Green Smoothies

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beyondjupiter
beyondjupiter Posts: 247 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone here make a daily (or semi-daily) green smoothie? My blender does a surprisingly fine job at it (I was looking into a $400 vitamix!) but I can't seem to get the taste right.

I figure my taste buds will adjust over time. I am trying to make them without adding any sweetener such as honey or splenda (which I have stopped using).

I usually make my smoothies with either spinach, kale, or bok choy. I will be getting new greens to try soon to add to the rotation.

I think my problem is not pairing the right fruit with the greens. They end up tasting bitter or sometimes even salty.

Today I made kale, apple, orange, and blackberries. I think the blackberries tartness and bitterness of the kale just overwhelmed the drink.

Has anyone mastered this that can give me any tips? Maybe what fruits pair best together or with certain greens? I will throw a cucumber in there sometimes just to get some extra veggies in.

Thanks!
Jen
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Replies

  • blpnana
    blpnana Posts: 36
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    I usually go with this - 3 cups of Kale/ or spinach / or chard; 1 apple; 1 orange; 1 cucumber; 3 cups of water. It's got a real clean taste and I think the cucumber mellows out the bitterness of the kale. That will usually make a huge pitcher (I have a Vitamix and use the large pitcher) that I keep in the fridge for a few days.

    also if you're getting "salty" it might be chard - I found that chard on it's own is actually salty!

    If you're used to drinking regular fruit juice, it might take a while for your taste-buds to get used to less sugar.
  • cleotherio
    cleotherio Posts: 712 Member
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    I only use spinach. I've tried kale a few times and it never blended right--I was chewing on my smoothie. I have a nearly new Kitchenaid blender that does a great job with everything else, so I'm not interested in spending on a $400 blender :)

    I can't taste the spinach at all. My favorite is about 3 cups of spinach with a scoop of protein powder, a banana and a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa. My kids can't even taste the spinach. I also do raspberries or strawberries--whatever I'm in the mood for. If it needs some sweetening, I put in a spoonful of maple syrup or agave, or a little stevia.
  • mariaspeiser
    mariaspeiser Posts: 1
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    I usually include a banana, which gives it a much sweeter taste. I also find that the taste is better if it's served very cold. Here's my recipe:

    4 cups of spinach
    1 banana
    1 green apple
    1 cup of celery
    1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • mkwongh
    mkwongh Posts: 279 Member
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    I am pretty basic right now. I use 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 banana, 1 soup of protein powder (chocolate or cookies and cream) fiber powder, ice and water. A few months ago, i splurged and bought a nutribullet and love it.
  • daisilou
    daisilou Posts: 5 Member
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    My husband and I split this green smoothie every day and I absolutely love it!

    4 cups kale
    1 cup spinach
    8oz apple juice
    1 cup frozen strawberries
    1 cup frozen peaches/mangos
    1 banana
    1 cup ice
  • strickland8052
    strickland8052 Posts: 105 Member
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    1 cup spinach
    1 or 2 small apples
    1 banana
    splash of milk
    ice

    mmmm....
  • Graham_Andrew
    Graham_Andrew Posts: 4
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    Add a banana, they naturally sweeten any smoothie and make them much more palatable.

    Here's a recipe I like :

    80 g shredded coconut
    1 green apple
    1 medium banana
    250 ml semi-skimmed milk
    2 tablespoons low fat vanilla yoghurt
    1 handful spinach
    3 ice cubes


    I keep a lot more recipes online at http://www.perfectfruitsmoothies.com/

    Cheers.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    add whiskey and it sounds good.
  • M______
    M______ Posts: 288 Member
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    I have a rule of only putting apple, pear and/or lemon with a green smoothie. At the OP, you could try adding some lemon, it should radically change the taste. A whole lemon might be a little too much depending on your taste buds.

    Chard is worth looking in to. Its a slightly sweeter taste than something like kale.
  • M______
    M______ Posts: 288 Member
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    I juice more than I blend now. But I started with blending. My go to green drink was

    1/2 large cucumber
    2 large stalks of celery
    1+1/2 good handfuls of kale
    Add small amount of water if juice is too thick
    Apple or/ pear
    Ginger (roughly size of a thumb)

    I had to have the ginger, loved it. I'll be damned if i truly knew, but I always gave it 2nd best thing in my smoothie status (by a long shot)
  • SquidgySquidge
    SquidgySquidge Posts: 239 Member
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    Bumping for later
  • jmcreynolds91
    jmcreynolds91 Posts: 777 Member
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    great recipes, bump for later
  • squiggyflop
    squiggyflop Posts: 148 Member
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    I puree and freeze the stuff in ice cube trays (I bag the cubes)

    4 cubes pureed strawberry
    2 cubes (a little more than a cup of spinach) spinach puree
    1 banana
    1 cube of pear puree.
    1 pack of light and fit blueberry greek yogurt
    1 cup water.
  • rjmv
    rjmv Posts: 2 Member
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    Carrots and apples both add sweetness - try that!
  • crunch173
    crunch173 Posts: 13 Member
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    bump for later.
  • Sul3i
    Sul3i Posts: 553 Member
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    Bump
  • FitnessFinatic123
    FitnessFinatic123 Posts: 7
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    Awesome juicing recipes
    Sweet Green Juice
    Add the Kale & Parsley first. Then add the Romaine, Cucumber, Celery and Apple. The apple will sweeten up the juice. Apples are considered a “neutral” fruit and can be combined with vegetables.
    2 cups Kale
    2 cups Parsley
    3 cups Romaine
    1 Cucumber
    3 Celery Stalks
    1 Apple
    Kale Green Juice
    Of all green leafy vegetables, kale is the most nutritionally dense.
    3 Carrots
    1 Apple
    3-4 Celery Stalks
    3 Cups of Kale
    Smooth Green Juice

    1 green apple
    1 cucumber
    5 large leaves of red leaf lettuce
    1/2 lemon, peeled
    1/2″ ginger (optional)


    Try a veggie/fruit powder product called 'Fresh' made by onebode live
  • Jackie0127
    Jackie0127 Posts: 71 Member
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    Bump
  • cristal43
    cristal43 Posts: 1
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    im going to start making green smoothies soon, i just bought a nutribullet but what i did so i can get organized w recipes so it wont taste bitter or anything is went to the library and took out some books w tons of recipes that describe what makes the smoothies taste differently. its better than buying books and then find out the recipes are not good are not many to choose from.
  • esphixiet
    esphixiet Posts: 214 Member
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    lemon juice helps to cut bitterness and berries or very ripe bananas will help sweeten!

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