Green Smoothie Countdown – Part 2

 Prepping for the Green Smoothie Experience –

JOIN OUR 3 DAY – “GREEN-IN” EASY BREEZY CHALLENGE – WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3- FRIDAY OCTOBER 5TH 2012.  MORE INFO AT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

We’ve been getting a great response to our upcoming Green Smoothie fast.  This is just an OPT-IN – you can join us for a day, or two or 7; You can drink a green smoothie every morning, or just try one sometime during the week.  No pressure, no judgment, no “Green Smoothie Police” looking over your shoulder — but lots of unconditional support, information and inspiration.

I set up a public Events page on Facebook, so feel free to invite friends and family.  Throughout the week (5-10 through 5-16) you are welcome and encouraged to post questions, recipes, feedback or insights either here on the blog or you might find it easier to follow along on our dedicated Facebook Fan page where we can easily have continuous postings and follow threads of conversations.

There have been a lot of questions about equipment and supplies so I will address these in this blog and on Tuesday will have a blog with the full Green Smoothie lowdown — formula, recipes, tips how to “survive” the fast, etc. so you may want to bookmark this page or subscribe.  Naturally, each time a new blog on the subject is published we’ll update you on the Facebook pages.  If you want more info on the benefits of the Green Smoothie Experience, make sure to read Part I here.  

EQUIPMENT

Really all you need to take part in the Green Smoothie Experience is a blender.  It doesn’t have to be a “designer” blender with uber power, which can run close to $500.   A lot of you have asked me what’s the best blender to get and I really like the healthier living philosophy of the Ninja products, as they offer a good blend of economy and performance.

If you have a juicer, that’s also fine but we are going more for a blended drink here.  Many people find juice fasting a bit too stringent and find themselves getting too hungry or having to spend too much money on produce.  With Green Smoothies you have the following advantages:

• All inclusive – just blend it up and drink it!
• No waste as the pulp will be part of the drink.
• The fiber keeps the juices from quickly oxidizing.
• You can store a smoothie for up to 72 hours, covered in the fridge, which means you can make them ahead if you have to.
• The fiber fills you up for longer stretches of time.
• Children love them, too!  If you think they may reject the “green goop” look of them, just put them in a sippy cup.
• There are many tricks to making them not taste “green.”
• They are delicious and addictive in the best possible way!

TIP:  If you prefer something that is halfway in between a Green Smoothie and a Juice – you can do something we call Juice-Feasting.  Run you smoothie through a Nut Milk bag (we have these in stock), cheesecloth or a strainer and you will have LESS fiber/pulp.  I sometimes prefer mine that way.

SUPPLIES

On Tuesday (5/8) I’ll provide recipes, “tricks of the trade” and more information, but since this is the weekend and you may want to stock up, here are some supplies to have on hand.  Ideally you will pick up some fresh fruit and greens as you get closer from your supermarket or a local fruit/vegetable stand.

1.  SPRING WATER – have a few gallons on hand.  I really love the alkalized water (the brand I buy is called LeVai, from a local health food store)

2.  COCONUT WATER – This is strictly optional but it’s nice to have a few cartons on hand as a secondary base for the smoothies.  They are carrying coconut water now in regular supermarkets, but make sure to buy a brand that has no added sugar.  You can also find it in health food stores and Asian markets.

3.  BULK PRODUCE – You can get a large container of organic baby spinach greens at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club and also spring mix lettuces (mezclun).  I buy bags of green apples from my local health food store since I use an apple in pretty much every smoothie I make.

Since this is a weekend, check out any local Farmer’s Markets to see what they have available.  We have one nearby that grows many greens and vegetables without pesticides (although they have not sought out the very expensive organic labeling.)

A Note about Organic:  Something that I am often asked when giving classes, workshops or demos is about whether everything needs to be organic.  Personally I won’t eat apples, berries (strawberries, blueberries) s or spinach if not organic.  I prefer organic kale  and during the summer, when stone fruit is readily available (peaches, plums, apricots) my preference is for organic since those fruits are rather heavily pesticide-sprayed.  Below are a couple of really helpful graphics depicting which fruits and vegetables may be best if bought organic, but the choice is always up to you.

4.  FROZEN FRUIT – It’s perfectly fine to use a combination of fresh and frozen fruit in your Green Smoothies.  Frozen fruit does fit in with the “raw” classification; while there are some molecular changes in the cells due to the freezing process, most frozen fruits are not preserved or do not contain added sugar.  I always have bags of frozen berries, mangoes, peach slices and pineapples in the freezer so that I have a nice variety for my smoothies.

5.  BUNCH OF BANANAS  – Green smoothies are delightful with bananas added.  This will give them a few days to get ripe and you can peel them, break them in half and freeze them for easy storage and a great texture to the smoothie.

6.  GREEN POWDER – A classic Green Smoothie is a combination of fresh leafy greens (will go into more detail on this on Tuesday) with fresh and frozen fruit, water and ice.  When I travel or if I am working on a full day project away from home, I take a Blender bottle (the kind that have the little whisks inside — see below)  with some green powder and try to get the freshest juice I can (carrot, orange) and shake it up.  You can find these at health food stores ; Examples are Barley Grass, Wheatgrass, Chlorella, Spirulina or you can buy combinations like Field of Greens or Green Vibrance.  This way if you find it difficult to carry equipment to make your midday smoothie(s) you have an option.

THESE FRUITS/VEGGIES ARE CONSIDERED OKAY EVEN IF NOT ORGANIC:

THESE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST PESTICIDE-LADEN:

Will be back on Tuesday (May 8th) with more info!  Have a great Sunday.