Recipe + Review: Glowing Green Smoothie

This is the smoothie that started it all.

Flash back to me, 2011, living on bagels and pasta with cheese. I'm scrolling through my feed one day, and this green smoothie pops up. A couple clicks, and I'm on Kimberly Snyder's Website, reading about a drink that, IMO, was basically salad.

I could not imagine drinking it. But I couldn't deny that what she was saying, made some sense. And, since she looked like a Glowing-Angel-from-Heaven, I figured her book was probably worth reading.

When the book arrived, I dove right in. And by dove, I mean flipped through pages, noticed there weren't any photos in the book, and put it right back down.
The book read like a textbook, with recipes that happened to exist in the back,
I lacked patience and frankly, I probably lacked interest. I didn't care what/why/how these recipes would benefit me. I just wanted to have a couple of these green smoothies and Glow like the Angel-Woman I saw on the cover.

So I tabbed the page for the Glowing Green Smoothie, and didn't pick it up again for months.

Pausing for a moment:

I have to mention that this recipe calls for a Vitamix, which (for those of you who aren't familiar) is a high powered blender that happens to cost $300+

I believe that nowadays there are other brands like Ninja that do they same thing, but for a fraction of the cost. I've never compared the two side by side, but I have friends who swear by their Ninja's and use them regularly.

You are also welcome to use a "regular" blender for the Glowing Green Smoothie, but it doesn't work as well and the densitiy of the ingredients will cause your blender to wear out rather quickly.

That said....

I wound up not only, delaying making this smoothie because of fear of drinking something green, and unfamiliar, I also delayed it due to the cost of a Vitamix.

Eventually of course, I stepped up and purchased the Vitamix.
(There's a little more to the story here, which I'll explain in my next post for Glowing Green Juice)

Recipe

Glowing Green Smoothie

by Kimberly Snyder

Ingredients:

2 Cups Filtered Water

1 Head Organic Romaine Lettuce, Chopped
1/2 Head or Large Bunch of Organic Spinach
3-4 Stalks Organic Celery
1 Organic Apple, Chopped

1 Organic Pear, Chopped

1 Organic Banana

1/2 Organic Lemon (skin removed) 

Optional:

1/3 Bunch Organic Cilantro

1/3 Bunch Organic Parsley

Directions:

Pour in Water and Greens, blend these first

Blending, Slowly add the remaining ingredients 

Adding lemon and banana, last

Review

You guys.. it's, actually good.

It's thick, and smooth, and simply tastes fresh. The citrus from the lemon, cuts all the greens and makes it so you mostly taste the sugary fruit. 

If you've never had anything like it, it will be different, there's no denying that. But if you've ever had a smoothie, then I promise it won't be that far of a stretch. 

Taste: 8/10 - While it's not crave worthy in the same way as say, a pile of french fries or chocolate cake, it's still really tasty. 

Ease: 8/10 - Yes, you're "just" putting things in a blender and pressing go. But, you do have to purchase, wash, chop, and clean up. I personally do not like washing produce. No idea why, but it drives me crazy. For that, I had to give this an 8

How it makes my body feel: 10/10 - Being 100% honest here, there is no other drink/dish/meal I can think of that comes close to how good this smoothie makes me feel. The cleansing properties of the fruit, paired with loads of rich greens to build up my system, makes me feel SO good. 

Hot Tips:

1. Do NOT forget the lemon, or the banana: Most other ingredients can be exchanged for something else (IE. swap spinach for arugula, or an apple for a peach, etc etc..) but the lemon and banana are absolutely essential. Without the banana, you lose the thick, creamy texture. And without the lemon, frankly it can wind up tasting like grass. 
2. Blend, blend, blend: While Kimberly recommends NOT completely blending the s*** out of it, I personally can't stand the texture, unless I do.
   How I do the blending:
• Blend the greens and celery with water, anywhere from setting 2-7 
• Once the greens are blended down, add apple and pear, blend around 4-7, until broken down a bit
• Add Lemon and Banana, Blend at 7-10
• Leave it Blending at 10 for maybe 10 seconds, then turn it on to "HIGH" and let it blend for 20-30, full seconds
• Pour and Enjoy
3. Cleaning your Blender: Do not waste time scrubbing your blender by hand! Just rinse it out, add a little soap, add a bunch of water, and then hit blend! It's, it's own dishwasher (you're welcome).
4. You may.... get gassy (or other): When our bodies aren't used to having so much good stuff, they can react negatively when we zap them with the good stuff. It does not mean that this smoothie isn't right for you, it just means that your body, like, really needs it. (And that other dietary changes are likely needed as well). But, do not give up! The more you eat this, the more you adjust, and the better and better you feel. 
• It's also best to have this smoothie in the morning and/or on an empty stomach. Due to all the fruit, it can sort of ferment in your system if you were to say, eat a steak and then follow with this. The smoothie would just sit on top of the steak, inside your intestine, and that will create gas for sure. 

I hope you'll give this smoothie and try, and if you do, please let me know how it goes!

Next week I will review the Glowing Green Juice (yes, there is a difference. Stay tuned and I'll explain!)

Wishing you good great health.

Xxo, Lauren