When was the last time you said ‘I love you’ to yourself?
Was it with a quiet day at the spa?
A cucumber eye treatment with a purifying avocado, kale and lemon masque perhaps?
Prior to a few days ago, that would have been my idea of self pampering. I’m great at wearing green veggies on my face and while I’m sure they do a world of good when it comes to detoxing my pores, I’ve always had this nagging feeling that if I could just manage to ingest those putrid tasting greens, then I would be much better off.
Where there is a will, there is a way, no? 😀
So when Nicola from g-freemom invited me to participate in D-tox January: a month of juices, smoothies and g-free soups, I decided to seize the moment and finally conquer the dreaded green smoothie!
And yes, I figured it would help that I cannot smell or taste. 😉
I suppose I could have just gone about this like I typically do, find someone else’s recipe, make a tweak or two (like adding just one little green leaf and maybe a splash of something else to help the smoothie go down) then hope for the best. Not this time though, I needed to do some some research on how to go about making delicious green smoothies that my kiddos husband and 3 year old would drink too (my 7 year old eats Brussels sprouts like popcorn, so he was in the bag).
I struck gold when I found this fantastic book by Victoria Boutenko: Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health.
This book is a quick and easy read, but packed full of really great information. Victoria has a wonderfully informative guide to making green smoothies so that you can reap all the benefits. It’s a little more complex than simply throwing various fruits, vegetables and greens in a blender. Victoria answers the common questions regarding green smoothies which you can check out here.
Victoria’s concept of a “green smoothie” might not be the same one you have in mind right now. When I tried to make a green smoothie a few months ago, I filled my Vitamix with…well, green stuff. All that wholesome kale, dandelion green, lettuces, cabbage, etc., add a little water, some Greek yogurt, flax seed and VOILA!!! An absolutely disgusting blend of liquefied creamy chlorophyll. Oh JOY!!! Let me just chug that down with some bacon fat or something, because I may as well go eat the grass in my backyard with our dogs.
So here’s the trick that Victoria discovered and has absolutely mastered with her recipes: fruits have a stronger flavor than greens. I remember four or five years ago when my husband got into juicing for a month or so. He would make this carrot, tomato, beet (BEET?) concoction but would throw an apple in there; and it tasted like apple juice with some carrot flavor. Granted, it was bright red from the beet (BEET?) but at least it didn’t taste like dirt.
It’s true. You can sneak all kinds of nutritious greens into your smoothie as long as you include lots of fruit: apples, oranges, pears, bananas, mango…go for it. Victoria does say not to add anything but fruit, greens and water to a green smoothie…no fats (like nuts, seeds or oils), supplements or starchy vegetables (like BEETS!). Apparently, these additions can slow down the absorption of nutrients from the fruit and greens…and can cause irritation and gas (which explains a LOT as to why Mike’s juicing phase only lasted a month)!
We started out using Victoria’s Beginner Green Smoothie recipes and I took her advice in the book for when it comes to introducing green smoothies to the green adverse. The first few times I put the smoothie in an opaque cup (with a lid) to hide the green contents from my 3 year old. Imagine my delight when he finished it and asked for more “apple juice!” HAHA!!! Luke now loves his morning smoothie, although he does ask for one that’s blue.
That’s okay, the greens are still in it! 😀
Luke’s “Blues Clues” Smoothie
(makes about 6 cups)
We use nothing but organic produce in order to eliminate the chemical pesticides.
2 cups Water
1 Banana, chopped into 4 pieces (I like to use peeled, frozen bananas)
1 cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Apple, quartered and seeded
1 Pear, halved and seeded
1 Orange, peeled
1 handful of Dandelion Greens
- Blend, Pour and Enjoy!
I wouldn’t have believed it, had I not made the smoothie myself!
So I got a wild hair yesterday and added Bubbies sauerkraut (I kid you not) in a smoothie that included kale, mango, apples and a pear. When Mike tasted it, do you know what he said? “Tastes like banana.”
