7 Intoxicating Reasons
to Drink Green Smoothies

Photo Credit: Monika Grabkowska

The Best Way to Get Your Veggies

We all have to eat our vegetables, even the gross ones. You can eat them, juice them, or blend them.

In my opinion, blending is easiest way to consume vegetables that you refuse to eat any other way. That’s what makes green smoothies so special and these are a few phenomenal reasons to drink green smoothies.

Why a Green Smoothie?

A green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with some vegetables tossed in. It is a healthy, nutritious, and tasty way to consume the stuff you may not get enough of in your normal diet.

1. Deliciousness

Fruit is sweet and amazing. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love a smoothie full of fresh blueberries, pineapples, or bananas.

The best part is that you get to determine how delicious your smoothies are. Simply add more fruit and use fewer vegetables to improve the flavor.

2. Easier than Salads

Salads are great but many people never actual ever eat them. When they do, the salad is often smothered in fatty dressings.

Green smoothies are the equivalent of a liquid salad, without the unhealthy oils.

Take the same ingredients from your salad and blend it all together with some water or orange juice. You will end up with a healthier alternative that actually tastes great.

You can make the green smoothie a side item during a meal or a complete meal replacement depending on your caloric needs and the quantity you are consuming.

I make a smoothie every morning for breakfast, and sometimes another one for dinner.

3. Weight Loss

Fruits and veggies are full of fiber, which makes smoothies an easy way to improve your digestion and lose weight.

If you combine green smoothies with a low-fat diet and consistent exercise, it would be almost impossible for you not to shed extra pounds.

I will note that the weight loss process will involve many trips to the bathroom. When I first went vegan I lost 40 pounds, due mostly to green smoothies and massive amounts of pooping. That’s right – lots of #2.

4. Ridiculous Energy

Fruits provide natural sugars that boost your energy. Fast food, excess red meat, processed foods, and other traditionally unhealthy foods can make you feel sluggish and heavy and inhibit you from having excess energy.

By removing unhealthy choices and adding green smoothies you can significantly improve your energy all day long. Though I recommend starting off slowly, you can eventually work your way up to drinking a gallon a day or more.

Green smoothies can also increase mental clarity, remove toxins, and can be a great source of omega-3s, protein, minerals, and nutrients.

5. Replace Bad Addictions with Good Ones

Alcohol? Caffeine? Nicotine? Junk food? Drugs? Pills? Supplements? What is your latest addiction? Do you have a healthy alternative?

Green smoothies aren’t a wonder drug. However, they can act as a replacement for many foods and beverages you probably should minimize or eliminate completely.

Green smoothies provide you with the natural nutrients you need to get and stay healthy. You won’t have to worry about taste if you add in fruits you enjoy and you’ll cleanse your body of the toxins you have collected from the not-so-healthy habits.

If you’re going to be addicted to something, wouldn’t it be nice if it was actually good for you?

6. Real Healthy Food

If you decide to eat green smoothies often, you’ll end up consuming a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables you would normally never dream of putting on your plate.

Choose the highest quality, natural, organic, healthy produce you can find. The optimal freshness will come from living greens – foods that were recently picked off the farm when you blend and eat them.

For the freshest produce, visit a farmers market or join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program where farmers bring you a ration of fruits and vegetables. To learn more about CSAs, visit https://www.localharvest.org/csa.

7. Permanent Positive Lifestyle Change

Much like training for a marathon or joining Jenny Craig, eating green smoothies often can change your entire outlook on food and exercise.

If you find yourself slipping back to a fast food restaurant or a long night out at a bar, your body will remind you (sometimes violently) that you are a healthy person.

It’s amazing if you listen to your body what it will tell you. Learn to change your habits and respond to your body’s desire for natural healthy sources of energy and nutrients.

Green smoothies just might be the open door that leads to a permanent and extremely positive new life. Enjoy!

Stellar Green Smoothie Recipe

• Blender full of fresh fruits (pineapple, strawberries, bananas, etc.)
• Blender full of frozen fruits (blueberries, peaches, cherries, etc.)
• Blender full of fresh or frozen vegetables (kale, spinach, chard, etc.)
• Save a little space for liquid (orange juice, water, supplement, etc.)

The trick to any smoothie is experimentation. It’s also the most fun part. Mix and match as many different combinations as you like, but stick to the recommendations for quantity. The more dark green vegetables you add, the more bitter the flavor. Add more fruit to sweeten it up.

Resources

• GreenSmoothieGirl.com
• LocalHarvest.org