WELLBEING

HEALTH

HAPPINESS

GREEN GOODNESS SMOOTHIE

The energising boost of a green smoothie is great for breakfast, a mid morning or afternoon snack. Beware however of some commercially produced smoothies or home recipes that are loaded so heavily with fruits and other forms of sugar that they become less than healthy after all!

Choices for healthy green smoothies are really unlimited. The easiest and best is to choose what is local, seasonal and fresh right now and chances are, it will cater for your needs since your body is naturally in tune with the seasons.

There are countless choices for additions to your smoothies as well. It’s good to mix it up, learn what benefits there are of different ingredients – and most importantly, find out what you really enjoy the taste of.

It’s easy to get a balance that tastes good without putting too much sweetness. Bananas and other fruit are very high in fructose so just be aware and load up on vegetables instead. "Superfoods" such as green algae – spirulina & chlorella are great. Avocado adds essential, healthy fats and a lovely creaminess. Energy boosters like macca give a great taste, and flavours from fresh herbs lift the drinks, as does a good dash of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Health benefits of a good green smoothie include an Alkalising effect on the body and cleansing.

It’s a good idea to give the body a break from coffee and alcohol or cut down at least and upping the greens supports you even more.

Here is one smoothie recipe to try:

GREEN GOODNESS SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• BIG HANDFUL OF ORGANIC KALE AND SILVERBEET, CHOPPED OR TORN INTO SMALLER BITS
• PARSLEY, CORIANDER AND MINT – I USE LOTS – A BIG HANDFUL ROUGHLY TORN OR CHOPPED
• 1 ORGANIC KIWIFRUIT, SKIN ON – REMOVE THE HARD BUTTON FROM THE STALK END
• JUICE OF 1 LEMON FOR FRESHNESS
• 1/2 AN AVOCADO – FOR CREAMINESS AND GOOD FATS
• 1 1/2 CUPS OF FILTERED WATER OR COCONUT WATER
• 1 TEASPOON OF SPIRULINA or CHLORELLA POWDER – (OPTIONAL)

Blend greens and herbs until fine, add rest of ingredients and blend until really smooth. A high speed blender is the best but others are fine as well – it just may not be quite as smooth.

Pour into a glass and enjoy the clean, green feeling!

Serves 1.