By now, you've probably already heard about the health benefits of including Green smoothies to your smoothie diet.
But what you might not know is that because green smoothies are basically fruit smoothies with leafy greens added to them, green smoothies don't necessarily have to look green or taste "green" either.
There are 4 Rules that makes sure your green smoothies taste good.
Let's go over some green smoothie basics:
Now that you know green smoothies are essentially fruit smoothies with leafy greens in 'em, green smoothie beginners should always start with leafy greens with mild flavors like spinach or baby spinach. Add spinach to any of your favorite fruit smoothies and your body's health-o-meter will sky-rocket. The best part about this is that spinach is so mild and slightly sweet in flavor, that you will barely notice you're drinking a green smoothie. For example: when you add spinach to a strawberry banana smoothie, probably the only thing you'll taste is the banana.
Once you've developed a taste for green smoothies (give it a week or so of drinking green smoothies), your taste buds will want a little more variety in your green smoothie diet. Now you can start using leafy greens with more prominent flavors like kale, collard greens, swiss chard, mustard greens, etc. Just keep in mind, you must pair these leafy greens with fruits that have dominant flavors like bananas or pineapples. Or just use more fruit.
Playing around with your fruit to leafy green ratio is a good way to make sure your green smoothies taste good. When I make green smoothies using broccoli sprouts (very, very good for you--the only downside is that broccoli sprouts has a really strong raw broccoli taste and a little goes a long way too) I make sure I also include in my green smoothie 3x more fruit than usual.
I love using kefir in my fruit smoothies and green smoothies because kefir gives my smoothies a nice, tangy flavor. Kefir is a yogurt drink and it's a very good source of protein (around 11g of protein per cup) and it's also a great pro-biotic (it cleans ya out!). Because of its yogurt flavor, I like using kefir in my green smoothies to mask any earthy flavors from the leafy greens.
Another thing to keep in mind when you're making green smoothies taste good, is to always use organic fruit and organic leafy greens. I always make my fruit smoothies and green smoothies with organic fruits and leafy greens because 1) it's natural, 2) it tastes better, and 3) it's better for my compost that I use in my gardens.
Remember your 4 Green Smoothie rules (start with spinach; be creative with your fruit & leafy greens combos, playing around with your fruit to leafy green ratio to reach your desired sweetness and flavor; when using leafy greens with prominent earthy flavors, match them with fruits that have dominant flavors like bananas or pineapples; and when possible, always use organic fruits and organic leafy greens) and you will always know how to make green smoothies that taste good!
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