Brave to say, I know. I don’t like giving food 100% of the credit because the therapeutic process is also essential to healing. I will leave this right here though – green drinks ARE THE WAVE. Included in that is a powerful high speed blender so if you don’t already have one, consider adding one to your kitchen arsenal. I’m totally biased and believe the Vitamix is the name of the game.

Let’s chat:

Green drinks are = loaded with nutrients, fiber, water (aka hydration), vitamins and minerals. We lose out on a lot of this goodness when we eat meal to meal because there’s only so much we can consume, munch, chew & digest. Green drinks resolve a lot of the hard work of chewing and enable us to consume a higher amount of nutrient dense foods such as greens and fruits. I’ve been playing A LOT here and wanted to provide for you some of the simple ways I’m preparing a daily green drink. Can I challenge you to be fierce and mighty in your pursuit to better health? Include just one of these a day and let me know how it goes….

The basic:

Best Greens to use:

• kale
• spinach
• chard
• celery
• cucumber
• romaine
• sprouts like broccoli and clover

*Veggies best to save for stir-fry’s & salads: broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini & summer squash, bell peppers

Best Fruits to use:

• banana
• pineapple
• apple
• dates
• pear
• whole lemon (use just the juice if also using banana because the bitterness is overpowering but less so when using less sweet fruits like apple)

*Fruits best to save for fruit bowls and eating whole: melons, oranges, grapefruit

Best fats to use:

• avocado
• *one of the best things about a green drink is how low they are in fat so I wouldn’t suggest adding much else (such as coconut oil- it’s a lot for fruits and veggies to compete with a high fat content, better to keep it cleansing and simple).

Should I add protein?

• I wouldn’t. Save the protein powders for smoothies and protein shakes. I’ll share more of those soon.

Don’t be afraid to drink the whole blender full – often one batch fills the entire blender and is excellent to consume in the morning or afternoon – in entirety. Your body will thank you. See below for some flavor combos I love.

I like keeping my green drink ratio 3:2 veggies:fruit. So this looks like:

2 large handfuls of spinach (I sometimes buy big bags of spinach and freeze them just for green drinks, this keeps the spinach from wilting too fast)

3-4 stalks of celery

1/2 cucumber

2 frozen bananas

3 dates

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topped with water and blended until smooth

Another combination I love:

1/2 block frozen spinach or kale (typically frozen in 12 oz bags)

4 stalks of celery

3-4 leaves of romaine lettuce

1/2 apple

5 large chunks of pineapple

1/2 small avocado

1/2 lemon (whole)

Topped with water and blended until smooth

So go have at it. Start incorporating one of these into your day to day life. Let me know how it goes!

xo Katie