Smoothies with Leafy Greens

Somehow along the way, I have begun to realize how good leafy greens are for the body. I don't really like salad, which not only makes me an unusual vegan eater, but also makes it more difficult to get greens into my diet.

After watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, I was inspired to try drinking my fruits and veggies. Now, unlike the star of the film, I don't have a juicer, and it's not really in the budget to purchase one any time soon. I do, however, have a great blender, so I decided to start making smoothies instead. I have a bit of a different concoction than typical green smoothies or other smoothies that are more like milkshakes than smoothies.

Of course, I start with some leafy greens, like spinach or finely chopped kale. Kale has a lot of fiber, so make sure it's at least chopped, if not frozen and chopped, otherwise you'll have a very stringy smoothie. You'll also want to remove woody stalk. To do that, I hold onto the end of the stalk with one hand, and loosely wrap the other hand around the whole leaf as I pull in the opposite direction from the end of the stalk I'm holding.

You could use any other type of green as well. Dandelion greens are chock full of nutrients. Chard is nice, and so are collards. Really, you can use whatever you like, and I often use a combination of whatever I have on hand. Different kinds require different preparation methods, depending upon how edible the stalk is, and how much fiber is in that particular green. Woody stalks should be removed, and if you're not sure how stringy your greens are, I would chop them in advance. I would highly suggest organic greens because they are otherwise often covered in pesticides.

I put at least 2 cups of greens in the blender first, pour in about 1/2 cup orange juice, and then add some frozen or fresh fruit. I use about 3/4 cup frozen fruit. I like a combination of a tart fruit, like raspberries or citrus, sweet fruit, like pineapple or mango, and a blue or purple fruit, like blueberries.

It looks really beautiful in the blender, waiting to get chopped and liquified. To make a smoothie like this, you need to have a pretty powerful blender. You can check if your blender is powerful enough by chopping ice. If your blender doesn't chop ice without anything else in it, that's a sign your blender won't do a great job with this kind of smoothie.

If you have fresh fruit, that's even more delicious. I would, however, suggest adding 1/3 cup of ice cubes if all your produce is fresh. It's just more appetizing cold or frozen.

Next, blend. I usually start at a slower setting and increase the speed gradually. Everything seems to get chopped more evenly this way. Here are the results:

Sometimes my smoothies come out too bitter or chunky. You can just add more orange juice if it's too chunky or bitter. If it's really bitter, adding more tart fruit is the best way to go. Sometimes I add lime juice, and it's really really delicious and fresh tasting.

If the batch is really bad, I pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. The next time I make a smoothie, I add these smoothie cubes, more orange juice, and more fruit. These are probably the tastiest and most smooth concoctions I make.

If you haven't noticed by the photos, sometimes the smoothies don't look all that appetizing. Don't worry though, some of the most delicious smoothies I've made were the worst tasting, while the best looking ones have tasted the worst. I like to make my smoothies pretty thick, almost like apple sauce. If you don't like yours as thick, just add more juice.

Smoothie Recipe:

• 2-3 cups fresh leafy greens/1 cup frozen leafy greens, de-stalked, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup tart juice, such as cranberry (optional)
• 1/4 cup tangy fruit, like lime, fresh cranberries, tart raspberries, green apple, etc.
• 1/4 cup sweet fruit like pineapple, sweet mango, banana, etc.
• 1/4 cup purple, black, or blue fruit like blueberries, blackberries, dark red/black grapes (chop finely before adding)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste. If too bitter, add more tart fruit or juice, such as tart raspberries or 100% cranberry juice. If too chunky, add more orange juice and keep blending. If you can't get the recipe right, keep note of what isn't right with it, pour into clean ice cube trays, freeze, and use again, adding other ingredients to balance out the flavor and texture.


This is one of my favorite ways to get a lot of fresh greens into my diet without a lot of high calorie salad dressing. I especially like one of these smoothies in the morning after a day when I haven't eaten very healthily. I feel like I'm giving my immune system and body a great kick start first thing in the morning!