Move over Minute Maid – mama’s got a brand new juice! I’ve never really been a big fan of store bought juices (sorry Minute Maid, it’s not just you). They’re way too sweet and when you read the ingredients you realize you are getting much more (not so great stuff) than you bargained for. I’ve always loved making smoothies in my blender but there seems to be a new wave sweeping the health nation - Green Drinks! Aren’t they all the rage? My girlfriends are almost addicted to them (at least they’re a part of their daily regimen), and while I’ve been curious to try them I have also been hesitant. I’ve never liked vegetable juices (but again I have only ever tried the store bought kind) so the thought of liquefying chard, lettuces, parsley, kale, spinach, etc and drinking it, is a hard one for me to swallow – literally!

But indeed they are extremely good for you. My friend Erin has an inspirational poster on her fridge written by Victoria Boutenko, the author of Green For Life  from Raw Family Publishing (which she highly recommends by the way). It discusses the benefits of green drinks, which can be read below.

The Benefits of Green Drinks

• Green drinks are easy to digest. The plant cells, when ruptured, are easy to assimilate. As soon as you take a sip the cells get absorbed in your mouth.
• Green drinks are a complete food because they still have fibre in them.
• It is recommended that you start with a 60:40 fruits:vegetables ratio and then once you are used to that, switch it to a 60:40 vegetables:fruit. ( I would have a hard time with this. Hardcore green drink enthusiasts put a lot of greens into their green drinks. A few weeks ago I had a juice with one kale leaf in it. I could taste the slightly sweet green taste of the kale and thought “this isn’t too bad.” Then I was told you’re supposed to put in about 10 stalks to really get the recommended benefits. Egads! I will work up to it, I promise!
• Did you know a molecule of chorophyll closely resembles a molecule of blood? Drinking greens is like receiving a blood transfusion! 
• Did you know chimpanzees have an estimated 99.4 % of the same genes as humans? But their diet consists of much more leaves and fruit than us with only a 1/4 of their diet consisting of things like bark, insects and seeds. Yet, these close ancestors have a strong natural immunity to AIDS, Hepatitis C, cancer and other deadly diseases. We could learn something here.

I asked Erin if she would share her favorite green drink smoothie and this is it.

Erin’s Favorite Green Drink

2 bananas

a mango

a whole bunch of spinach (by whole bunch I mean a bunch that you buy in a store)

some frozen mango chunks or ice cubes

enough water to blend it up…

Make it as thick or liquid as you like. And of course, you should use organic!! Green smoothies are the best if you have a high speed blender like a Vita-Mix. Regular blenders don’t break down the greens as well. For more information check out the Raw Family Website.

We are having a garage sale this weekend. I haven’t been posting as much as usual because I have been trying to get ready for it. While searching through our stuff we came across a juicer that my husband bought at least ten years ago that he never ended up using. Since my friends juice (although they have a Vita-Mix – which is like a blender extraordinaire and very pricey!) and my step-mom was making me juices when I visited her and my dad in Alert Bay, I thought I would dust it off and see if it worked. Lo and behold it did! Honestly, this is the only thing I’ve tried so far. It was what my step-mom was making me and it was so good I’ve just stayed with it.

Melodie’s “Amateur-Juicer” Refreshing Juice

3 Granny Smith apples

2 oranges

1 lemon

Peel and de-seed the fruit and stuff it in the juicer. Yum! as you can see I don’t add any sweetener to my juices. Some people like to add honey or maple syrup but I encourage you to try these without any.

And just for the road, here’s my tried and true long time favorite smoothie, which anyone who owns a blender or food processor can make.

Melodie’s Smoothie

2 bananas (ripe and frozen if possible)

1 cup juice (I use leftover pear juice from my kid’s canned peaches, but you can use anything)

1 cup soy milk (or whatever you prefer)

1 cup frozen berries

Put everything in the blender and blend it until it reaches your desired consistency. Add more liquid or solids as needed. Really, anything goes here. I’ve used no juice, coconut milk instead of soy, kiwis, canned fruit, pineapple, etc. Just experiment til you find a combination you enjoy.

Do you make green drinks or other naural juices? What are some of your favorite fruit or veggie combinations?

Related posts:

1. Foodie Fridays: The Best Whole Grain Pancakes Ever!
2. Foodie Fridays: Maria’s Secret Oatmeal
3. Foodie Fridays: Maple Muffins with Coconut Streusel Topping