Okay I have to admit that no matter how much you try convincing me... I don't want my smoothie to be green :)

I make a green drink every morning. 20 month old granddaughter drinks more and more as she gets older (surprised me!). I'm using commercial preparations, so these recipes are inspiring -- especially as I read each one and see another one behind it. Reminds me of an early (very early) cooking experience, scrambled eggs with blue food color. Guess what blue + yellow =? I had to close my eyes to eat it. Now green is pavlovian...

Hey - now you're teaching me how to use kama? You're amazing, dear Alanna - I would have never thought of adding kama to a green smoothie, but then I'm yet to learn to like green smoothies in the first place. I'm definitely willing to try, however..
Lovely post!

I love the color of your green smoothie -- maybe I'm nuts, but I find it so appealing. Will try each of these recipes -- all good ideas.

I have to admit I did go ew, but I eat more green things than anyone I know, so I don't know what that was about?

Maybe power of suggestion...hmmm...green drinks are lovely...that's it!

Great that Susan g is getting the her grandchild started with "green" foods early...

Here's to green drinks!

Mmm, I love green smoothies... My favorite combination is kiwi + strawberries + spinach, but I might try some of yours! (with soymilk, of course :)

Hi,
I'm a huge fan of green smoothies, too. I'm a simple gal and happy with the easy to make spinach banana. But, I do get crazy sometimes and make it with apple, spinach and cinnamon :)

I have some easy raw vegan recipes on my blog if you're interested. So healthy and good! I promise :)

Cheers!
Kristen Suzanne
-------
www.KristensRaw.com
www.KristensRaw.blogspot.com

Yay green smoothies! I make one every day for my husband and I for after our lunch. My 15-month-old gets so excited when he hears the blender running. My favorite item for a green smoothie is raw spinach. I throw in a handful. You really can't taste it, so I add a Swiss chard leaf too. Lately, I've been adding a sprinkling of dried seaweed. That, you have to be careful with, unless you enjoy the taste! I don't. But it adds a lot of calcium. I also put in apples, bananas, or plums. Sometimes grapes. It's fun to dump stuff in there, and it's very rare we don't like the results!

My idea of a green smoothie would use lime sorbet or mint chocolate chip ice cream... :^)

Lovely idea. Especially the one with Kama!

Random question for when you use oranges. You zest and then put the zest and the rest of it all in the blender. Is it possible to skip this step and just cut up the orange? I dont have a zester (I know, its on the list)

I know a lot of people do the banana/spinach or banana/chard thing - but what about banana kale! My fav green smoothie is banana, kale, soymilk, flaxseeds, and bit of maple syrup. It is such a vibrant green colour. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, and this is a great way to get more in your diet (it is a bit scary for some!) I know it sounds crazy, but trust me when I say, it tastes good. I have gotten several people hooked on it!

Cynthia ~ Someday I'll slip you one and then you'll be sorry you waited so long! (And hmm. How about, say, purple, like from radichhio?)

Susan G ~ Oh I hope this inspires experimentation! Do report in if it does!

Pille ~ Thanks m'dear, for the kama and the compliment!!

Lydia ~ I really like the green color, too. It shouts "I'm alive" to me.

Meg ~ Here, here!(Hmm. In that context, is it hear, hear??)

Peggy ~ Nice to find a green smoothie fan! Great combination, thanks for sharing!

Kristen ~ Spinach & banana, yum.

Diane ~ WHAT an inspiration! I'm going to imagine your little one running to the kitchen every time I make a green smoothie! Thank you so much for sharing that.

Tricia ~ :-))))

Meeta ~ Thanks!

Asara ~ Hmmm. My first reaction is 'no' it wouldn't work because between the zest and the section skins is all that pith, the white gunk. But then again, there IS that cranberry salad that includes the whole orange so maybe it would work just fine??? It's worth a try - let me know how it goes!

Cordelia ~ Ah yes, kale, another vegetable I don't have enough experience with. Love your maple syrup idea.

there's one thing I add to my smoothies to make them green, and that's wheatgrass!

I just ran across your green smoothie post, which made me laugh, as just the other day I was searching for kale recipes to use up some aging kale in my fridge and ended up making and posting about this: http://riceandbeansindc.blogspot.com/2007/10/breakfast-my-favorite-meal-of-day-post.html

It was delicious and only tasted like kale with the first sip or two-after that the banana flavour took over. Ill try some swiss chard next time-since that is the green that is currently moldering in my crisper drawer! Thanks for the futher inspiration!

I'm not sure you need to add the milk...greens are loaded with calcium. Do you know of the "Raw Family"? The Boutenko family healed themselves of all diseases by living on green smoothies (nondairy) and raw food. An amazing story!

My favorite green smoothie -and I have one every morning for breakfast - is....1/2 bunch of dino kale, 1 or 2 meyer lemons (we have a tree), 2 organic apples, 2 cups water, 1 TB flax oil, 2 TB flax seeds or meal. YUM! AS I learned from Victoria Boutenko, lemon or banana will really cut the green taste and transform it into something incredibly refreshing. Everyone I've offered this to loves it and wants more. My energy has soared since I've been drinking these for breakfast.

It's smoothie weather! These sound amazing. And *healthful*! ;) I added this link to today's smoothie post. Thanks, Alanna!

I use blueberries and red leaf greens a lot, and my smoothie is more like purple. Even with greens it is very blue. : ) Thanks for the recipes.

My son has been sucking down smoothies along with me since he was about 11 months old. When he hears the blender going he gets a big smile and starting running to get his share! I started using the recipes from Green for Life and now we make our own variations.

Made my first green smoothie today. I bought some organic baby spinach at Costco and red seedless grapes. I put the grapes in the freezer first so the smoothie would be cold. Also added some berry/papaya juice and couldn't even tast the spinach. IT WAS GOOD...

