My Favorite Green Smoothie

This smoothie is one of my favorite ways to start the day, after the obligatory cup of warm lemon water. Despite what “they” say, I can never seem to eat a substantial breakfast at the crack of dawn, when my kids wake up. A good green smoothie will hold me over until around 10am, when its time for a savory filling snack, or “second breakfast” as I like to call it (usually hard boiled egg on homemade sourdough bread with veggies).

The thing is, I LOVE making smoothies because you get all that fiber and there’s no waste! I juiced for a while using a super fancy Breville juicer that I got for a wedding present, and the juices really were delicious, plus I felt super healthy. But I also felt bad throwing out what seemed like half of the raw ingredients.

I know what you’re going to say, why don’t you compost the pulp? I would LOVE to do that if I had a garden or a backyard. “Illegal window-box” composting could be a thing, but no.

In the past, every time I tried to make green smoothies with my Kitchenaid blender, I always felt like there were still little bits of spinach or kale that didn’t quite break down, and it kind of ruined the whole deal for me.

SO HERE IS THE TRICK! BLEND THE GREENS WITH ABOUT 3/4 COLD WATER FIRST, before adding any of the other ingredients! This completely breaks downs the greens and makes for a velvety texture, with no toothsome pieces. Voila! You don’t need a high-powered Vitamix to make a great smoothie, although if you have one, by all means…

The ratio for my favorite green smoothie is about half greens, half fruit, PLUS one very important addition. Lemon Juice! Seems kind of strange to add to a smoothie, right? The lemon juice actually enhances the flavors of the ingredients, and balances really nicely, so it’s never too sweet or too “green.”