Jennifer Cornbleet - Green Smoothies

The Easy Way to Get
Your Greens

Jennifer Cornbleet

2015 Jennifer Cornbleet

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Cover and interior design: Scattaregia Design

Healthy Living Publications,
a division of Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99
Summertown, TN 38483
888-260-8458
bookpubco.com

ISBN: 978-1-57067-330-6

20 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cornbleet, Jennifer, 1972

Green smoothies : the easy way to get your greens / Jennifer Cornbleet.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-57067-330-6 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-57067-871-4 (e-book)

1. Smoothies (Beverages) 2. Cooking (Greens) 3. Blenders (Cooking) I. Title.

TX817.S636C67 2015

641.875--dc23

2015005466

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Green smoothies offer a simple, delicious way to get more greens in your diet. Why does that matter? Because leafy greens are nutritional powerhouses, containing vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, protein, and small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. When you eat lots of greens, you safeguard your health and have more energy. Even your moods can improve.

Unfortunately, most people dont eat enough greens because they dont find them very palatable or easy to digest. Greens have tough cellulose fibers, so they require lots of chewing. Of course, eating greens in salads can be enjoyable. But to get enough greens that way, youd need to have a huge salad every time you ate. That much chewing would be unpleasant, not to mention time-consuming. Also, salads typically contain salt and oil, and its not a good idea to dramatically increase your consumption of either of these.

Chimpanzees chew on plain green leafy vegetables virtually all day long, and we need greens almost as much as they do. But unlike them, we have other work to do (and we also have more discriminating palates).

This is where the beauty of green smoothies comes in. When you prepare a green smoothie, your blender chews the greens for you, breaking down the vegetables cell walls, releasing their nutrients, and saving you time. That makes it easy to get enough greens in your diet and enjoy doing it. And since green smoothies contain some fruit, theyre slightly sweet, with a fresh flavor youll actually come to crave.

The best part of green smoothies is that they only take about five minutes to make, and their quick prep time and fruity taste make them the perfect weekday breakfast. Now, when was the last time you got two servings of veggies at breakfast? How much better would that feel than eating the cereal, toast, eggs, and coffee that many people consume in the morning?

But please dont think you have to limit green smoothies to breakfast. They can also make a quick lunch, dinner, or afternoon snack. The truth is, what you leave out of your diet is as important as what you include. Every time you have a green smoothie, youre forgoing anything processed, and youre also avoiding gluten, dairy products, and sugar. Thats a recipe for feeling fantastic.

So whenever youre in a rush or just want something light and healthy, its green smoothie time!

The smoothie recipes in this booklet provide two cups of greens in every serving. Thats a lot of greens! Eating that amount of greens is good for you, but its also important to rotate the greens you have. Why? There are two main reasons:

First, greens have differing nutritional profiles, and youll get the most beneficial phytonutrients, minerals, and so on if you eat a variety of them.

Second, raw leafy greens contain small amounts of a toxin that nature included to protect the plants from animal predators. For certain susceptible individuals, consuming huge amounts of the same green, such as kale or spinach, every day can interfere with thyroid function or iron absorption. Most people can eat very large amounts of the same green for long periods of time without having any problems, but rotating your greens will alleviate this risk and provide the most comprehensive nutritional benefits.

The easiest way to rotate greens is to buy two types of greens one week, two completely different greens the following week, and two entirely different types the week after that. Then you can either keep trying different greens or come back to some of the original ones.

I like to divide greens into two broad categories: milder and stronger. The stronger greens are among the most nutritious, but you might enjoy the taste of your smoothies more if they contain half milder greens and half stronger greens. Here are the greens I include in each category:

We dont usually think of herbs as greens, but theyre actually the most nutritious greens of all. Thats why I recommend including them in some of your smoothies. For the best flavor and nutrition, try basil, cilantro, mint, or parsley.

Have you ever had the urge to make a particular recipe only to discover you were missing the one ingredient you really needed? Heres a comprehensive shopping list that will eradicate that problem for youat least when it comes to green smoothies. Having these items on hand will enable you to try virtually any recipe in this booklet.