Green Smoothie Essentials

Getting leafy greens in your diet will do wonders for your energy, especially when consumed in the morning. Chlorophyll  mimics hemoglobin in human blood, literally giving you life energy in every gulp.

Here are the staple components of a green smoothie for easy mixing-and-matching.

Part 1 – Fruit

According to green smoothie expert Victoria Boutenko, the proper ratio in a green smoothie is roughly 60% fruit and 40% leafy greens. Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Bananas and mangoes – these will give your smoothies a creamy and thick texture, and are awesome for disguising the taste of the leafy greens because of their sweetness
• Frozen berries – a classic, they taste great and are packed with antioxidants

Part 2 – Liquid

• Plain water – clear, light, won’t impede on the taste of any other ingredients
• Almond/coconut milk
• Vegetable juice – veggies are packed with nutrients and juicing is an especially great way to get more of them in your diet. Eat your fruit, drink your veggies. The fibre in fruit slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. Veggies on the other hand have little sugar and you can maximize their benefits by cutting the fibre out and getting alot more into a glass than you could eat in a sitting. Beets, carrots, celery, lemon, and ginger, are a great addition to your smoothie
• Coconut water – full of electrolytes (making it an especially great drink after a workout or sauna session), it also mimics the plasma in human blood

Part 3 – Greens

For a sweet smoothie:

• Spinach – virtually tasteless if you use any sweet fruit in your smoothie
• Kale – the most nutrient dense of all leafy greens
• Swiss chard
• Dandelion greens
• Alfalfa
• Lettuce

For a savoury smoothie:

• Cabbage
• Parsley (has super-powers)
• Bok-choy
• Green tops of beets, turnips, radishes, etc.

For a wild and daring smoothie:

• Pine needles
• Raspberry bush leaves
• Lambsquarter
• Mustard greens

Part 4 – Extras

For filling/bulk:

• Oats
• Chia seeds (omega-3′s, energy boost, lots of calcium)

For protein:

• Protein powder (hemp is great)
• Spirulina (blue-green algae that packs a mean protein-punch as well as possessing superfood qualities)

For healthy fats:

• Nuts – almonds, cashews,
• Oils – coconut oil is one of the most nutritious ones out there (read here why)
• Seeds – flax, pumpkin, hemp

For sweetness/flavour:

• Dates
• Raw honey
• Coconut sugar
• Stevia (sweet) leaf – the zero-calorie, zero-sugar sweetener
• Cinnamon

If you want to go above an beyond nutritionally, add these superfoods:

• Goji berries
• Maca powder
• Cacao
• Wheatgrass juice

Incorporate these into your breakfast routine and you’ll notice a difference in your energy, immunity, mood, and overall well-being.