So, we have completed 2 weeks of the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge, a new shopping list is due out tomorrow and we are in the 3rd week of Melon Madness!! I still have a big watermelon sitting in my kitchen that I need to start slicing up. But, I’m trying to work through quite a bit of pineapple at the same time. LOL. You guys should probably know that since this challenge has begun, I’ve actually changed time zones – which means I lost a day – and I also changed hemispheres – which means I lost access to the lovely Caribbean fruits. This move also meant that the lovely heavy duty, brand-name glass blender that I had been using had to be left behind and I had to go online to order a new personal sized blender – which was delivered the next day, by the way! So, I have a had some challenges with sticking to the challenge – but I’m still smoothing my greens away 🙂
I have loved how the fever for consuming more liquefied fruits and vegetables has spread! This excites me because it means one less bottle of soda was consumed by some wonderful human being each time they drink a smoothie. *big grin* In fact, I’ve seen so many variations to this 30 Day Challenge that it has been simply amusing. Some persons are just juicing whatever they find in their kitchen while others are making power punches (oats, peanuts and all). So, I’m having a ball reading all the posts and viewing all the pics. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.
Now, on a more ‘serious’ note. A green smoothie – in it’s purest form – is a beverage made by blending up leafy green vegetables, fruit and water. For example: lettuce, banana and water. For it to be considered an authentic green smoothie, the beverage must contain leaves and must not be strained, sieved or otherwise modified once blended.
- It may contain more than one type of leaves, e.g. callaloo, lettuce and mint.
- It may contain more than one kind of fruit e.g. mango, june plum and pineapple.
- It may contain extras like ginger, lime, cinnamon powder or even a sweetener like honey or raisins.
- You may use fresh fruit or frozen fruit.
- You may use other liquids aside from water like coconut water, cerasee tea or almond milk.
- You may even use two different liquids, e.g. water and coconut milk.
If you don’t like bananas, you can leave them out. But, if you still want that smooth creamy texture, you may replace the bananas with mangoes, avocado pears or pawpaws. But, the most important things to note are:
- Do not strain the smoothie – you are throwing away all the lovely fibre.
- Do include a leafy green vegetable – pumpkin and cucumber do not count as leafy greens. LOL.
Please remember the advice we got from the ladies over by Simple Green Smoothies. The 60:40 rule or 60/40 formula (60% fruits; 40% leafy greens) means that you put more fruits than greens into your smoothie. The next big piece of advice is: always blend your greens and liquid first! Afterwards, you can add your fruits and extras. It’s the only way to get a balanced and creamy smoothie each and every time. I tried it many other ways and only the ‘greens first’ method works. Now, I would’ve loved to post all the beautiful pics that you guys have shared on here, but I’m just going to add a few of my favourites to the 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge (July 2013) album on the Didan Ashanta Facebook page. So, check it out, because I’ll be posting some recipe ideas for you to try on there as well.
Oh! Before I go. Did you know that Real Farm Freshness has recently created a specially customised “Green Juice Pack” which features a varied mix of herbs like cilantro and parsley, leafy greens like kale and swiss chard – all from The Family Garden – as well as good stuff like grapefruit, ginger and lime. This market delivery service also carries fruits like pineapples and ripe bananas, along with leafy greens like pakchoi and lettuce. So, you have no excuse for not stocking up your fridge.
Another thing: I don’t know if anyone else has noticed the changes in their bodies… I’m definitely going through a detox because of this challenge – and I’m not even going hard like my friend Sapphire of Karisma Krochet! LOL. So, I’ve had to ensure that I’m drinking large quantities of water to help my body flush out the toxins. All, I can say to you is observe your skin and your stool – those two organ systems tell the tales. Based on these results, if you know someone else who you think would benefit from green smoothies, serve them up a cup. Let them taste and see that it is good 😉 Soon, more and more people will be grabbing their greens, fruits, liquids and blending away as we transform our lives… one cup at a time.
