Jump to content

Green smoothie

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Msemeb (talk | contribs) at 22:31, 27 May 2010 (→‎Ingredients). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A green smoothie is a smoothie, or blended beverage, made by blending green leafy vegetables, such as spinach with fruit, some of which may be frozen, and water[1] or ice. To balance flavor and nutrition the typical ratio in a green smoothie is about 60% fruit to 40% leafy greens.[2][3][4] However, "There's no 'wrong' way to do it!"[5] The green smoothie may be considered, "a variation on the fruit smoothie," such that, "a green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with some green vegetables," and Victoria Boutenko is quoted as saying that a green smoothie, "'looks very green but it tastes like fruit'"[6].

Green smoothies may be drank in the raw foodism movement, and have been promoted by celebrities and fitness professionals, such as Robert Downey Jr who is seen drinking a green smoothie in the movie Iron Man[7] and Dr. Mehmet Oz who featured green smoothies in his 'How to Turn Back Time' series on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[8] Green smoothies have been promoted in books such as Green For Life (2005) by Victoria Boutenko[9][10][11]. Boutenko makes dramatic claims regarding human's similarities to chimpanzee DNA, their diet of primarily leaves, and their immunity to diseases such as cancer, and the necessity of green smoothies in obtaining the necessary amount of greens in one's diet.

Companies have begun producing green smoothies or green juice drinks including Bolthouse Farms's Green Goodness [12], Naked Juice's Green Machine[13], and Odwalla's Original Superfood[14]. These products may be pasteurized, for example Nakes Juice and Odwalla are flash pasteurized. At least one blender company has ads which specifically target the intention of producing green smoothies with the blender once purchased, such as Vitamix, which offers a booklet of green smoothie recipes[15].

Ingredients

The primary ingredients are leafy greens and fruit[16][3], preferably raw. This may include spinach[16][17][18], kale[16], parsley[16][17][18], celery[16][18], romaine[16][18], chard, edible weeds, kiwi[17], pear[16], nectarine[16], peach[16][17], strawberry[16][17][18], blueberry[18], raspberry[16], bananas[16][17][18], pineapple[17][18], dragon fruit[17], mango[16][17][18], and apple[16][17]. Other possible ingredients include green tea, blue-green algae[17], spirulina[17], garlic[17], chlorella[17], ginger[17], barley and wheat grass[17], wheat sprouts[17], Jerusalem artichoke[17], Nova Scotia dulse[17], and ground flax seed. Simpson provides a seasonal guide to ingredients[19].

It is recommended that a green smoothie should not include vegetables which contain starch such as broccoli[17], zucchini and carrot[4], as combining starchy vegetables with fruit may be considered bad food combining that may cause difficulties with digestion.[20]

Nutrition

"Green smoothies give your body much-need chlorophyll. Raw green leafy vegetables are loaded with life-giving chlorophyll."[21] Simpson recommends them as nutritious, and vegan, comfort food[22].

Eight of Robyn Openshaw's ten reasons, in no order, to eat green smoothies are[23]:

  • Eating nutritious greens you haven't been eating before
  • Salad-dressing is unnecessary
  • God or Nature intends humans and related animals to eat this way
  • A good blender does a better job than one's teeth of making nutrition available
  • One obtains more living enzymes from blended greens
  • They contain all the fiber, compared to juicing
  • They are fast to prepare and eat
  • They taste good

Boutenko lists the following ten reasons[24][25]:

  • Full of nutrition
  • Easy to digest
  • Full of fiber, especially compared to juices
  • Taste
  • Chlorophyll, the molecule of which resembles that of human blood (she cites Dr. Ann Wigmore)
  • Easy to make and clean up, especially compared to juicing, less than five minutes
  • Love by children of all ages, including six months and older
  • Reduces the consumption of oils and salt [presumably salad dressing and other additives to make raw and cooked greens palatable]
  • It's a good habit, many people start to crave greens
  • Conveniently green smoothies will keep for up to three days refrigerated, though fresh is best

In order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break the tough insoluble cellulose structures of plants, preferably down to the molecules. A high speed blender has the ability to disrupt plant cell wall structure and significantly reduce food particle size which may enhance the bioavailability of essential nutrients in fruits and vegetables[26]. The use of blenders in the making of green smoothies would make green smoothies an ideal vehicle for the nutrients in leafy greens.

