Hi!

Do any of you have any green smoothie recipes? I'm confused about making them because I'm not sure of mixing fruits with the dark green leafy veggies like kale. Which fruits can you mix with the kale or collard greens that is easy on your stomach and taste buds? Thanks!

my recipe:

1 cup fresh squeezed OJ*
1 one-inch ring of fresh pineapple (peeled, but use the center of the pineapple too)
1 orange (peeled and seeded)
2 large or three medium leaves of Kale (or more--to your tolerance)
Agave to taste (good for countering sourness)
Between 2/3 to 1 cup cold water or ice

(*or use Just Pik'd brand. It's in the freezer in health food stores, in 1 liter containers. It is UN-pasteurized and not the same as those frozen cans of concentrate.)

I like this recipe because the pineapple and orange are in the same food combining category and greens combine with anything. Ice makes a better smoothie, but isn't so good for digestion.

I make one of these for my husband every morning for work

Thank you, Musicbebe! This looks really good! We tried pineapple, apple, collard greens and water last night. The collard greens were too much in comparison to the fruit, and it was a bit sour. Are apples and pineapple good combinations? Could you use two oranges instead of one orange and fresh squeezed juice? Also, is it any greens, like spinach, collard greens, kale, etc? that can be used with fruit, or is it only kale? Which greens are best to use in green smoothies?

Thanks so much for responding!

Pineapple and apple combine "okay" together as far as food combining goes. Pineapple and citrus fruits are in the "Acid Fruits" Category, Sub-Acid Fruits include apples, apricots, pears, and mangoes, and Sweet Fruits include Bananas, papayas, dates, figs. It's best to eat fruit from one category alone, but Acid and Sub-Acid fruits are okay (not great, but okay) and Sub Acid and Sweet are okay. Acid and Sweet digest poorly together. That said, when you're first starting out, do whatever feels good for you. I had no problem mixing fruits in the beginning, but after eating raw for awhile, I find that I feel better when I pay attention to proper food combining principles.

I've used apple and pineapple in that smoothie when I ran out of oranges, but my husband did not like the taste. You can use any green leafy vegetables with fruit. Green leafy vegetables combine well with any and every food. Green leafy vegetables would include kale, collard greens, swiss chard, beet tops, etc... you'll have to experiment to discover which ones actually taste good to you with certain fruits. We find that kale tastes the best with the above recipe. Lambsquarters (an edible weed) tastes really good too with that recipe. I haven't tried two oranges, but give it a try! Blend it all together, then taste test and add a little Raw Agave Nectar if it seems too sour. Also, taste a small piece of pineapple before you use it--if it's under-ripe that could be causing excess sourness too.

Feel free to ask any more questions and I'll help if I can.

I use dates instead of agave. Some people say raw agave is not really raw. It is expensive so I use dates instead.

I use frozen bananas as a base, then 4-6 mandarin oranges, some water and a big handful of greens. I'm partial to organic spinach, but other greens will do. Then I add a few dates. Make sure you remove the pits first.

The agave nectar I use specifically says that it is processed in temps under 118 degrees F on the back. I have also heard people says raw agave isn't really raw, but I thought they were talking about the other brands that don't specify the processing temps. Most dried fruit is also dried closer to 200 degrees F ...I wonder if dried dates are too?

Good point. I guess if we can't know for sure about agave, we can't know for sure about dates either. I use dates because they are relatively inexpensive.

These are all very good thoughts and helpful to me. I am grateful to both of you for your insight and willingness to share.

I'd like to soon start keeping a diary on here of my journey and share my story in the hopes of finding encouragement from others when the going gets tough. However, the going is already getting tough because school has begun for me already, and I'm a principal/teacher, so the show is all in my hands. I guess the hardest part is dealing with the hunger, but worse than that is dealing with kind-hearted parents who don't understand what I'm doing, I haven't told anyone about eating raw yet, who don't understand about being a vegetarian, let alone vegan. And it's really difficult when you little ones have a b-day and get hurt feelings if you don't want to eat their cupcake. I just don't know how to deal with that. I'm in a new school, a new state this year, so I'm hoping to start over again and not get caught in the downward spiral of wrong eating habits. I'm not completely raw yet, about 80 percent. I don't want to push myself to go too far and too fast until my body, mind, and spirit adjust to this. Plus, I have much to learn.