Funny that there were no bananas in it! So when I told him there was sauerkraut in it, he made this look like I had just stolen money from his wallet or something. So if this works on an intelligent and flavor discerning 37 year old man, imagine how effective it will be on my husband kids (oops, did I just say that?).
“You Won’t Guess What’s In Me” Smoothie
(makes about 7 cups)
3 cups Water
2 Apples, quartered and seeded
1 Pear, halved and seeded
1 cup frozen Mango
1 handful Kale
1/2 cup Bubbies Sauerkraut
- Blend, Pour and Enjoy!
Literally, just a handful of Kale!
If you’ve never tried Bubbies Sauerkraut, you are missing out! This is not the same kind of sauerkraut you get in a can, it is not sour at all and in fact, it has a slight sweetness to it (compared to the canned stuff). From what I can remember, I would describe it like a mild dill pickle. The cabbage is nice and crunchy, not soggy and limp like the canned sauerkraut. Due to the way it’s made, it is full of healthy probiotics and I need all of those I can get! I eat this stuff every single day, straight from the jar (no need to heat it up), and I never get tired of it.
So go ahead and grab a green one…and start loving yourself from the inside out! 😀

This post is also linked to Seasonal Sundays over at Real Sustenance.
Ugh! You totally stole my idea. OK, it's not really MY idea, but I was going to write almost that same post for my day. Except the sauerkraut thing. But I have to try that stuff. Need those probiotics.
Anyway, I was talking with Nicola about that very thing (the top part of the post). She thought I was nuts for liking green smoothies, and I told her the secret was to put in at least half an apple. I am not that much of a green fan, but add half an apple and half a banana, no problem. And, Max just adores it. But he likes all kinds of vegetables. Even wheatgrass. Go figure.
Speaking of adorable. I love the pictures of Luke. That is so cute. And how did you get so many perfect ones with the soft lighting and everything? He is just too cute. And, beautiful eyes.
OK, I need to go to bed now. I can't sleep, so I have been trolling blogs. Got the notice on yours, so I had to take a look. And, btw, you are pretty gosh-darn funny yourself, little lady.
Good night.
LOL, great minds huh? 😀
I think you should proceed forward with what you intended to write Tia, we can double the impact!
The pictures of Luke were a fluke (I'm such a poet), and it's why I put them all in my post, this never happens! Usually, I'm lucky if I get one good shot out of 100, but he was so into that smoothie that he actually stayed still. The lighting was courtesy of some cheap temporary blinds I put up in the window behind my real blinds, it really filters the sunlight light beautifully. I only have a two hour window each day (during the winter) to sneak in my pictures or forget about it. I really need a tabletop photo studio setup for artificial lighting but I'm not sure how to go about it, a professional photographer I am NOT!
As for funny…the greens made me do it! I'm not kidding, I can really "feel" a difference while I'm drinking these suckers, they make me silly happy! It's either in my head or my body has just been seriously ticked off at what I've been feeding it for years (current health issues are rather convincing proof I think). 😀
xo,
Heidi
Hello Heidi,
I'm a bit of a lurker on your blog!! Absolutely love your recipes. I've been Gf for about 2 1/2 years now and always enjoy trying new recipes. I found Victoria's site a few months back and love green smoothies. I sleep so much better when I drink them and I notice that I have a flatter stomach also!! I'll have to try the blueberries in one because I haven't done that in them yet. I know when I tell people about green smoothies they all turn up their nose and I try to get them to taste just a small mouthful, then they all ask to fill up their glass!!
I'd like to say thanks for all the work you put into your recipes and blog!!
Terri (in Australia)
Hi Terri!
Thank you so much, I'm happy to hear you discovered Victoria too, her information made all the difference in getting us to actually like (and therefore drink) the green smoothies, LOL! And YES! I think my tummy is getting flatter too, even though it's only been a few days so far…a bonus surprise to go along with with all the nutritional goodness! 😀
Hugs!
Heidi
Heidi-girl, Yeah, good for you! I'm a huge fan of taking time to appreciate and be kind and compassionate to ourselves. That's hard to cultivate. We are SO hard on ourselves.
