Raw Green Smoothies

Peach Mango Melon Lettuce Smoothie

Peach and watermelon is a GREAT combination. These are two great summer fruits that always go over well on a warm sunny morning. Even if the peaches are not as ripe as you want, they will still work in this recipe. The trick is the mango. It provides the creaminess if the peaches can’t.

Now the lettuce, well, this smoothie would probably be ten times better if you didn’t add ¾ lb lettuce! The lettuce always brings in a bitterness that’s hard to mask. As much as I love lettuce, I’d probably mix spinach in with this fruit next time. It’s too bad I don’t have much spinach in the garden this year for I’d do just that. It just so happens that I’ve got tons of lettuce. So, lettuce it is…

Recipe:

2 peaches

  • 3 cups watermelon
  • 3 larger medjool dates
  • 1 large mango
  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 1 large bowl fresh garden lettuce

Place all the fruit in the blender and spin it for a few seconds to liquefy the fruit.

Now stop! Drink it like this – unless you’re really bold.  J 

If you know you want ¾ lb lettuce, stuff that into the blender and spin on high for about a minute. Don’t let the liquid heat up for you’re not making soup.

With this one, I got a ½ and ½ treat for the morning and a quart for brunch later. I love being able to get multiple flavors in the same glass. That’s king of fun.

Remember though that the idea is to get the greens. Smoothies are all about increasing your green intake. Your greens should taste good and be something you can eat in larger quantities.

It’s a great day for a smoothie – have you had yours?

Strawberry Pineapple Banana Lettuce Smoothie

Pineapple and lettuce is such a great combination. For some reason, they complement each other very well. Then, when you add some additional flavor – like fresh strawberries, you get a meal and a happy plate both at the same time.

I love it when I can find really good ways to eat lots of lettuce. Consuming it in a salad takes way too much time. There are so many things to do and so little time outside of work to get it done. Thus this smoothie!

Recipe:

  • 1 inch pineapple peeled and cored.
  • 3 medjool dates
  • 1 banana
  • 1 bowl strawberries (probably 3+ cups)
  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • ½ cup juice (orange pineapple mango is this one)
  • 1 large bowl lettuce

Start out by blending all the fruit to liquefy.

Then add the lettuce.

When you pack in all that lettuce, you’ll be amazed that it all fits. Even though it’s a huge bowl, it doesn’t really take up much space. It might have taken 1 cup (wet measure) when I added it. Once it’s in, blend for an additional 60+ seconds until everything it broken down well.

As you can see, it makes about 8 cups. You’ll want to find someone to share this one with or stretch it into a breakfast and lunch.

One of the nice things about using rejuvelac is that the living culture will come alive as it sits for a little while. If you want to grow some B vitamins, let the second half (lunch) rest a room temperature until it’s time to consume it. I haven’t let it sit any longer than that, but I would expect that it would get tangy if left much longer. Maybe one day I’ll try it and see! 

Life is an adventure, even if you do the same things every day, the subtleties of each moment can be enjoyed with new enthusiasm!

Spinach Strawberry Mango Smoothie

It’s the perfect time of year for this smoothie. Mangos are still available, the sun is helping the strawberries get sweet and the spinach is fresh and tender. The amount of strawberries really makes this smoothie shine. The pile might not look like a lot, but it’s probably more than four cups. Yet, because they tend towards the tart side, dates are pretty much in order here.

If you’ve got the strawberries, this one’s worth placing in the morning rotation.

Recipe:

  • 1 large mango
  • 4 large medjool dates
  • 4 cups (or so) fresh garden strawberries (or the next best thing)
  • ½ lb fresh young baby spinach
  • 1 ½ cup rejuvelac

There really isn’t anything special about this combination. Just place all the fruit in the blender and liquefy.

After a couple seconds, it won’t have any lumps to get in the way of adding the greens. Do so and blend until creamy (that should be about 60 seconds on high). Makes around 7 cups smoothie.

The baby spinach is so mild that it doesn’t stomp on the essence of strawberry like a lot of other greens do. The mango works like a ripe banana making it all come out creamy.

This one is easy, easy, easy! And, best of all, everyone will thoroughly enjoy it.

Strawberry Melon Spinach Smoothie

Today’s a good day to post another smoothie recipe. This one is mainly Strawberries, but it carries a hint of honeydew melon. The melon is subtle, but noticeable. The spinach, well, it just kind of blends in.

The thing that’s different about this smoothie than most others that I’ve posted is that this one is mainly one fruit – strawberries. I used a handful of fresh berries (what you see on the cutting board) and then finished it off with frozen berries.

Also, I’m using rejuvelac as one of the liquids. There is nothing like being able to create your own probiotic that actually has living yeast in it! If you haven’t made rejuvelac before, you’ll get an idea after viewing my previous post on it.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup homemade Honeydew melon juice
  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 16+ fresh strawberries (plus frozen ones to fill the blender)
  • Couple medjool dates to counter the tartness of the berries
  • ½ pound spinach

Place everything but the greens in the blender and get it spun up.

After just a few seconds, the mixture should be liquid enough to add the greens. When you and them, add a handful and press them in with the tapper. You’ll be surprised how the liquid fills in the space around the greens allowing you to shove in ½ pound without affecting the liquid level all that much.

When done, you’ll have a brown mess that looks somewhat like the following:

Notice that I’m using the larger craft for my Vita-mix and I’m using the whole thing. The result is two glasses to share and one quart for my breakfast. If I were to drink the full 64 oz’s, wow, that would be filling! Instead, I’ll drink just enough of the quart until I’m full (usually 2/3rds of it) and then I’ll have what’s left as the first course for lunch.

Smoothies are so easy, I can’t believe everyone doesn’t make them. It’s a great way to get more life-energy from greens into your diet.

If you haven’t made one, this is a great start!

Pineapple Orange Banana Lettuce Smoothie

There is something about this combination that I love. I’m not sure if it’s the simple fact that the lettuce is straight from the garden and harvested only minutes before hand, or if it’s something else. It could be the juices that I’ve added, of the fact that the banana is fully ripe and already partly creamy.

In any case, there is nothing bitter about this and you’ll find that it’s amazingly easy to drink!

I also find this combination a bit cooling, so if the day is warmer than normal, this combination might be what you’re looking for.

Recipe:

  • 1 inch ripe pineapple
  • 1 large orange (remove the seeds)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ¾ cup your favorite probiotic juice
  • ¾ cup Orange Peach Mango juice
  • 2 pitted dates
  • 1 large bowl fresh picked garden lettuce

Peal the orange, banana and pineapple before placing in high speed blender. Add the juice and dates. Blend to break everything down.

Next, cram in the lettuce. You’ll be surprised how much will actually fit! Blend until smooth. It might take a minute or so on high speed.

Breakfast and lunch! All at one time I’ve put together what should keep me going for the better part of the day.

I’m not sure how I could change this one to make it better, but who knows, tomorrow I will probably find myself combining similar ingredients but with slight variations. Hopefully, I’ll find the next one as enjoyable as this one!