strawberries

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!

Strawberry Orange Grape Spinach Smoothie

Good day for another raw green smoothie! This one has got to be one of the easiest and most comforting. I believe this is the first time that I’ve mixed oranges and strawberries. What a wonderful combination. The orange is so neutral, I rarely think of it as being a flavor all in its own. But in this case, when you add the strawberries, the orange flavor is really accentuated. Like wow!

Who would have thought that if you mix a few strawberries in with a couple oranges the oranges would taste stronger?

Even though I’m making the smoothie in order to get the greens, you don’t always want to get the flavor of the greens. In this smoothie, you’d think that the grapes and spinach are just along for the ride!

Winter is upon all of us in the northern hemisphere so oranges and frozen strawberries should be plentiful. You might want to give this one a try!

Recipe:

  • 2 oranges (remove the seeds)
  • 10 frozen strawberries
  • 1 to 1 ½ cups seedless grapes
  • 1 cup coconut milk (I like the one with added vanilla)
  • ¼ cup (or so) “Good Belly” probiotic
  • 2 medjool dates (remove the seeds)
  • ½ lb raw baby spinach

Pile everything but the greens into the blender.

I usually place the wettest, easiest to grind stuff at the bottom. Place the lid on tight and liquefy (this should only take a few seconds).

Now stuff in your spinach! You should be able to easily get the half pound in and around that juice. Now place the lid on again and blend until smooth. I usually let it spin for about a minute. The frozen strawberries will keep it from overheating so if you want to spin it longer, that’s probably ok too.

In the end, you get orange flavored green magic!

Each morning I make about 64 ounces. This recipe makes just that. If you want less, cut the fruit in half and don’t use more than 1 cup liquid.

Oranges are a bit cooling so make sure you’re going to stay active during the day. Don’t want to hear about anyone getting cold after drinking an Orange Strawberry Grape Spinach Smoothie!

Enjoy!

Raw Beet Orange Strawberry Smoothie

It never gets old sharing my experience with raw green smoothies! I know that out of all the things I’ve consumed over the last few years, the greens in the smoothies have helped me regain a youthfulness that I thought I’d lost. The best part about this is that I’ve actually experienced it. I’m pretty sure that it would also work for you!

It never seems to get old posting another raw green smoothie recipe on the blog. Even though they can start looking the same, each one is a different set if experiences, flavors and textures. This one has the excitement of strawberries with an after taste of orange. The beet greens give it a little bit of a wild ride.

If you’ve got a collection of beets you haven’t harvested from the garden, you might be able to give this one a go and see how easy it is for yourself. If not, Swiss Chard or Spinach might be really good substitutes. Just make sure you use a large amount of greens! Remember, the health benefits come from the greens.

Recipe:

  • 2 Oranges seeds removed
  • 10-12 Frozen (or even better – fresh) strawberries
  • 1 cup Orange juice
  • 2 Medjool dates (seeds removed)
  • 1 Large bunch beet greens

Place all the fruit in your high powered blender and grind it up for a few seconds. If you put the orange slices in first things will break down faster (even though it only takes a couple seconds). Next, add the greens.

The liquid fruit will flow up and around to fill all the empty space in the greens making it pretty easy to place a blender full of greens into a blender full of fruit purée. Blend for 60 seconds or more. If you’re using frozen fruit, you might let it go a little longer in order to warm it above freezing. It’s a lot easier to consume if it’s not ice cold.

The oranges take on the pink color given up by the strawberries only to be overwhelmed by the red of the bet green stems. But in any case, it’s easy to drink and filling!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Pear Apple Parsley Smoothie

What’s in a name? How about, surprise goodness. Or smoothie by happenstance. Maybe, I can’t believe this mixes together so nicely.  lol!

I have to say that I was a bit surprised by this combination. The first one I tried happened because I was hutting around for fruit and, well, all the exotic stuff was gone and all I had left where pieces that I was tied of eating. I had a beat-up pear, an older kind of soft apple but that wasn’t enough. I dug around in the freezer and found some strawberries and thought what the heck.

That adventurous happenstance turned out nice enough to want to share with the rest of the world. And, well, here it is!

  • 1 pear
  • 1 apple
  • 10 frozen (or fresh) Strawberries
  • 2 Medjool dates
  • ¾ cup coconut milk
  • ¾ cup rejuvelac
  • 1 bunch fresh garden picked parsley

Add everything but the greens to you high speed blender. Grind to a liquid. That might take about 10 seconds.

Next, add your greens. Remember, green smoothies are all about getting your greens in a way that is raw and enjoyable. As you can see, I try to always use a ‘bunch’ of parsley. The stores are pretty good about selling bunches in the size that works perfect in a smoothie.

Now blend again. This time, after the greens are chopped, you’ll want to spin the blender on high for about a minute. The longer you go, the smoother the smoothie. At the same time, the longer you go the warmer it gets. Because we’re using frozen strawberries, you shouldn’t notice any heating in that 60 seconds.

In the end, depending on the size of the fruit that you use, you’ll get 4 to 5 cups.

Even if you have an aversion to parsley, you might find this one a little more tolerable. If you  like parsley, you’ll probably really enjoy this one. If you love parsley (like me!) you’ll want to make this smoothie a number of days in a row!

Remember, if you get to experimenting with green smoothies, it always helps to keep the Green Smoothie Basics in mind. They taste best when balancing sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Once the balance if found, it then a matter of accentuating the flavor!

Good day!

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.