
Even 1-2 leaves of romaine lettuce in a 48 plus ounce smoothie consisting mostly of fruit smells "BAD" to me..

EZ rider
The one thing that I've not yet tried is a smoothie that consists completely of greens..It feels counter-intuitive to me, when even the smallest amounts of greens in a primarily fruit smoothie are triggering my gag reflex..The next time I shop I'll be purchasing differing greens & experimenting with different combinations to see if I'll tolerate an all green smoothie..I'll start small with 16 ounce smoothies..

Bruce

Bruce... what about arugula, dandelion greens, beet greens, escarole, endive or mizuna? Or is it basically greens in general?

When I add a chopped up nectarine to my green smoothies, I can't taste any green at all. The tart sweetness of the nectarine seems to cancel out the smell and flavor of any greens (even kale). What fruit are you generally putting in them?



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

The running raw guy, in one of his videos, here: [www.youtube.com]

Says that you should always chew your smoothies, for a long time.

It seems counter intuitive "But I thought I was blending my smoothie so I didn't have to chew it!." But he points out that basically you blend it so it's easier to digest, but you should chew also to mix it with saliva. This also helps deal with any food combining issues.

I don't know if I myself have the patience for it, but it's something to think about.

-DaveK

Very smooth, but I "chew" every mouthful.

Lisa

I generally use some combination of at least 3-5 choices of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, pineapple, plums, peaches, nectarines, papaya, & mango in my smoothies..With 16-24 ozs. of filtered water..Usually makes about 48-50 ozs. of smoothie..

Bruce

Bruce,

I am assuming that you are blending fruits, greens, and water together to make your smoothie. Based on Victoria Boutenko's work in "Green for Life" you want the smoothie to be about 40% greens and 60% fruit by weight. Maybe you are using too much green thus causing the bad smell and gagging. I only smell bananas or strawberry or orange, etc when I make mine.

Rather than fight it, try decreasing your amount of greens to a level you can comfortably handle and slowly increase from there. Very ripe pears add an especially sweet taste.

I usually make about 20-22 ounces at a time and drink it then. Usually it is think enough to easily pour out of my blender. If it is thicker - more like a pudding - I spoon it. A typical recipe for me to get that would be 1-1.5 bananas, 1 orange, 2-3 cups spinach, and 8 ounces water.

Good luck.

Patty

sewraw

Like I mentioned in my above post, I have put as little as 2 medium romaine leaves into a very large smoothie with the first taste resulting in a negative reaction from my brain as the smell registered..

Perhaps I have a more acute sense of smell than I thought I possessed, but I can definitely smell the chlorophyll in the drink from the blending process..And at least to my brain, this smell is repulsive..Again, I will gladly eat the same veggies raw in quite large quantities with no ill results..In their raw form these same foods smell & taste great..

Bruce

Hmmmm... very strange indeed. I just don't smell any greens when I make my smoothies. Its rare that I taste them either. I just went to my fridge pulled out kale and I had to basically be an inch from it before I could even begin to smell it. Bruce... you may be stuck eating greens separate and in whole form my friend. *hugs*



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

Coconut, I am the same way. I don't smell or taste greens much it all if I do.

Bruce, I agree with Coconut, you just might have to eat your greens separate in large salads or something. However, you already identified the issue - that your brain responds negatively once you register 'green' smell. So at least you know it is what you are allowing your brain to believe. I honestly don't know how to work on that as I have my own brain blocks like that with things and can't get past them either.

Salads! Big salads!!! :-)

Patty

Lisa & Patty

Thanks for the input..

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that at least for the present I'm going to have to eat my greens in whole form as opposed to blending them..

Bruce

you could go the other way--instead of sweet fruit

try a blended salad, say with tomatoes as the base, celery for salty taste, peppers for a just a little sweetness...etc.

but if you enjoy greens whole I guess there's no real problem anyway ?

I put half a lemon and a chunk of fresh ginger in my green smoothies sometimes and its delicious, maybe this could help mask the smell for you and ginger is very good for nausua, so it might be worth a try!

There's a fine line between 'just right' and 'ruined'.
I like mine where there's nothing to chew without being
overworked.
It's like an Artist painting a picture. The most difficult
thing is knowing when to Stop......WY

Vegetable smoothies can be quite bland on their own. To add a bit of kick
to the taste try adding some of your favourite fruits to the blend.

My favourite though is the juice and flesh of young green coconuts to your greens. Add an avocado and it's really delicious and filling. Try this:

1 green coconut
1 handful spinach
1 handful watercress
1leaf of kale
1 avocado

Add a bit of water if too thick, also throw in your own favourite veggies.
Tell me what you think of this recipe.