I used to be really into green smoothies…

as in, had to have them every single day.  Kale and grapefruit, spinach and blueberry, and whatever other combinations appealed to me.

Green smoothies can be a great way to get more raw greens into your diet.  And no matter what dietary theory you believe is best, it seems that everyone agrees that raw, leafy greens are a good thing.  I make it a goal to include leafy greens (although not always raw) at every meal.  (I do not always reach that goal…life, and especially travel, gets in the way!)  So if green smoothies are your preferred way to get more greens, that’s awesome.  Eating more salads is good.  Stirring some spinach into your scrambled eggs is good too.

There is one main drawback that I see to green smoothies:

So many recipes call for a lot of sweet fruit (bananas) and/or fruit juice (like apple), to the point where the smoothie is basically a sugar bomb with one stalk of kale thrown in.  Fruit is fine, but try to concentrate on nutrient dense, less sweet fruits.  Frozen berries are great.  And remember, the emphasis is supposed to be on GREEN!

So as much as I was on a huge kick with green smoothies a few years ago (and was heavy on the greens, light on the fruit), I haven’t really been into them lately.  I get plenty of leafy greens in my diet as it is.

But today, I woke up craving one.  I’m feeling a little bit under the weather, and I also have not had as many greens, particularly raw, in the last few days.  I’ve been enjoying the Thanksgiving leftovers and haven’t been making my usual salads for lunch.

So here’s what I am drinking right now, and it’s totally hitting the spot!  This is based on what I had in my fridge, but it really worked.

I threw a big handful of organic baby spinach in my Vitamix.  Then added a large stalk of celery, cut into chunks  a small apple (Jonathan was the variety), cut into chunks with the skin left on, and finally, a lemon.  I peeled the bitter yellow skin off, but left as much of the white as I could (it is awesome for you!).  Then I added plenty of filtered water, and just a few drops of liquid stevia.  Then I blended until it was smooth.

It really is delicious!  I would have thrown some fresh ginger in, but it looked a little funky, so I threw it in the trash instead.  Notice there was no juice used to blend…just the water.  Unsweetened coconut water is nice too.  I wanted a hint of sweet so I added the stevia, but sometimes I leave that out.  Oh, and I love my Vitamix!  I’ve had it for years and it makes my smoothies genuinely smooth.  My old blender left giant chunks that got caught in my straw…not cool.

So, should green smoothies be a part of your diet if you want to feel happy, healthy and hot?  If they help you get more raw, leafy greens into your body, and you enjoy them, then yes!  But if they don’t really do it for you, no problem…go make yourself a salad!