Pineapple Express

The pineapples are prime and cheaper right now. They add wonderful tropical flavor and sweetness to green smoothies, mixing well with the other fruits in residence in my fridge and on the counter.


This probably isn't an AHA! tip for you, you may have been doing this all along. But I was so proud of coming up with it for my own kitchen I have to share. Usually I cut up a pineapple and keep the chunks in a container in the fridge. At times some of the fruit hasn't been used as quickly as it should and I've lost a portion. That's aggravating, given the prices we have to pay for good produce.


So last week, while in a hurry to get things cleaned up around the sink, I simply sliced off the top and bottom of the current pineapple, cut off a 1"-thick slice for my smoothie, then put the remaining chunk, unpeeled, on a saucer and covered it with a plastic veg bag and popped into the fridge. As the week progressed, I noticed the pineapple was staying fresher, no discoloration. Each time I whacked off a slice, it appeared as nice and tasted as nice as that first slice!

My tip of the day: don't peel that pineapple!

Until you are ready to use a slice; then the peel cuts off the slice easily and quickly. Wah-lah! No more pineapple wrestling!

Here's a YouTube clip to enjoy, of Anand Wells making a green smoothie using dragon fruit - which I'm going to have to look for now. Anand is an Aussie, and this was an Australian show, so have fun with the accent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vg6Nt1UXIc

FYI, Anand started the Green Smoothie challenge, which is really a fun way to start your adventure with GS. Check it out:

http://greensmoothiechallenge.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=10

Raw punks

Getting a kid to eat raw isn't difficult. All you have to do is invite a crowd of punks, give them an apple-peeler-corer-slicer gadget and a sack of apple. Then step back. They'll figure it out.

This group of 10 homeschoolers from three families prove the point. 15 pounds of apples later, they were gleefully making alphabets with the peels (any that weren't being eaten like worms, that is), taking turns with the peeler, and teaching each other the nuts-and-bolts of just how that gizmo worked.

They also shared a blender full of Green Smoothie - mango, pineapple, ginger, chard - several came back for seconds. They're on their way to being raw foodies!

What a hoot to listen and watch from behind the camera. There's nothing like a gathering of homeschooled punks on a sunny day for seeing just how real learning happens.

And when I can help feed those active brains real food at the same time, that's a bit of heaven!

Green Smoothie Challenge...and more

I'm participating in a 2-week Green Smoothie Challenge. When I get interested in something, I have a compulsion to learn all I can (within reason) about the subject - and green smoothies are my current passion!

Rather than re-create the wheel, here are some posts from other greenies, with info and encouragement. I find myself nodding in agreement as I read through...

"This last year I discovered the green drink, and now my day just isn't the same when I don't start it out with my GREEN DRINK. It all started when I read the book GREEN FOR LIFE (Victoria Boutenko).

My favorite recipe is 2-3 ripe bananas, 1 apple, 1 cup of juice; 2 cups of ice, and about 1 lb of spinach. Yes, I said ONE POUND of spinach. I mix this in a Vita Mix, and it is heavenly! It might look green, but it tastes like a fruit smoothie. °Ü°

1. Green drinks are very healthy. The best tasting ratio is about 60% - ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% - organic green vegetables.

2. Green drinks are easy to digest. When blended well, all the valuable nutrients in these fruits and veggies become homogenized, or divided into such small particles that it becomes easy for the body to assimilate these nutrients; the green drink literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

3. Green drink, as opposed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber.

4. Green drinks taste so yummy! With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60/40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the green vegetables balance out the sweetness of the fruit.

5. By consuming two or three cups of green drink daily (I usually drink the whole 2 quarts in one day), you will consume enough of greens for the day to nourish your body, and they will be well assimilated. Many people do not consume enough of greens, even those on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, to consume chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.

6. Green smoothies are perfect food for children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old when introducing new food to them after mother’s milk. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of green drink to avoid food allergies.

7. Regular consumption of Green drinks forms a good habit of eating greens. Many people say that after a couple of weeks of drinking green drink, they started to crave and enjoy eating more greens.

8. There are many ideas for your green creations. Some of my favorite greens to add to green drink: parsley, spinach, celery, kale and romaine. My favorite fruits for green drink are: pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, mangoes and apples. Strawberries and raspberries taste superb in green smoothies, when combined with ripe bananas.

So go ahead now, give it a try! " °Ü° (The Baby Catcher - blog)

"Did you know that through one green smoothie you can consume 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables? Did you also know that eating green smoothies is one of the easiest way to digest the full nutrients of fruits and vegetables?

Green smoothies are a wonderful alternative, as opposed to juices, of absorbing the full potential by retaining the entire whole form of the fruit/vegetable, thus receiving all the fiber. They can assist in boosting energy, building your immune system, detoxing impurities, and loosing weight. Greens are rich in magnesium and alkaline minerals like calcium and are superb in their Omega-3 unsaturated fat content. Believe it or not, greens are one of the richest sources of protein.

Another one of my new year goals was to begin eating more greens in our diet. What better way than to include these in our morning smoothies? We serve kefir smoothies three times a week for breakfast, so my desire was to discreetly begin adding some nutritious greens to the mix. I have found it to be incredibly simple, delicious, and so much easier to eat than a large salad (especially for the kids). Not only can you really not taste the greens at all, but you are getting a huge boost in nutrition.

Greens are especially frugal and thus another good encouragement to begin consuming them.

