I agree on the energy, especially if you're hungry! My husband alternates green smoothies and (homemade) kefir smoothies every other day for himself and the kids (they LOVE them!!). I don't like his green smoothies because he puts a ton of funky fruit in them and I like mine very smooth and mild. I've been making the same one for myself for over a week and I'm not tired of it yet:
2 bananas
1 head romaine or ~4 leaves kale with stems removed
3 dates
1-1.5 c frozen strawberries
~1 c ice water

It makes roughly 4-5 cups of smoothie, which is a good lunch or breakfast for me.

My husband's green smoothies include several different greens from his garden (kale, collard greens, swiss chard) and pineapple, bananas, oranges, frozen berries, spirulina, ground flax, grapefruit, etc. (whatever fruit he can find to stuff in there), usually with some stevia added for sweetness.

Hi Tammay,

I meant to reply a couple days ago and forgot.. I'm an Israeli and I can tell you that fresh spinach (called "terred" Hebrew) is readily available here but usually not in summer. Try looking for it in supermarkets and stores now or in a month or two and you'll find plenty...

Naama

While I do like smoothies, usually with coconut milk and fruit not green ones, I would not call them a whole food.

I don't see the benefit of putting veggies into a blender, why not just cook them or eat them raw? Blending them will probably cause an insulin response, which is not ideal for fat loss.

But how do you keep them after you make a whole blender full? My husband is picky and he most likely won't touch a green smoothie which means I'll have tons leftover. Are there any massive don'ts when it comes to green smoothies?

Glad that I found this smoothie thread. I am looking for green smoothie recipes along with the # of calories.

Dr. Furhman "Eat to Live" is a great proponent of the smoothie. My usual blend is leafy green + fruit + ground flax seed: spinach/orange blueberry or apple. The blending makes the greens easier to take in greater quantities. If the green taste is too much, add a little banana. I drink them right away, some times they look funky if they've been in the fridge for the day. I don't like very sweet ones, even though the fruit is whole, with its fiber, but if I don't have any greens I'll use frozen fruit + yogurt + extra fiber. Sometimes I add protein powder (chocolate). I find that smoothies, esp. the green ones, cut down on cravings.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!! My kids love them too. They're amazing! I notice on days I forget to fix them one after school they go berzerk, in a bad way lol...

My normal formula is a handful of whatever greens I have on hand (spinach, kale, etc)... frozen fruit (Costco has a great big bag that works well for this)... Half a frozen banana to make it creamy... some honey or agave... water or juice. Sometimes I put some yogurt, kefir, or oats in. Pretty much whatever I have in the fridge :).

I found Dr. Oz's green smoothie and will try that.

Eww its nasty to me.. yuck.

I do!

A few months ago I decided to cut dairy out of my diet due to the fact that it gives me acne and makes me feel generally awful. I don't really miss it like I thought I would, but I quickly became concerned about where I was going to get my calcium from.

I knew that dark leafy greens like kale were good for that, but of course I thought they tasted awful raw, so I decided to try a green smoothie one morning on a whim. I haven't looked back. Even just that first morning, when my smoothie was probably more fruit than "green," I didn't need my coffee. It felt great. Digestive problems quickly worked themselves out, I've lost 7 pounds this month, and I get to walk around feeling like a bada$$ because I am the only person I know who actually eats lots of vegetables.

I drink about 40oz every morning. A typical smoothie for me is 2 cups of "exotic" greens (kale, chard, collards, parsley), 2 cups of "base" greens (spinach, bok choy, lettuces), 1.5 cups of another vegetable (butternut squash, green beans, carrots, etc.), 1 whole piece of fruit or a cup of berries, then a little bit of 100% pomegranate juice and about 3/4 cup of almond milk so that the fat-soluble vitamins have something to work with. I rotate all my ingredients every few days when I shop so that I never have the same thing for more than a few days per month or so.

I am trying to get on the green smoothie bandwagon! I have had one for breakfast 4 out of the last 5 days. (My husband, aka the dishwasher, made me buy solo cups so he doesn't have to clean him...the cups are kinda gross!)

Spinach, strawberries and banana has been the best so far. I read that the trick to getting it to blend well is to put water in first, then the fruit. Blend that. Then add the greens. Then I add some ice. I have had no trouble using that method w/ my cheap blender. (The berries are not frozen. I am thinking of buying the costco bag of frozen berries and just putting a serving in the fridge at night to thaw.)

so glad i found you all
 

ok, i have been doing the calorie counting for 2 weeks and it is going pretty well. I normally have to eat a HUGE breakfast and then it is late afternoon before I am hungry.

I want to do more green smoothies. Does anyone suggest or have done say a 14day green smoothie challenge? how did it work for you? how was it going back to adding more foods in your lifestyle?

We live in Taiwan and so fruits and veggies are AWESOME!!! I am curious though, do you get hungry quick? What if you are not home all day, do you make a huge one and take it to work?

I am reallyh oping to get on this and get healthy!! I have about 60lbs to lose.

THis am I made spinach, banana, strawberry one!!! WOW!!! awesome taste. Last week I made, spinach, banana, papaya one!! This afternoon might do romaine, papaya and pineapple (fresh pineapple!!) and see how that goes. It might be just a weekend to explore!! any good websites to try?

On some post somewhere about green smoothies someone said that there was a concern about green smoothies giving a glucose surge. This person did not say why. I assume it would be about the food being essentially pre-masticated by the blender/food processor. Does anyone know about this?

I've been amazed by how much better I feel when I drink them.

Ohmigosh,
I completely forgot about green smoothies.
I pass by the cupboard and think to myself, "Why haven't you juiced at all since Summer?". How could I forget the green smoothies!?

I will have to add them back to my diet!! Starting tomorrow- I'll have one for breakfast :)
They're so much easier than juices, and you don't feel like you waste so much produce!

Why are you going to use your food processor instead?