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In honour of St Patrick's Day, this smoothie is cool and creamy with a lovely head on it just like a Guinness, only its green and taste rather unlike beer!

1.5 cups of almond milk
2 large, frozen bananas, sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 big handfuls of spinach

Blend for 90 secs on speed 9 and serve immediately for two


To make almond milk
Soak 1 cup of raw almonds overnight in filtered or spring water with 1/4 tsp salt
Drain and rinse the almonds well
Blend almonds with 4.5 cups of water for 1 minute
Strain the mixture through a nut milk bag
Makes enough milk for 3 litres of smoothie, using 1.5 cups per recipe
Refrigerate and use use within 3 days

 
 
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Mint - my favourite green smoothie green!
Realised I have been a tad slack with my green smoothie posts lately - probably because I have been a busy beaver writing my next green smoothie book called 'Green Smoothies For Every Season'. Writing is done, editing next and it should be out in 2-3 months. Yay!

Eating and drinking seasonally is a subject close to my heart, so for the next year I will be focused on the seasons in my green smoothies posts. Coming soon is a post on autumn for those in my hemisphere and Spring for those in the north.

 
 
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In Australia, where I am from, cherries are ripe in time for Christmas which is so special. Snow for a white Christmas or sun and cherries?….you decide!

Cherry Christmas Green Smoothie
2 bananas
1 cup of frozen or fresh pitted cherries
(or blueberries if you can't get cherries)
1.5 of cups of coconut water
A big handful of greens

 
 
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So far we are having a very wet, cold and dreary winter in Southern Australia. I know my friends and family in the UK are having similar weather and its supposed to be summer!

This smoothie is very warming and not for the faint hearted! I love it but my hubby finds a bit too hot. You can always reduce the ginger and cardamom in this instance.

2 bananas, halved
2 pears, cored and quartered
1.5 cups of water and 1-2 Tbs of hemp or sunflower seeds, or 1.5 cups of almond milk
2-3cm piece of ginger, halved
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 handfuls of leafy greens - amount as tolerated

Blend for 1-2 minutes and serve for two

 
 
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Given the variation of produce around the world and the huge number of green smoothie recipes available, in my book 'The Green Smoothie Bible', I have arranged all of the recipes into categories.

For those passionate about eating with the seasons, there are chapters for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. There are recipes for green smoothies for children, recipes for superfood fans, for those with specific concerns like weight loss or cardiovascular health, and many more.

Here are a few guidelines for my green smoothie recipes:


 
 
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Fragrant Chai spices
This smoothie is rather lush, feels almost naughty to drink and somewhat reminiscent of a mango lassi, quite possibly the oldest smoothie in the world!

1 cup frozen cubes of mango
1 banana
1.5 cups fresh almond milk
mild green such as baby bok choy, or wombok cabbage
1 heaped tsp of chai spice mix

Blend for 1-2 mins and serve for two

For the chai spices they need to be pure spices not a mix of spices and sugar/milk powder. Here is my recipe:

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground star anise
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix and store in a glass jar. Whole spices (except ginger) can be used
as well. Use equivalent amounts whole spices and grind in a mortar and
pestle or spice grinder

 
 
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Using herbs in green smoothies is a powerful way to add the nutrition of greens to your day.

Parsley is rich in iron and Vit C (Vit C is needed to help absorb iron), it is rich in the green antioxidant pigment chlorophyll, and contains all B Vitamins except B12! Parsley is one of the easiest herbs to grow and is available almost all year round.

4Ps Green Smoothie

1 cup papaya (red is nicer than yellow)
1 cup of pineapple (include the core)
1-2 handfuls of flat leaf parsley (remove bigger stems)
1-2 passionfruit
2 cups water

 
 
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Today I felt like a less filling drink for my first meal because I slept in (lucky me!) and didn't want to eat lunch too late.

In my book I describe 10 blended green juice recipes, and today my choice was a base of orange juice with my algae powders that I am very into right now!





3 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsp AFA algae flakes
2 tsp InLiven Probiotic (contains spirulina)
big handful of spinach
handful of mint leaves

Blend for about a minute and serve for two

 
 
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Mint is one of my fave greens for green smoothies, its a low oxalate green and tastes sensational, especially with chocolate!

3-4 bananas
2 cups of water (or coconut water for absolute decadence!)
1-2 Tbs of raw cacao
2 handfuls of mint
optional - add 1-2 drops of pure peppermint essential oil

Mint is  a good source of Niacin, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

For more about mint visit my post on green smoothie community devoted to this humble herb!


 
 
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55% coconut water
45% greens

Blood is made up plasma and blood cells. Plasma comprises 55% of blood fluid and is mostly water (90% by volume) and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, mineral ions, hormones, carbon dioxide, platelets and blood cells themselves. Blood cells are mainly red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Red blood cells are the most abundant and they contain haemoglobin, an iron-containing protein.

The plant version of haemoglobin is chlorophyll which is a green pigment based around a magnesium ion as opposed to iron (haem). Both haemoglobin and chlorophyll exist to obtain energy.

Coconut water is a natural liquid closest in structure to blood plasma and has been used in the war instead of plasma when supplies were low!!

So combine 55% coconut water and 45% greens (by volume) and you have a BLOODy great smoothie!