Your ultimate green smoothie guide.

By NATALIA HAWK

I am so late to the green smoothie bandwagon, which is embarrassing, considering I am the Fitness Blogger and therefore supposed to be really into trying these things. But I didn’t have a blender until a few weeks ago. And even then, I’ve seen so much information out there about green smoothies that I didn’t even really know where to begin. Was kale an essential or optional? One piece of celery or two? How much fruit? Is fruit allowed?

So I set off on a mission to help myself and all other confused people out there so that we too can walk around with our green smoothies in jars, looking like the very epitome of radiant health.

Essentially – a green smoothie is what happens when you throw a bunch of things (fruit/vegetables/superfoods/water/coconut water) in a blender and mix it all up. It is a seriously good way to get a whole lot of amazing nutrients in your body before the day has even really begun. If you go for a good recipe, or adapt a recipe to your tastes, it can be a really delicious breakfast option – especially on those days where you just need to grab something and run.

They’re called green smoothies because most contain so much leafy goodness that they end up green when all blended. But don’t stress if your green smoothie is a different colour. You can still be on the bandwagon. I will not kick you off.

“But isn’t it just like a juice?” you say. No. No it is not. You see, a green smoothie is blended and so everything in it retains all the valuable fibre of the whole plant food – meaning that it’s immediately available for body absorption.

Here are 6 recipes I’ve hunted down. Enjoy:

1. Bondi Harvest’s Kale and Avocado smoothie

I love how they use a plate instead of a blender lid. Winner.

This one is a great dose of vitamin C and fiber. You want:

– 2 cups kale

– 1 cup water

– 1 cup cranberries

– 2 oranges

– 2 bananas

Blend the kale and water first and then add everything else – if you’d like a cold smoothie, make sure one of the fruit is frozen. This recipe makes two serves.

3. Lorna Jane’s Super Green Smoothie recipe

This one keeps in the fridge for up to three days.

4. Mia’s recipe

MM founder Mia was one of the earliest adopters of green smoothies. Her go-to recipe is frozen bananas (peeled before frozen), coconut water, chia seeds, berries, kale, nuts and whatever else healthy she can find (flaxseed oil, chia seeds).

5. Kimberley Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie

Kimberley has a huge following amongst celebs and she explains a lot about green smoothie benefits below.

6. My recipe!

I stole my recipe from Mana Blend (a brand which makes a powder that contains about ten thousand superfoods in one container – maca, goji, camu cmau, chlorella etc etc) and adapted slightly:

– A handful of berries, fresh or frozen

– An orange (skin removed) and another fruit of your choice (banana is good although I hate them so I use an apple or kiwi)

– A few handfuls of spinach/other leafy green of your choice

– A big splash of coconut water if I have it – otherwise water is fine

– Some almonds

– 2 doses of Mana Blend (means I don’t have to mess about grabbing a bunch of different superfoods).

** Bonus tips **

– Louise Bell from Table Tonic (such a good blog! and store!) suggests adding lots of ice to smoothies if you’re new to them – “the cold will neutralize the flavours to a degree, making it less taste full on”. This post of hers is great and contains lots of tips and her recipe.

– If you make a batch of smoothie, it’ll keep for a couple of days in the fridge – just make sure you cover it. This’ll save you time on mornings where you were supposed to be at work when you were just crawling out of bed.

– Many many many people use Vitamixes for their smoothies. If you are going to be making a lot of smoothies, consider investing the big bucks in one.

– Make sure you carry your green smoothie in a jar – it’s the *done* thing. I love Rainy Sunday drinking jars. If you’re stuck, just transport them in anything you can find – Mia’s partial to her children’s sippy cups.

– Of course, if you’re not into green smoothies, you could always use that blender to combine Milo with milk and ice cream.

Are you a green smoothie maker? What are your tips and recipes?