I just made one with 2 leaves of org. chard; 1 kirbie cucumber; 1/2 frozen banana; 1/2 apple; a few bites of unripe mango (I wish it had been ripe); :-( squirt of raw agave nectar; + water to blend. It was good but not great. Next time I'll add apple juice instead of apple and throw in a few ice cubes to ice it up.

Hey there...
I am new to the whole green smoothies thing. I have to be careful do to fruit allergies but wanted to get healthy...well...I have tried this new smoothies and i feel fastastic....
I start with 1 cup of fruit&veggies juice as my base.
then add a whole cubed apple.
2 big handfuls of raw spinach.
1/2 cup of frozen bluberries.
5 large frozen strawberries.
2 TB of ground flax.
one TB of green tea powder.
and liquid omegas 3 6 9
and blend...
Omg I loved it, felt amazing, and kept me full for hours..
Now i have one for breakie...a healthy lunch..then another smoothies for dinner...
I have lost 6 pounds so far in 2 weeks..
Im so happy!!!!

I have been doing green smoothies now for the last few days. I have a husband and three children that are hooked on processed foods. These have been a great "treat" for them. They weren't crazy about the color at first, but once they tasted it, they were hooked! My ideal smoothie has been with kale, spinach, fresh pineapple, a pear, 2 bananas, frozen strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. The berries turn the smoothie brown, but they taste delicious! The frozen fruits make the smoothie "cold," which is what my children prefer. I also have been adding some reduced-fat tofu. I will be making these for the family each morning. The kids are looking forward to them. They are asking for them now. For those of you who are skeptical about this, don't be. Try it! They are fun to make...just be sure you have a good blender! It's so open-ended, and each smoothie is deliciously different!

1 cup vanilla soymilk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
3 leaves green leaf lettuce
1 mini cucumber

Blend it up. It actually tastes quite good. A little pulpy, but it has a fresh vanilla milkshake flavor to it.

O-M-G!!! I just discovered Green Smoothies. I recently sold my soul&body to a gym for a 2 yr contract (LOL) and i've been trying to incoporate a lot of veggies, fruits, grains, and dairy into my diet; but i was getting bored with just fruit smoothies. The weather is great and I have so much fruit that is overripening before I even get a chance to eat them. I bought a watermelon and had plenty of it for days. And as for veggies, I am not a big fan of raw veggies except for carrots, and I got tired of tryign to come up with recipes to cook veggies
With this new green smoothie concept, Today I threw about 1-2 cups of spinach in a blender, about a cup of watermelon, and about 1/3 cup of lemon juice, and WOW!!!!! so refreshing!! So yummy!!
I've had vegetable juices in the past, but i stopped drinking them because i realized how they lacked fiber which is essential and turned to smoothies. I am so happy and excited... I hope to get others hooked on this idea...

btw: i need to have some liquid for my smoothies so i try to use a a low-cal fruit juice, or I brew a batch of green tea and keep it in the fridge. I'm still not convinved about using milk but i'll try it one day :)
best of luck girls and stay healthy!

I just made a great green smoothie and am drinking it right now! It is actually very sweet and yummy. Here is the recipe:

* 1 whole avocado
* 1/2 celery stalk, chopped
* 1/2 small cucumber, chopped
* 3 baby carrots
* small handful of blueberries
* Key lime pie yogurt
* A few scoops of vanilla ice cream/frozen yogurt
* A small amount of vanilla soymilk
* 1 individual packet of Splenda sweetener

What an amazing assortment of green smoothies! I linked to it in my latest post in celebration of International Green Smoothie Day tomorrow!

I've been drinking green smoothies for eleven months now with my husband and two kids. We are hooked and owning a Vita-mix is a treat that makes life so much easier and enjoyable- I'd recommend a Vita-mix to any avid green smoothie maker!
Just one comment though after reading some of the above comments: combining calcium with iron is a BAD idea!(ie. putting milk or yogurt into our iron rich green smoothies). Many studies have shown that calcium and iron compete in our bodies and when we consume these two minerals together our bodies have to choose which one to use since they are not compatible together at the same time. Our bodies will usually choose calcium.
As a pregnant woman, I suffered from iron deficiency early in my pregnancy and my midwife asked me if I was combing these two minerals in my diet. I hadn't been adding milk to my smoothies but I was drinking my smoothies with breakfast which usually included milk with my cereal or an egg or something. As soon as I stopped this combination, I felt a world of difference. i had way more energy because my body could use the iron I was giving it. I was advised by my midwife to absolutely have calcium in my diet, but to have a calcium source at least two hours before or after the green smoothie to give my bosy space to adaquately absorb each mineral.
Also, I do agree that having a vitamin C or citrus fruit included in the green smoothie is essential, as vit c encourages our bodies to absorb the iron. vitamin C and iron are a perfect combination.
Happy green smoothie drinking!
rbiffert

Hi, great recipes. However, I wanted to note. Why do so many feel they need to drink milk to get calcium??? we are one of the few countried that consumes loads of milk and yet have some of the worst osteoporosis rats in the world. Always remember that milk will lead more to leaching of calcium from bones than helping. The calcium and protein fight for obsoprtion and the protein tends to win. Since milk is also so acidic, your body will leech calcium from your bones to make the blood more alkaline. There is a reason why cultures that drink little to no milk, have a much, much better history with regard to bone disease, etc. You are better off getting our calcium from Kale or Spinach anyday over milk! The whole milk thing was bought into by people years ago when the dairy industry marketing machine pushed it on everyone for years and still do. They have to make money you know...at our expense. I just don't want to see a fellow greenie fall into the milk/calcium trap!