As to the green smoothie this morning; while my body is really telling me it loves the collard greens, my taste buds are not liking the apple in it. Payday is Friday, so it is my hope I can gather up some oranges and try some other greens as well. I live in Eastern Montana. If you don't know much about it, let me tell you that the towns are tiny and very far apart with no health food stores, and fresh produce is difficult to find, to say the least. Sounds silly to be raw here, but I feel this is where I'm being led in my life right now.

What other things can I eat besides fresh salads, and this green smoothie? I haven't had the time to research this as much as I'd like, so I'm very much a neophyte here. Any help in ideas in making raw, tasty, healthy things is very much appreciated.

Oh, what can you tell me about growing microgreens and your own lettuce indoors? I'm hoping to try something like that so we can have our own organic greens. Do any of you have any experience with this?

Thank you so very much!

There are some other types of smoothies you can add to your repertoire, that are nut milk based. I don't know if you know how to make nut milk, but here's one I do.

1 1/2 cup walnuts (soak them overnight first, then rinse well after)
4 cups water
Agave to taste

Blend and then strain through a nutmilk bag. You can get those from www.naturalzing.com. Store the milk in a mason jar in the fridge for up to around a week. The milk will separate in the jar, and not look so pretty, but just shake it before each use. If you are using it for smoothies, or other recipes, there is no need to sweeten it, but if you want it to drink plain, then add 2-3 TBS of agave nectar, or other sweetener. You can try this with other nuts, but I like walnuts because they are cheaper and not pasteurized like almonds are.

Strawberry Milk Shake

1 cup walnut milk
2 frozen bananas (before you freeze them, break them up into smaller pieces)
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
Agave Nectar to taste

pulse to blend. This is really thick. What kind of blender do you have? If you don't have a vitamix, I recommend the Oster Beehive Blender (39.99 at Target). It's a 600 watt blender, and the same one that I use. There is no comparison with this blenders and others in the price range. You may have to stop as you are blending this shake, remove the blender and shake it down to settle the smoothie back down over the blades, because sometimes an air pocket will build up.

We visited Montana last year and so I know what you mean about the little towns!

Have you tried indoor seed sprouting? That's a very cheap way to get greens. Sprout wheat berries and you can have wheatgrass in seven days. You can use it in green smoothies. Try an above ground square foot garden in the summer. Buy "All New Square Foot Gardening" at Lowes or online. Visit their website online--they give a lot of free information away (www.squarefootgardening.com)

Having worked as a teacher I know it's hard to stay away from all those goodies that kids and parents bring in! Check out the thread on raw cupcakes in this forum--they are fabulous! You can use the leftover pulp from making walnut milk as your base for those cupcakes (instead of nut flour). Maybe you can consider introducing lessons on making healthier cooked cupcakes. Show the kids how to make baked goods using whole grain flour and more natural ingredients. Start a square foot garden at your school and get your kids really excited about fresh produce. I just read about this organization in Reader's Digest: [sylviacenter.org] She works with inner city New York kids and bring them to her farm to know what real fruits and vegetables and other foods are like. Maybe you can get some information there. There's also info on the square foot gardening site about introducing a square foot garden in your school.

Try to avoid talking about your diet with parents and students. Wait until you are stronger, and maybe showing signs of physical improvement. If you are overweight, wait till you lose some weight. Then people will be asking what you are doing. They are less likely to criticize you if they see it is working. Learn some "talking points" about the raw food diet. When you do talk, just say "I am really working to incorporate as much fresh produce as possible into my diet, and eliminate processed foods and animal products" You could say "vegetarian diets are accepted by the medical community as being nutritionally sound." Just say vegetarian instead of vegan--more people know what it means, and vegan is a type of vegetarian anyway. Don't go into raw foodism right away. If they ask about protein, say, "Green leafy vegetables contain all the essential amino acids that your body needs to make protein--I eat a lot of greens, and also get my protein from nuts." I've heard it said that if you are getting enough calories each day, it is impossible to be protein deficient.