I've been on this path for so long, I doubt you were even born yet (the smoothie, juicing, greens, veggies, hippie-girl food). =) While I totally agree with everything mentioned above, I think there's lot of "wiggle" room when deciding what should go into a smoothie or what should make up a juice blend. It depends on a lot of things, so I don't have any fast rules. Depending on the situation, I think it's fine to add fats or a starchy veg like beets (OMG, what would I do without beets for a smoothie ingredient). In fact, the slower rate of absorption is what I often want. If I was working with someone who needed an easy path to nutrient absorption, I'd skip the starch, fiber, fats, etc. I've worked with people on chemo and you want to make it as easy as possible for them to get all the nutrients they can in one little glass of green goodness. It depends on so many things. If someone had diabetes, I might want to slow things down a bit (especially depending on ingredients). If someone wanted to lose weight or gain weight, I'd adjust things. Those little seeds we often add are high calorie, but for some people, that's what I want. Lots of ways to go with this.
Anyway, just adding a bit to the conversation. Peace, love and green veggies!
Melissa
P.S. Those are the cutest photos EVER! OMG! xo
I love having a nutritionist/holistic health expert as my friend! Thanks for pointing this information out to me, I think as I get more green smoothie experience behind my belt, I will trying adding in more of the veggies that my family is a bit adverse to and maybe some chia seed too. This is just the most brilliant way of getting in the real foods that we're not used to the taste of, the foods that years of the Standard American Diet (high sugar, high salt, etc.) have turned our taste buds against.
I ALWAYS appreciate your feedback and input Melissa, great stuff!!
xo,
Heidi
Heidi–Just sitting here giggling with my first cup of coffee and feeling like I need to jump up and try one of your smoothies. I loved this post. You may just start a green smoothie revolution with it. Cheers!
LOL! Thanks Wendy…I think I now understand where the term "health nut" comes from. The more nutrition I get, the more glutadoodle I become!
xo,
Heidi 😀
I have to tell you that I have never heard of putting sauerkraut in a smoothie! LOL! I have never seen Bubbies here…I'll have to start looking for it.
I wish I would have started giving my kids smoothies when they were much younger. I'll have to devise some super sneaky ways to get my 8 and almost 15 year old to drink them!
Kim,
I'm not sure what got into me on that one, I guess I'm just desperately seeking great health!
I can only imagine the challenge it would be to introduce green smoothies to an 8 and 15 year old (especially a teenager, LOL!). If it helps any, I wouldn't be above bribery (just sayin'). 😀
You are so funny Heidi! I love you and your glutadoodle ways. And I kind of want squeeze Luke's cute cheeks 🙂
I'm so glad Luke has held onto his chubby baby cheeks for this long, although he would probably prefer growing out of them any day now…his cheeks always have a slight rosiness to them from me kissing him all the time…and no one can resist a little squeeze, LOL!
As Always.. You Rock Lady!! Ill be trying the "blues clues" Smoothie this Am!
(ps- you must be a really great mom thinking of that name- what kid could refuse??) 🙂
So Enjoying this Detox January Event!!
xo, Brittany
Okay, I have a jar of Bubbies in my fridge right now. I guess my kids are going to get an after school smoothie surprise today. Will keep you posted and let you know if they agree with Mike and start thinking "bananas" instead of "sauerkraut"! LOL Loved this post, my dear!! And tell little Luke we are so proud of his smoothie appreciation! 😉
Haha! If they hate it, just be sure to blame it on Mike okay? 😀
xo,
Heidi
I think I just died a bit inside thinking of sauerkraut in smoothies. Ha!
I am so afraid of my Vitamix. I need to get over it, huh?
AndreAnna,
ROFL! I was soooooo afraid of my Vitamix at first too, it definitely took a while to get over that powerful motor, I was so afraid of burning it out (especially for that price!).
It's all good now, you just gotta take the plunge (maybe not on the sauerkraut though, hehe).
Have you seen this website? http://greenmonstermovement.com/
I am sooo happy to say that our 4 year old is addicted to Bubbie's kraut and that is a true blessing considering he has such GI problems. He really needs to eat it everyday to keep his healthy flora up!