We have stayed amazingly healthy over this past month since beginning the green smoothie pursuit, even when we have been exposed to some nasty illnesses around us. Could it be?" ( Passionate Homemaking -website)

"Dr. Wilstatter of the University of Pennsylvania, found that the elements making up the chlorophyll in plants are approximately the same elements from which red blood cells are constructed. There, he pronounced chlorophyll the ideal food medicine.

Chlorophyll cleanses, heals and builds the body cell. It banishes anemic conditions quickly, reduces blood pressure, and aids the heart action. It frees clogged arteries, smoothes out arthritic conditions, and improves peristalsis (the contractions that occur along the digestive track, moving the food along in the digestive process).
As a result of a diet rich in chlorophyll, health is improved and a happier mental outlook is experienced." Dr. Ann Wigmore, Recipes for Life

This site (http://greensmoothierevolution.com/blog/?cat=3 ) is wonderful to explore, with info, recipes, etc. It will keep you reading, and maybe even dusting off that blender!

Brunch smoothie

A green smoothie is recommended as the “ blast of nutrition and energy that helps power you through the day.” I can attest to that - I'm loving my morning greenies, and often have enough to put in a second glass to save for an afternoon pick-me-up.

This delicious smoothie is low fat, low sodium, low cholesterol, heart healthy, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and raw! What more could you want...

It also makes enough to serve your brunch buddies.

The Brunch Smoothie Yield: 4 servings

In blender:
2 bananas
3 oranges, peeled, quartered
4 cups cold water

Blend smooth.

Add: 1 bunch romaine

Blend again, until smoothly green.

Serve immediately, in your fancy glasses. Garnish with an orange slice on the rim of each glass. Presentation is everything, you know...

Green Creme'

An avocado made it's way into the green smoothie this morning...it was lonesome, sitting way over there in it's basket, getting overly ripe. I took pity on it, and impulsively chucked it into the whirling Vita-Mix that had already turned a frozen banana and a nicely ripe mango into a lusciously smooth base for this morning's kale smoothie.


Wow! That mixture went from smooth to decadently creamy in a heartbeat! It also thickened, so in went a little more water along with the kale, then a couple leaves of red lettuce just for fun.


What a filling, yummy breakfast treat! I may be buying those really soft avos now, just for a Green Creme' now and then!

The other end....

When I had a working juicer, I put my share of carrots into a glass. I don't recall using the green end, though. Probably because that particular juicer didn't do greens well.

Now I can use the other end of those carrots! There is a yummy salad sorta dish that I make with grated carrots and grated fresh beets - the green end usually made it out to the horses, or goats. Now, the greenies go into the VitaMix!

This morning's green smoothie: fresh pineapple, half an orange juiced, and a good handful of carrots tops. I was a little tenative with the first sip - afterall, there was no banana for sweet creaminess. But the pineapple carried the job - what a surprise, a fresh greeny sweetly pinappley flavor!

Smooth moves...

I'm enjoying the green smoothies soooo much! Fresh, fresh, fresh! So full of nutrients, they almost jump out of the glass! Energy, energy, energy!

AND SIMPLE - my first rule!

One of the tenets of green smoothies is to vary your ingredients, especially the greens, so that you don't have the same smoothie twice in a row. That is definately not hard to do - the combination prospects are literally endless. Use your favorite fruits, add some greens. Presto!

So to help me keep track, I'm adding a sidebar on what my smoothie of the day is, a week at a time. Some days there may even be two. There will be repeats of favorites, of course - right now they ALL are - but with a list in front of me (posted on the fridge), I will keep the juggling going.

Some TIPS: blend fruits and any liquids used first; then add greens. Keep some bananas frozen at all times, and other fruits as you can.

You don't need fancy equipment - a knife, cutting board, and basic blender will work just fine. I juice the old-fashioned way - by hand. Squeeze the stuffings out of those lemons and oranges :)

One more note: smoothies are FOOD, not beverages to be slugged down. You risk experiencing the 'green-apple quick-step' if you drink too much too fast. Give your system time to work with the smoothie - "CHEW" each mouthful a few times, to mix in saliva and begin digestion of this easy-to-assimulate super nutritious food.

So give a green smoothie a try - you'll be surprised how tasty, refreshing and filling they are.

And your body will rejoice!

Peachy Green Smoothie!

Unless you are in with the "green groupies", you probably didn't know that TODAY is International Green Smoothie Day. Who knew?
Not only a "green smoothie", but international, no less!

As part of my raw adventure, I've been playing with green smoothies all week, even before I knew about this momentous occasion. In case you are wondering, a green smoothie is basically a fruit smoothie sans milk products, with a good helping of greens blended in. The basic ratio starts at about 60% fruit, 40% greens, until you get the hang of them, then you can go for the green.

The fruit masks the greeny taste quite well, making a luscious smoothie with a soothing green color. You may find yourself scouring the markets for overripe bananas, just to freeze for these amazing "meal in a glass" creations . Frozen fruit makes the smoothies thick, cold and creamy, without any clogging-your-system milk or yogurt.



I went to the Green Bay Farmer's Market early this morning, and scored a lot of fresh local fruit, and some gorgeous Michigan peaches. So my recipe of the day is: "Peachy Green Smoothie":

In your blender (love my VITAMIX!!), plop a cut up ripe peach (no need to peel if you are comfortable that it hasn't been sprayed - just give it a good wash), a frozen banana (chunked), and about 1/4 cup water. Blend well, then throw in a handful of baby spinach. Blend smooth. Pour into your favorite clear glass, garnish with a peach slice, put your feet up and ENJOY! Savor the icey smoothness, the sparkle of peach and creaminess of banana. You won't even notice the spinach, promise.

Other than the green hue...

Viva International Green Smoothie Day!