GREEN SMOOTHIES
A vita mix blender is the best for this job, as it blends everything so well. It’ll even grind your seeds and grains! But that’s a whole other conversation, as you want to soak those seeds and nuts first…
With a little preparation on your part, most blenders/food processors will also make decent smoothies for you. Just ensure the kale gets cut up into 2mm x 2mm sized bits! These may be too cold for some with some Spleen dampness and/or cold, so perhaps you’d like to drop the fruit content and leave it in the vita-mix long enough for it to heat into a fast and simple soup!
Apple-Kale
2 T whole flax seed, grind first in a dry blender – optional. If you omit these, you need to add some other fatty seed (hemp hearts, raw sunflower seeds) or 1T of coconut oil or other quality oil.
1-2 cups filtered water (more or less depending on preferred consistency)
Juice and/or flesh of ½-1 lemon (fresh only)
6 big kale* leaves (remove central stems, or chop them up well and add)
4 small-medium sized apples, or other pieces of fruit
1 inch fresh ginger root, chopped or minced
Splash of vanilla
If you are new to smoothies, you will likely need to start out with a fair bit of fruit, as this recipe suggests. As soon as you can, start shifting toward a 40/60 ratio. What you really need is more greens, not more fruit!
During colder months (when the spleen has an even harder time staying warm and dry), some of us will find these smoothies a little too cold on the stomach. But this is true for all of us. To counteract the cold energy of this raw smoothie, you could add “liquid fire” to energetically warm it up! Also, consider using warm-hot water, as often people’s fruit is cold from the fridge or freezer.
Benefits:
- Increases production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Many of us don’t produce enough to digest our protein properly, leading to various digestive and other complaints.
- Deep green leafies are “Popeye” veggies and are bursting with nutrients. They have soluble fibre too, to help usher out toxin waste. This also often eases bowel movements. There are even significant amounts of essential amino acids (protein building blocks) in kale! You do need some fat to be able to absorb the minerals in your greens, so do not omit this.
- Strongly alkalysing, not acidifying, effect on the body
- Greens are mechanically broken down, ready for you. How many of us are still wolfing our food?
Other optional ingredients:+/-:
Greens: Swiss chard, beet greens, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, parsley, watercress, any of the deep green chinese greens…
Carrots, avocado, hemp hearts, cacao, lime, pears, berries, pineapple, coconut with it’s milk…
“Liquid fire”:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
6 med. cloves garlic
2 “thumbs” fresh ginger root
1 jalapeno pepper
1 red onion
1 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon fresh horseradish root, grated
*you could swap kale for any of the greens listed as optional. You are looking for lots of dark green leafy veggies here.
Dr. Bonnie
