Got Greens?

Did you ever crave greens so badly that you had to make a special trip to the store just to get them?  I have had craving for ice cream, chocolate, cookies, a glass of wine, bread, pizza, pasta, some very ripe, sweet fruit, but today, for the first time, I had a craving for greens.  I did not care whether it was a dark green romaine lettuce, chard, spinach . . . it just had to be green.  The cucumbers in the fridge would not satisfy the craving.  I had to make a trip to the store.

I bought 2 bunches of organic celery, one huge dark green head of organic romaine lettuce, and organic beet greens.  I had to go to two different stores to get the quality I wanted.  Wilted romaine or beet greens would not do.  I went home and juiced up the beet greens with some beet root, carrot, apple, and cucumber (all organic save the cucumber which was washed and peeled).  Ahhhhh, the craving was satisfied.

Three hours later I wanted more greens.  It was afternoon and a hot 97 degrees with monsoon humidity.  I mixed up a batch of the banana blueberry smoothie* (FREE smoothie recipe e-Book link at the end of this post) and added as much romaine as I could fit into the blender.  The bananas were cut into 1/4 inch slices and previously frozen.  I had to add extra water to get the whole thing to mix.  See the recipe in previous blog.  I also blended in a few ice cubes; crushed ice would be even better.  The result was a thick, cold product that resembled the $7 smoothies at the smoothie shop.  The smoothie shop will top their smoothies with granola.  I topped mine with hemp seeds which give it a nice texture and taste.  I have also topped smoothies with chia seeds which give a bit more crunch.  Both these seeds are said to have good essential fatty acids such as Omega 3, and protein.  The smoothie works with mango instead of, or in addition to blueberries, but the mango I bought was not organic and had a chemical taste.  There are inorganic mangoes that are better than the ones I had, I just did not want to go to a third store. 

I am not going to accept any of that chemical tasting food.  I put the offending mango in a plastic bag and into the refrigerator.  I will return it to the store.  While I am at the store, I will look for more greens.

Still 100% raw vegan,
Southwest Desert Blogger
*P.S. get easy, delicious, FREE juice and smoothie recipes e-Book, videos, and info on the life changing 7 Day Raw Food Challenge I completed, link here:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344  Have a healthy, happy day. C.
C. (c)2011

Is Your Drink Green?

Have you ever had a green drink?  No, not a green colored cocktail.  I mean one of those green health smoothies?  I used to do (i.e., drink) wheat grass juice.  It tastes like drinking the front lawn (if you have a front lawn).  I remember waiting on line at a health food store deli counter (do they call it a deli?) and someone ordered a "shot" of wheat grass  juice. The man standing behind me in line was not well versed in the wheat grass culture, so he asked the deli counter worker, "What is a shot of wheat grass?"  The worker explained that he would juice fresh wheat grass and each ounce is a shot (think bar culture).  The man on line said, "Isn't that what my dog eats and barfs up afterwards?"  Yes.  He got the idea.

Often, health foods are an acquired taste.  Sometimes they are downright difficult to stomach.  I asked the organic food co-op produce man why kale is so popular.  It seems like a good way to destroy a salad and why would one add it to a smoothie and risk ruining all the sweet fresh fruit used to disguise the kale?  The coop man said he thinks people just force themselves to eat kale.  He doesn't like it either.

A green drink seems like a good idea 2 days of the year:  St. Patrick's Day and Halloween.  But today I tried a green smoothie.  It is part of the raw food week.  The full recipe calls for 4 bananas.  I just happened to have 4 bananas at the peak of ripeness.  The recipe calls for blueberries.  I just happened to have organic blueberries that actually have some taste to them.  And the recipe calls for spinach.  I have over a pound of spinach and I like it much better than kale.  So all systems were a go.

The recipe I used is a big risk because it makes 4 cups of smoothie. You don't like it and you are stuck with a lot of green goo in a blender.  Bearing that in mind, I judiciously made half the recipe.  I wasn't sure if the amount of spinach in the recipe was loose packed or solid packed cups.  I just added spinach until the nice blue smoothie turned green.  It was a nice shade of green, but a bit ominous.

I poured it into a clear glass cup.  It was green.  It was thick.  I was hungry so I tasted it.  It was good!  I was amazed at how good it was.  It was easy to drink.  I had to slow myself down.  It was downright chugable.  Like Chinese food, about an hour and a half later I wanted more.  So, I made the other half of the recipe, but this time I packed the blender with as much spinach as would fit.

The blender needed help blending the additional quantity of spinach.  I kept turning it off, removing the lid, and mixing the blended fruit with a bit more water or a couple of ice cubes, folding in the spinach, and blending some more.  I did this several times until the blender could mix everything smoothly.  Now, to see whether I overdid the greens.  No.  The smoothie was still so good I finished it all even though I had intended to save a cup for later.

This morning I thought green smoothies were a repulsive concept.  Now I am thinking, "How can I tweak this recipe and make variations on the theme."  Luckily, the bananas in the house will probably not be ripe enough to suit my taste for at least 48 hours.  Otherwise, it would be banana blueberry spinach smoothie again tomorrow.  I think I will add a pinch of cayenne pepper to give it that Southwest zing.  The heat of the cayenne pepper powder will also slow down the consumption of the quart of smoothie.
Cayenne pepper powder is measured in HU (heat units).  I have HU 90.  It is HOT. I add it by the tiny pinch.  I believe there is hotter cayenne pepper powder available.  Be careful with it. This stuff should be R rated.  It is not for everyone.

The half recipe (makes about 2 cups smoothie) for the banana blueberry spinach smoothie is in this FREE smoothie e-Book http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344 .  Check the videos at the link to find a video of how to make this and other easy recipes as well as excellent information on health and happiness.  I think you will like it.  I added several ice cubes and less water to my smoothie because it was very nearly 100 degrees here before noon. 

Stay cool.  Stay raw.  Be happy.
(raw now) Southwest Desert Blogger
P.S.  I think the banana blueberry spinach smoothie would look good in a martini glass.  No olives.
C. (c) 2011