Green Smoothie Update

As many of you know, I have been desperately trying to incorporate green smoothies into my daily life. I have really struggled to accomplish this, often finding the smoothies to be unpalatable. This is so surprising to me, given that I love salads, sauteed greens, and even green juices. I was frustrated for a long time. Then I came across Sarma's cilantro pineapple shake (see previous post). It consists of a huge bunch of cilantro, cucumbers and pineapple. I thought it must be the cilantro that made the smoothie so delicious. Turns out, it is the pineapple!!!! Seriously, I have experimented with dozens of combinations of green smoothies and, if I add pineapple, ANY of them are tasty. I use fresh pineapple, because it's cheaper and tastes better, but frozen works too.
Here's my latest favorite:
1/2 fresh pineapple
1 0r 2 bananas
4 cups baby spinach leaves
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
1 tsp agave (you really don't need it with the pineapple, but if you're just getting used to green smoothies, add a bit).

For further reading about why greens are so important, I highly recommend Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life, which I am currently in the middle of reading right now. It's really illuminating. She and her family are inspirational.

Green Smoothie

GREENS!!!!!!! I love leafy greens - ALL of them. Salads make me giddy and I crave green juices. Interestingly, I have really struck out when it comes to green smoothies. Quite honestly, I haven't liked most that I've tried. I have made numerous attempts, each time thinking "this is going to be the one that sticks." No such luck! Inevitably, I end up throwing most green smoothies down the hatch with my nose pinched between my thumb and index finger.

Then, one day after reading about the many health benefits of cilantro, I decided to try the Cilantro Pineapple Shake from Sarma's new book Living Raw Food. It's delicious! It is now my go-to green smoothie and I make it at least once per week. I love the limey taste of the cilantro. As a matter of fact, I have thought about adding some fresh squeezed lime juice...next time!

Here's my variation:

1/2 fresh pineapple (frozen is OK too)

1 large cucumber (or 2 small) peeled

1 bunch of cilantro - I only use the upper parts of the stems and leaves

2 tbsp agave

1/2 vanilla bean

1 pinch of sea salt

1 cup coconut water - you may not need as much because the pineapples and cukes have so much water.