Don't Let the Smoothie Taste Fool You

Listen, we all have our obsessions. Some people sew and embroider anything and everything they can pin down. I once met a porcelain doll collector who spent thousands of dollars on her self-professed obsession, devoting several large storage spaces to them. Basebal, football, and basketball fans around the world obsess over their favorite players’ cards and memorabilia. Until several years ago, I had a major obsession of my very own...desserts. My only rules were, nothing made from peanut butter, no wet cakes, and absolutely, under no circumstances, nothing that contains coconut.

Those rules still apply, but they now mediate a much healthier diet. That means incorporating into it some of the very things my palate has historically sworn not to accept. One of the very first additions to my diet was smoothies. When I first started making them, that was not the case. Unfortunately, taste was the sacrifice. My dedication wavered, and I had to go back to the drawing board.

Through some frustratingly tedious, and sometimes tasteless, trial and error, I developed some recipes that tasted amazingly fresh. I began paying more attention to the health benefits of the ingredients I used, and I researched those benefits for the fruits and vegetables that I preferred to use. Over the next few weeks, Sweet Talk will share some of our favorite smoothie recipes. We will include the nutritional value of each ingredient. It is our hope that we can provide you with information that will help you design a plan for including smoothies as a regular addition to your healthy diet.

Greener Things

One of the smoothies I found was the healthy and harmonious combination of green fruits and vegetables to create a smoothie that I call Greener Things. It is all natural, so organic produce can be used as well. It also freezes well in a plastic container for use later.

Fresh kale is the main leafy green that I use in most of the smoothie recipes that require them. It is the perfect veggie base for this smoothie because it has many potential health benefits. Kale has fiber for improved digestion, as well as folate, potassium, and calcium that help lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Lower cholesterol usually means a healthier heart. Kale has nutrients that help to maintain healthy bones, and the antioxidants in it help to protect against age-related eye health decline. Though it is an acquired taste, fruits add sweetness and flavor that help to mask its, sometimes, bitter flavor.

The second leafy green that I like to use in the Greener Things smoothie is spinach. I use it in combination with the kale or alone, depending on my goals for the day. Fresh spinach leaves create a smoother texture than kale. Also great for fiber, spinach offers the added benefit of nitrates to help regulate or lower blood pressure. High in Vitamin A, spinach is great for helping to support immune function. Like kale, spinach supports bone and eye health as well.

The remaining ingredients in the Greener Things smoothie are mostly for added flavor, but there are other natural gifts that we get from them as well. For instance, green apples are another great source of fiber and antioxidants, so they not only help with digestion, but they aid in cell rejuvenation. That’s great news for skin health! The antioxidants promote healthy liver function, and the fiber and water mixture in green apples can also promote weight loss.

Any way you slice it, in my household, cucumbers are a must. As a kid, I thought cucumber slices were simply a fun, crispy snack that God created just for people like me. I never needed vinegar, salt, or pepper to enjoy the fresh off the farm goodness of a cucumber. That’s probably a good thing, since they have so many health advantages. Cucumbers are low calorie and nutrient packed with many of the same benefits as the other fruits and veggies in this recipe. One very important job of the lowly cucumber is to provide hydration, as they are comprised of mostly water.

Green or white grapes are also a healthy snack with their own natural sugar. The antioxidants in grapes help with inflammation, and there is potassium for blood pressure control. Vitamins C and K in green and white grapes aid in tissue repair and blood clot prevention. Finally, these little gems add natural sweetness to the mix!

Besides being a wonderful, tasty, juicy treat, pears offer most of the same benefits as the rest of the ingredients in the Greener Things smoothie. One very important function of pears is that they potentially help to stabilize blood sugar. This is a perfect snack for diabetes patients. I usually do not use white/green grapes and pear in the same smoothie to avoid getting too much sugar.

Limes are a nice, tart, addition to this smoothie, and they offer some pretty stand out benefits to boot. They have been found to help prevent kidney stones, reduce inflammation, aid in the body’s iron absorption, and guard against stroke. This common citrus fruit can also help fight against the common cold.

Finally, jalapenos are not just hot! They are rich in Vitamin C and capsaicin, which makes them great for reducing swelling and fighting infection. It is said that the heat from jalapeno peppers can temporarily block pain receptors. However, you should be careful with the amounts you use in the smoothie, or it might come out too spicy.

All these ingredients can be used together in sensible amounts, or you can pick and choose the ones you need for your daily health goals. If you are busy and usually on the go, this is a great take-along, but be careful about the time of day you drink this mixture. It will result in a couple of good restroom breaks.