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You’re standing at the bus stop minding your own business when you notice a random bystander drinking a mysterious green substance.
Spotted: The green smoothie that seems to be all the hype right now.
Aside from its odd yet alluring appearance, the green smoothie is actually quite nutritious as it offers a variety of minerals, nutrients and antioxidants that are beneficial to the human body.
Green Smoothie Recipe
Making a green smoothie is actually quite simple. It requires 3 essential ingredients:
- Leafy greens
- A liquid base
- A ripe fruit
Green Smoothie Tips
- Ice is not required but the smoothie will taste better cold
- Bananas taste better when ripe
- Blend everything together in bursts if you have an older or weaker blender (they tend to overheat)
- It shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes to blend everything until smooth
- Drink it like your life depends on it
Green Smoothie Benefits
Packed with Vegetables
Not a big fan of veggies? Green smoothies are a great way to get your daily intake of vegetables without even noticing. If it’s a taste issue, the taste of the vegetables will be masked by the fruit.
Energy Boost
Green smoothies are an excellent source of long lasting energy due to the balance of fruits and vegetables. On their own, fruits are metabolized quickly due to their high fructose content. When combined with vegetables, the sugar is metabolized much more slowly, allowing for stable energy release throughout the day.
Less Hunger and Cravings
Although green smoothies are low in calories, they contain a high level of fiber and water that will make you less hungry throughout the day. And less hunger and cravings = weight loss!
H2O
As you can see in the recipe, a large portion of a green smoothie consists of water. Although it’s common knowledge that we should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day, most people barely consume half of that. If you fall into this category, just add more water to your smoothie recipe and before you know it, you’ll be drinking more water without even noticing it.
Immune System Boost
Green smoothies are filled with antioxidants and phytonutrients that come from leafy green vegetables. To keep it simple, antioxidants and phytonutrients boost our immune systems and may prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Do Veggies Lose Nutrients When Blended?
Although vegetables do lose their nutrients overtime, we can follow steps to minimize oxidation (combining with oxygen) and exposure to heat when blending.
Some blenders tend to get warmer or overheat when blending thicker substances such as frozen spinach for prolonged periods of time.
The Solution:
- Blend the ingredients together in small amounts for the shortest period of time to minimize overheating.
- Over-blending fruits also make them more prone to oxidation; using the slowest speed setting will minimize the oxygen that gets into your smoothies.
Drink Quick:
- Drinking the smoothie right after making it is ideal since the nutrients will have less time being exposed to oxygen and heat.
- If you decide that you aren’t going to drink your smoothie right away, put it in the fridge to minimize exposure to heat.
