Orange Mango Strawberry Parsley Smoothie

Add another worthwhile smoothie to the collection. This one gets its flavor from the strawberries, sweetness from the dates and creaminess from the mango. Parsley comes along to sweeten the breath and sharpen the eye-sight!

It’s the middle of November and I’m now getting down to the last of the greens from the garden. Event thought we’ve had a frost and more than half the leaves have fallen off the trees, the parsley’s strong enough to endure. What a great plant. Even though I’ve still got Collard Greens and kale, the parsley still tastes fresh and healthy! The Collard Greens turned peppery and that it’s too really not something I can stomach. The kale, well, no longer tastes all that flavorful, it’s kind of old.

So, using what’s offered, parsley’s on the menu!

Recipe:

  • 2 oranges
  • 1 ripe mango
  • 10 frozen strawberries
  • 3 medjool dates
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 fresh bunch parsley

The work comes pealing and removing the seeds. I like to buy oranges that have seeds for the fruit tastes better. Add the fruit to the blender and liquefy.

Once it’s liquid, press in the parsley.

Plan on having enough for breakfast and half a lunch! This combination yields about 6 cups.

I love these small mouth quart jars! This one is an old honey jar that I’ve been recycling for months now. As long as you promptly wash it out before the residue dries, the lid will not corrode very fast. When the lids ware out, it turns out that the jar doesn’t hold my interest much longer. Fortunately, I can still find great raw honey in quart jars so my source doesn’t run dry.

Have a great day!

Collard Smoothie with Blueberries & Mango

This, I believe, is the best collard greens smoothie I’ve ever had. Every once in a while you come across a combination that simply stands apart from the rest. This smoothie is it. I wish I knew the reason why this one came together so well and I may someday, but it is what it is. And this one is a keeper!

Recipe:

  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
  • 1 mango
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 3 larger medjool dates
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 1 large bowl collard greens

I added the blueberries to the rejuvelac so as to get a wet measure on the berries. As you can see in the above picture, the liquid line is at about 2 ½ cups. Once you’ve pitted the dates and mango and thrown it all in the blender, you’ll get something that looks like this:

The center of the collard green leave isn’t the most tender steam. Thus, I like to slice them out. I run a paring knife along the rib to shave off each side of the leaf. You’ll end up with a pile that looks like this.

Notice that I’ve spun the fruit just to the liquid stage. It makes it easier to add the greens.

After blending for 60 seconds, you get this wonderful green colored mostly fruit smoothie that’s just loaded with good things for your mind and spirit (body too).

I’ll be making this one multiple times. This was the second real picking of collard greens from the garden and I’m totally looking forward to getting more. I’m going to have to plan the harvest around having a fresh mango on hand. A frozen banana, blueberries and dates can come around just about any time.

Think green – act green everyday!

Kale Blueberry Mango Watermelon Smoothie

There are two ways that I most enjoy eating kale 1) with blueberries and 2) with even MORE blueberries mixed with watermelon! Watermelon, all around, makes for a great addition to smoothies, but in this case it thins out (and cools) what is normally thick (and warmer). If you love the Kale Blueberry smoothie post I’ve made before, you’ll really love this one!

Oh, and I have to say that I’m totally excited to see the kale coming on in the garden. It’s still a bit cold for it, but I’m able to get the first smaller leaves. I can’t tell any taste difference between the larger leaves and these smaller ones, but it just takes more. After a harvest, I feel that I’ve left the plants naked and exposed! Yet, when I revisit in a few days they look back to normal.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 1 cup blueberries (wet measure as you poor them into the blender
  • 1 ripe mango
  • Couple medjool dates
  • 2-4 cups watermelon
  • Juice of ½ lemon

Start off by blending all the fruit to liquefy.

Now we’re going to add our bowl full of kale.

As with most greens, they don’t consume much volume.

After packing the leaves in, blend for 60 seconds or more but don’t let the mixture heat up. You can easily monitor the temperature by holding your hand against the side of the blender. If it’s feeling warm, you spun it for too long! Just run it long enough to break everything down. You don’t want to have to chew chunks of kale.

In the end, you’ll have around 7 cups to enjoy and share with a friend. If you’re the only one, you’ll probably get a breakfast and lunch out of this recipe. It’s worth it, really…

Sometimes I wish I had some voting software that I could include with these smoothie recipes. It would be cool to get the votes of others are they try them out too. I could envision a five start system. Five being the best, I’d put this one on that five star list!

Kale Mango Strawberry Melon Smoothie

This recipe is a slight variation of the Kale Mango Blueberry Melon Smoothie that I also just posted. I loved that blueberry version so I figured I’d make a slight change and substitute strawberries for blueberries. Well, once again the melon carries the day and shines through to make a gently complex smoothie that is easy to drink – for it is kale!

I’m looking forward to raspberry season so I can say that I’ve tried all the local berries that I love. Blueberries have a strong flavor and a little bit of grit form the tiny seeds, whereas strawberries add a fresh tartness yet the seeds are softer. Raspberries, I’m sure, will add a grit and a wonderful flavor for they are probably as strong as blueberries.

In any case, the strawberries are subtle and the melon stands out a bit more in this smoothie.

Recipe:

  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 large mango
  • 2+ cups watermelon
  • 3 large medjool dates
  • 2+ cups strawberries
  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 1 large bowl fresh garden kale

Stack it all in the blender and liquefy.

Once liquefied, press the kale in and blend for 60 (or more) seconds until everything is ground up thoroughly.

As you can see, I had a bit of fun with this one. Every morning I shot for about 7 cups smoothie. This morning I added just a bit too much melon so I poured it off to make a bit more room for the greens. It made for a festive glass of predominately fruit smoothie. I shot for ½ lb of greens every day and in the process get the fruit. The fruit is just there to mask the strong flavors of the greens. Every once in a while it’s nice to ‘go conventional’ and not turn all the smoothie green!

Read about raising your pH and balance out your intake. You’ll feel better and be able to focus your energies on what you like to do without thinking about your body not being able to make it.

  • You are what you eat.
  • You are how you feel.
  • You are what you think.
  • You are what you do.
  • No one stops you but yourself.

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?