GREEN POWER-PACKED SMOOTHIE

Green smoothies. I always had my doubts. I was very sceptical that vegetables could actually taste good in a smoothie. I considered green smoothies to be a new craze, fad and phase that would die down quickly. Turns out I was so wrong. 
Green smoothies do entail a bit of trial and error when starting out. I will openly admit that I have made more than a few green smoothies that have been undrinkable! I try to drink a green smoothie everyday with my husband; believe it or not but we actually think of them as treats for ourselves! We drink them for afternoon tea or after a light lunch or dinner. Sometimes we even freeze them so we can take a long time to consume them (with a tiny spoon) and think of them as ice blocks! Here's a foundation/base that I have learnt to use for all my green smoothies to ensure a drinkable and delicious refreshment every time: 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pieces of fruit 
• I always use a banana, pear, a handful of mango or 1/2 a medium avocado as a compulsory fruit and I love to add them frozen, as they thicken up the smoothie.
• The 2nd piece of fruit can be anything such as kiwifruit, pineapple, apple, orange, nectarine, peach, plum, apricot, blueberries, strawberries or raspberries.
• I only add 2 pieces of fruit to each smoothie as I am conscious of not going over the 2-3 servings of fruit each day. This smoothie serves 2, therefore you will still have a serving or two of fruit to enjoy throughout the remainder of your day. 
• No added sugar liquid 
• Coconut water: I only ever drink Hawaiian Coconut Energy coconut water as it has no added sugar. This product is available at my Pilates studio and online. It is excellent as it contains no sugar, is extremely low in calories and is full of calcium, minerals, potassium and electrotyles. 
• I love adding unsweetened almond milk to smoothies as it creates such a creamy consistency. I usually use almond milk more in winter than summer for my smoothies. I add a percentage of almond milk and a percentage of water to my smoothies (see the recipe below). 
• I add coconut water or unsweetened almond milk sparingly as I like to create a thick, smoothie consistency  
• Greenery
• A generous handful of baby spinach leaves is a must! 
• I'm not a huge fan of kale in smoothies, but some people love using this vegetable! 
• Lemon or lime juice
• The juice of 1/2 or a whole lemon or lime gives the juice a nice kick 
• Vegetables
• I enjoy grated ginger in my smoothies as well as cucumber, grated carrot and/or celery...however go easy on these ingredients or they can overpower the final taste! 
• Protein
• I like to add 1-2 tablespoons of pea protein powder or 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds to my smoothies. 
• You could also add flaxseeds, maca powder, cacao powder, hemp seeds, goji berries or any other natural supplement/superfood you can think of! 

Here's an example of a very simple favourite smoothie of mine: 

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup Hawaiian coconut energy water or around 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk and 1/4 cup plain water (more liquid added if needed)
• a large handful of washed baby spinach 
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon 
• 2cm of fresh ginger, grated 
• 2 tablespoons pea protein powder 

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients into a blender and blend for a minute or until combined. Add more water or almond milk if you want a thinner consistency or more ice cubes if you want a thicker smoothie. 

Serves / 2 

x Emily