As children, we were told to eat our greens because they were good for us. In my home at least, my brother and I did not find them any more palatable for knowing this. Nowadays though, we can thank green smoothies for introducing children and adults alike to the health benefits and delicious taste of eating healthy greens!
Green smoothies made in a home smoothie maker are packed with vitamins. The important B group vitamins B1, B2, B3 B5 and B6 as well as the ACE combination of vitamin A, C and E. They are so full of goodness, it probably would be easier to tell you what they do not contain! No refined sugars, almost no fat or cholesterol and none of the things often added to store bought smoothies to make them more attractive and palatable – for example artificial flavors and corn syrup.
The positive health benefits include improvement in many chronic conditions and illnesses, increased energy and faster healing time after injury. The benefits of all the vitamins and antioxidants in green smoothies have a powerful positive effect on our immune systems, digestive system and can help to detox our whole system, promoting clear skin, bright eyes and shiny hair.
All these positive benefits though, would be for nothing if no one wanted to drink a green smoothie because they didn’t taste good. Thankfully, that is not the case. Green smoothies are delicious! Here are my two favorite Spinach Smoothie Recipes to get you started.
Spinach Smoothie with a ‘kick’
Blend together the following ingredients
1 good handful of young spinach leaves, washed and drained.
1 banana (chopped)
1 mango (chopped)
1 good pinch of cayenne pepper (add more to taste, as required)
Blend until smooth and add cooled green tea until the desired consistency is achieved.
Basic Spinach and Fruit Smoothie
8 oz of frozen berries – either single variety or mixed.
4 oz baby spinach
¾ cup of fruit juice (grape juice is nice in this recipe)
¼ cup of cooled green tea or use all green tea and leave out the fruit juice
1 tablespoon freshly ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon chopped nuts, either walnuts or cashew nuts
Add all ingredients to the blender, the frozen fruits give a super, creamy consistency to the smoothie.
I hope that you will enjoy these recipes and discover for yourself the positive health benefits of green smoothies.