I lost 30 lbs on this diet, and that was eating about 80 percent raw. Some weeks I ate 100 percent raw, and others more like 60 percent, but over the last eight months, 80 percent has been my average. Just going vegan will really help you with losing weight (I am assuming you might have that issue? A lot of people do when going raw). Eat as much raw as you can, and focus on reducing junk and animal products. Just doing that will significantly improve your health.

Your local store probably has bananas--they are great for snacks (or meals!). Be sure to get enough green leafy vegetables. Do you have a juicer? Do you have any special raw food kitchen appliances? Just curious, so I know what recipes to recommend.

If I can help you with anything else, let me know.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2009 11:30AM by musicbebe.

Wow! So many helpful things!

I saw you had sent me an e-mail before I read anything you posted here. In the e-mail you will find answers to some of your questions from above.

To answer those not spoken about in the e-mail:
1. Yes, I have a Champion juicer (two actually!), as well as a Vita Mix blender.
2. I am about 99.9% vegan. It is when I'm with others in a social situation that I'll eat dairy because of not wanting them to feel uncomfortable, or because I just cave in.
3. I've only sprouted alfalfa and other such seeds in jars. I love sprouts, but I don't like them in the jars. They get all tangled up, are hard to clean, and is not convenient for me. We're looking at getting a three tiered sprouter next week. I want to start sprouting grains and nuts, too. That will be a first for me. Can you sprout almonds? I heard they have been blanched and dont' know if they will grow after that.
4. I would like to loose about 35 pounds. That will put me at a healthy weight. I have a very slow metabolism. I'm already mostly vegan, so the weight will have to come off with the raw diet and consistent exercise. I'm not doing this for the weight loss, but I am wanting that to happen.

After I get some things done today, I'll check out the websites you mentioned. They look really good. Actually my husband and I are thinking of starting to grow lettuce and microgreens at home and the school. My school is rather large with lots of great windows. It will be good for the kids, too. So I'm excited about looking up those sites for more info.

My school is actually a church school for my denomination. Many parents already understand about health, but many don't. I find at this school more don't understand it than others. Yes, health is a touchy thing for people, and I try to be ultra sensitive in what I do. Especially since I am an example to not only the parents, but to the students most of all. I don't want to say one thing, then turn around and do the opposite. That is just awful!

Again, your help has been just so valuable! And I appreciate you taking the time and energy to help me out. May you be richly blessed!

many recipies here:
[www.rawfamily.com]

Thank you, Eecho! I won't get the chance tonight to check it out, but as soon as I can, I will. Thanks for sharing!

I just discovered making whole juice (in blendtec) with spinach and "green" grapes, a little water and ice. Go light on grapes and then start adding more until you get it right. Really good.

My six month old RawBaby loves this one:

one ripe peach
8 luscious red strawberries
2 handfuls grapes
8 leaves black kale
Water to blend 1-2 cups

Rose_or_Sharon wrote:
"What other things can I eat besides fresh salads, and this green smoothie? I haven't had the time to research this as much as I'd like, so I'm very much a neophyte here. Any help in ideas in making raw, tasty, healthy things is very much appreciated."

Hi,
I made a raw applesauce that is truly loved by my family.
3 McIntosh apples
10-12 whole strawberries (leave tops on)
1/2 cup blueberries

blend in the Vitamix, serve chilled.

Then I used leftovers spread out on dehydrator teflex sheets and dehydrated for about 8 hours and made home made fruit roll-ups. My daughter loved them and no processed white sugar or preservatives!

I am about 80% raw, It is tough, I am an unemployed preschool teacher and I think that it would be more difficult to try to commit to this lifestyle change if I were in the classroom right now. Hope you can use the recipe and good luck,

Deb

I need to adjust my recipe. My husband was wondering why my green smoothies weren't as tasty as they used to be and I think I forgot it used to be TWO one-inch slices of pineapple, not just one. Tastes much better that way.