See also

Further reading

  • O'Brian, Betty Sue (2009). Going Green the Smoothie Way. ISBN 0578023067.
  • Sundance, Ka (2010). 5 Steps of Raw Success, p. 113. ISBN 1450591906.
  • Openshaw (2009), p.144-45. ISBN?

References

  1. ^ Caldwell, Kim (2009). How Green Smoothies Saved My Life: A Guide for Using Green Smoothies, Uplifted Thinking, and Live Food to Enhance Your Life, p.12. ISBN 0615302904.
  2. ^ Boutenko, Victoria "Ode to a Green Smoothie", first published 2005 newsletter, RawFamily.com. Reprinted in Kyssa, Natasha (2009). The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual, beginning p.29. ISBN 1551522500.
  3. ^ a b Zavasta, Tonya (2009), "Smooth Moves: Enjoy the Benefit of Green Smoothies and Puddings", Raw Food and Hot Yoga, p. 39, ISBN 0974243493, A green smoothie...is a mixture of about 60 percent fruit and 40 percent leafy greens blended together in a delicious, nourishing beverage.
  4. ^ a b Smith Jones, Susan (2008). Health Bliss, p.179. ISBN 1401912419. "...about 50-60 percent fruit and 40-50 percent greens."
  5. ^ Openshaw (2009), p.122.
  6. ^ Patenaude, Frederic (2006). The Raw Secrets: the Raw Food Diet in the Real World, p.123 and 189-90. 3rd Edition ISBN 1449558453.
  7. ^ "Iron Man, Man of Veggies...", DiseaseProof.com. Posted on May 11, 2008 by Gerald Pugliese.
  8. ^ ""Go Back in Time"". The Oprah Winfrey Show. January 1, 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  9. ^ Boutenko, Victoria. Green for Life, [page needed]. Raw Family Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0970481969.
  10. ^ Caldwell (2009), p.2.
  11. ^ Ferendo, Frank (2008). Reasonably Raw, p.19. ISBN 0979518024.
  12. ^ "Green Goodness", BoltHouse.com.
  13. ^ "Green Machine", NakedJuice.com.
  14. ^ Odwalla.com.
  15. ^ (Nov 2008 - Jan 2009). Organic Gardening, p.44. Vol. 56, No. 1. ISSN 1536-108X.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Boutenko (2005).
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Bolthouse Farms's Green Goodness ingredients, Naked Juice's Green Machine ingredients, and Odwalla's Original Superfood ingredients.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i Caldwell (2009), p.12-13.
  19. ^ Simpson (2009), p.32.
  20. ^ Boutenko, Victoria. Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health, pg.45. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 2009. ISBN 1556438125.
  21. ^ Caldwell (2009), p.3
  22. ^ Simpson, Alicia (2009). Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food: 65 Everyday Meal Ideas for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Over 150 Great-tasting, Down-home Recipes, p.31. ISBN 1615190058.
  23. ^ Openshaw, Robyn (2009). "Why Green Smoothies?", Green Smoothies Diet: The Natural Program for Extraordinary Health, p.42-53. ISBN 156975702X.
  24. ^ Boutenko (2009). Raw Family Signature Dishes: A Step-by-Step Guide to Essential Live-Food Recipes, p.81. ISBN 1556437978.
  25. ^ Boutenko (2007). 12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food, p.23-24. ISBN 1556436513.
  26. ^ "Breakthrough Research": Effect of Vitamix blender vs a control blender and chewing on the particle size of different fruits and vegetables, Vitamix.com. University of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_smoothie&oldid=364560631"