This section contains a few simple versions of green smoothies that are easy to make and gentle on your digestive system. We’ve also included a fruit option that is sure to get anyone hooked on smoothies, kids included.
If you love smoothies, be creative with the vegetables and ingredients you use—they’re a great way to incorporate your favorite vegetables, healthy fats, and healing herbs or spices into your meals. Some people also like to add their favorite protein powder or greens powder, which is a nice way to include more nutrients in your smoothie.
Great Green Smoothie (Easy to Digest)
| Preparation time: about 10 minutes | Servings: 2–4 people (about 4 cups of smoothie) |
Green smoothies may not sound too appetizing to the average person, and particularly not to kids used to eating the Standard American Diet! Yet this one is a gentle “entrée” into smoothies that will be kind to most people’s taste buds.
The Granny Smith is a green apple that provides just the right amount of sweetness, and it combines well with vegetables from a food-combining perspective, which means it’s easier for your body to digest. All other fruits are usually not as well tolerated when combined with vegetables, if you are experiencing gut issues and want to reduce the stress on your digestive system. Granny Smith apples also have the highest phytonutrients of any other apple.
Cinnamon aids digestion and is a natural anti-inflammatory. Have this for breakfast or a snack, and you’re sure to get lots of easily digestible greens into your body!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups filtered water
2 cups green leaf or red leaf lettuce
1 Granny Smith apple
4 carrots, peeled
2 large stalks celery
2 Tbsp. cilantro (fresh)—if you don’t like cilantro, try flat leaf parsley, microgreens, your favorite green sprouts, or omit from recipe altogether
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Optional: ¼–½ avocado. A healthy fat is a nice way to add satisfaction and sustenance to a smoothie; however, if you are having issues digesting fats or have other digestive challenges, try this smoothie without the avocado and have a meal or snack later, when you’re hungry again.
Optional: Add a scoop of your favorite greens powder, like Premier Greens by Premier Research Labs or organic wheatgrass juice powder by NOW.
Core and slice the apple and combine it with all ingredients into your high-speed blender. (Vitamix or Blendtec blenders work really well for smoothies, but you can also use any blender or a NutriBullet. Note that some blenders that are not high speed may require you to chop your carrots, celery, and apple up a bit more.)
Blend all ingredients, until everything is completely smooth.
Pour into glasses and serve.
Serving suggestions: Add 4–6 drops of Urban Moonshine Organic Citrus Bitters per cup of smoothie and blend. This will add a nice flavor and help your body digest the smoothie. Add 2 drops of stevia per cup of smoothie if you want a sweeter taste.
Remember, digestion begins in your mouth! To get your digestive juices flowing, sip slowly and chew your smoothie.
Elderberry Fennel Immune-Boosting Green Smoothie
| Preparation time: 5 minutes | Servings: 4 |
This smoothie is a rich orange color with a deeply nourishing sweet taste! The black elderberry is excellent as an immune booster to ward off colds and flu. The citrus bitters are a delightful, organic treat to help you digest better. If you don’t have any citrus bitters on hand, use a lemon instead (see below).
The cardamom and fennel spices in this smoothie are great for digestion, and fennel is wonderful for eye health. The fenugreek also has eye-health benefits and helps to boost oxytocin, the love and social-bonding hormone responsible for feeling good!
INGREDIENTS:
4 stalks celery
3 large carrots
2 cups red leaf lettuce
2 cups filtered water
1 Tbsp. black elderberry extract or sambucus. (Choose those with no sugar, such as by the Nature’s Answer brand, which you can get online at: Amazon.com or iHerb.com. This is great to have on hand during cold and flu season in general.) Use ½ of a Granny Smith apple if you don’t have elderberry extract on hand, or omit altogether.
1 tsp. fennel powder
1 tsp. ground fenugreek
½ tsp. ground cardamom
Stevia to taste (approximately 4–6 drops per glass if you want a taste sweeter than the smoothie is naturally)
6 drops Urban Moonshine Citrus Bitters per glass (or juice from ¼–½ fresh lemon)
Optional: 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or coconut butter. (A healthy source of fat is a great way to add satisfying sustenance to a smoothie. If you have trouble digesting fats, you may want to try making your smoothie without a source of fat and have a snack or meal 30 minutes to an hour or so later, when you feel hungry.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients except the stevia and citrus bitters into a blender and blend thoroughly. Pour into glasses. Add 6 drops citrus bitters per glass and mix up. Add stevia to taste.
Basic Green Vegetable Smoothie
½ small cucumber
½ cup fresh basil
1 cup cilantro—if you don’t like cilantro, you could use a cup of your favorite dark green lettuce instead, like romaine, red leaf lettuce, or green leaf lettuce
½ avocado
2 cups fresh green beans
5 chive stalks
½ cup water
½ cup young coconut kefir–or if you don’t have this, simply add either young coconut water or an additional ½ cup water and stevia to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash the vegetables and cut them up to prepare for blending.
Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until the consistency is smooth. Add more water if you want to thin out the consistency.
Pour into glasses and drink to your health!
Sweet Blueberry Banana Green Protein Smoothie: A Great Entry-Level Smoothie
Servings: makes 2 large smoothies
Fruit smoothies are a wonderful way to get used to drinking smoothies if you’re not yet ready for a green smoothie. It’s also great for a person who is just starting to adjust to healthy eating, or for a milkshake lover who wants something on the sweeter side. Once you get used to smoothies, we recommend that you experiment with green smoothies for even more nutrients!
This recipe is how Heather got her husband started with drinking smoothies. It’s an easy-to-make drink that is high in phytonutrients and protein, while feeling like a sweet treat to the person consuming it.
INGREDIENTS:
1 banana
1–1½ cups fresh or frozen organic blueberries (cherries make a nice alternative as well)
1 scoop Sunwarrior Classic Protein powder, natural flavor (you can get this at: Sunwarrior.com or Amazon.com)
1 scoop green powder–use your favorite green powder, or try one of these organic options: Premier Greens by Premier Research Labs or organic wheatgrass juice powder by NOW (note that wheatgrass is a green and not the same as wheat grain)
2–4 Tbsp. of your favorite nut or seed butter–tahini, sunflower butter, or almond butter are all great options
2 cups organic almond milk, plain flavor with no sugar (or make your own using our simple recipe in the Snacks section), or use 1–2 more Tbsp. nut or seed butter and 1–1½ cups water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend well.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!