The ULTIMATE Green Smoothie

Drumroll please.......................
the GREEN SMOOTHIE. This is my most requested recipe because healthy eater or not, don't we all love them?!?!

We use a Blendtec blender with 4 inch blade / 96 oz carafe (the link below sold me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Nx52bpuV0&feature=related

NOTE: THIS RECIPE IS FOR TWO PEOPLE and often yields 6 cups of smoothie (48 oz).
To start, I put in about 2 cups of liquid. This is mostly filtered water, with perhaps 2 TBsp of apple cider vinegar or 1/4 cup kombucha. If you have it, you can also use raw milk for some of the water. I usually do 1 cup (total, not per serving). 

Then I put in 2 bananas and a couple eggs (to get some protein if I don't have milk). At this point we usually add in a couple tablespoons of flax seeds or chia seeds.

Then we add 4-5 cups of leafy greens - spinach, kale, swiss chard are the usual suspects. Romaine is good also. If you use collards or dandelion greens or arugula, just be careful as these have strong, bitter flavors and not everyone likes them!
We also add in some parsley.

Then I top the greens off with 1 TBsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of ginger (be careful not to overdo the ginger!) and 1 TBsp of local, raw honey.

Finally, we add 2 cups of fruit. This can be mangoes, blackberries (beware of seeds), blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, kiwi, cantaloupe, etc. I try to use frozen to make the smoothie cold. Apples are not very good as they froth up the smoothie. Oranges are ok if you don't mind the pulp. Otherwise, I recommend juicing these two and adding in the place of water in the smoothie.

Blend until smooth and enjoy! Even my awesome Blendtec leaves me some chunks while I am drinking if the fruit was frozen. Feel free to add yogurt if you like and interchange any of the supplements to accommodate your diet. Maca powder, spirulina and other nutrient-dense supplements are all welcome!

Depending on whether raw eggs or raw milk are used for protein, the smoothie yields each person about 400 calories, 80 carbs, 15g fiber, 40g sugar (can reduce this by almost a quarter if remove honey), 9g of fat, and 12g protein. Additionally, it provides each person vitamins/minerals as follows:

• Vitamin K: ~1000%
• Vitamin A & C: ~300%
• Manganese: 150%
• B6: 50%
• Folate, Potassium: 40%
• Calcium: 25-40% (more with milk)
• Riboflavin, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Copper: 30%
• Selenium: 10-30% (more with eggs)
• Iron: 20-25%
• Thiamin: 20%
• Niacin: 15%
• Vitamin E: 10-15%
• Zinc: 12%
• B12: 10%

TIPS
If you use kale, know that the longer the smoothie sits (I am a slow drinker) the thicker the smoothie will get. Also, pineapple and lighter fruits will leave you a green-colored drink, but blueberries and blackberries will yield a more reddish or dark smoothie. And finally, if you don't plan on drinking your smoothie right away, it is best to replace the banana with another fruit as this will help keep the smoothie longer. If you ever need to transport your juice or smoothie for later, I highly recommend filling a mason jar to the very top (as little air as possible to prevent oxidation) and wrap the jar in foil (to keep out light) and keep in the fridge.