Green Smoothie

After any sort of excess or binge, a weekend of parties or a particularly hedonistic meal, or at the first hint of getting sick I try to have a  green smoothie for a breakfast or lunch for a couple days. They make me feel like I am concentrating nutrition and I eat more greens vegetables that way than in most other meals. It makes me feel so healthy. This weekend I had a little tea party with scones, clotted cream and lots of jam. It was great but I have been feeling slugish ever since. 



I don't juice vegetables or fruit, I always try to eat them whole. Juicing removes the fiber so that the sugars are more available. Eating the whole plant slows down digestion so you don't get hungry as quickly and you don't get a spike of sugar energy from the juice that leads to a crash. I know lots of people are crazy about juicing and don't like the pulpy quality this has from using the whole vegetables, but I try to avoid juice when I can use a whole food instead. 


Green smoothies are also a great way to use produce that is just slightly past it's prime. I used some limp celery, some wilted kale and some apples that were going soft in this one. The ingredients are flexible. Instead of mint and lime-which gives a kind of grassy, mohito quality- I often use lemon and ginger, with a small pinch of chilli flakes, particularly if I feel like I'm getting sick. Bananas are great in green smoothies too and they add a lot of sweetness. 

I make a honey simple syrup for oatmeal, smoothies and drinks. It is a lot easier to blend, particularly into cold drinks. Boil equal parts honey and water, cool and store in a squeeze bottle in the fridge. It makes honey so much easier to use.


Green Smoothie
big handful of mint
1-2 apples chopped
1-2 tbs honey
juice of one lime
2-3 stalks of celery
2-3 big handfuls spinach or lettuce
2-3 big handfuls kale
1 tbs each hemp seed hearts and ground flax seeds
water, or iced green or mint tea (I add liquid chlorophyll sometimes) to thin
ice cubes

Put all the solids into a blender or food processor, with a little water and blend for a long time, scraping down the sides. The goal is to make everything into a pulp.

This recipe makes a very pulpy smoothie, since I want to preserve the fiber in my vegetables. When the greens are all mushed, add the remaining liquids to taste, making the smoothie as thick or thin as you like.

Drink it.