Love both of your smoothies, will give then a whirl.
Peace & Raw Health,
Elizabeth
Hey, there's that fish again!
What great recipes!!! I will have to try dandelion greens and the sauerkraut trick. LOVE the pics of your little man. Have a lovely day and keep on whizzing up creations. Hope you're hangin' in there. My withdrawls from carbs lasted 1 week and then I felt so much better. Keep us posted : )
Brilliant and inspiring!!!!! Thank you Heidi. Love the thought of linking smoothies to self-love. We should all love ourselves a little each day – right? I love sauerkraut, but haven't seen this brand here – will look out for it. N xo
I love this post on so many levels that I can't even enumerate them all or I'd have a post of my own in my comment here! You never cease to amaze me, girl. While I think the fruits are really important starting out for sweetness, as time goes one, one really gets creative in making smoothies and it's hard to make a bad one. Sometimes only a tiny amount of fruit or fruit juice (or non-dairy milk) does the trick. Yes, sometimes the color might be more brown and less attractive, but the taste is still there. And, I used all kinds of things in mine … sometimes a little almond flour, almond butter, chia seeds, or hemp seeds for a protein boost and thickener. I've used all kinds of greens with success. Leftover cole slaw mix right out of the package served as my greens the last few days. The little amount of red cabbage and carrots turned my smoothie a pale pink, which was fun. 😉 One must drink a few green smoothies to realize how good they are and how amazing they make one feel. Love your little one (God, that face!), the signature goldfish, imagining Glutadoodle you with veggies on your face, these two smoothie recipes, etc.!!
xoxo,
Shirley
Great recipes! I have yet to try any greens other than spinach in my smoothies. But, the kiddo calls my banana, blueberry, spinach smoothie the “Killer Smoothie” and asks for it regularly. Yay to getting greens in a kid!
Now I just have to try it with kale or collards or something for some greens variety. Or try your versions. We’ll get these kids eating veggies yet, no?
Deanna,
We use different shades of "greens" at our house for some variety in our smoothies. Kale is good to juice, but I always put an apple or two in there for a "chaser" ~~ LOL
Another great way to get your kiddies to eat their veggies is Juice Plus.
It's awesome!!
When I was little little my dads parents made homemade saurkraut. I loved it but never could bring myself to buy store bought as a grown up. I was at the store today staring at that jar of Bubbie's kraut and couldn't bring myself to buy it. lol
I've been juicing for years but just started drinking green smoothies when the doctor put me on the gfdf detox (prior to the celiac dx). I found the Greensmoothiegirl.com and also Victoria's website. I bought Victoria's book that you mentioned. I've been very inconsistent for myself but your post has invigorated me to get back on the wagon. I do make smoothies everyday for my kids. I mostly use baby spinach because it's so neutral. I add Culterelle powder to their smoothie as well. Gotta love the blueberries for hiding the green. Right now in my fridge I think I have kale, spinach, mixed salad greens, water cress, chard and beets. (sorry I said the 'b' word). I quit using juice as a liquid base for smoothies a long time ago especially since my oldest dd has type one diabetes. Her favorite is frozen bananas, mango, pineapple and spinach. I usually use rice milk as the liquid or sometimes almond along with water.
I'm interested in what Melissa said (glutenfreeforgood) about changing up the ingredients based on your needs. Especially, slowing the absorption because of my dd diabetes.
What a healthy way to kick off the New Year!!
I distinctly recall having a bad gastric episode after eating sauerkraut as a kid. I really need to just give it a try. It certainly can't be worse than accidentally ingesting gluten and writhing in pain on the floor for several hours. I keep on hearing how good it is for the gut. (Perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something.)
Oh and you killed me with the last photo, cute goldfish.
yummmm! I've been making smoothies at home too! I love kale in them! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how you got that fish in your smoothie!! Too super cute!! 🙂 Love ya girl!
I love these recipes…great ideas.
I am the queen of hiding greens in my kids' drinks and meals.
If you have time this weekend, I love if you could share this with my readers at my Creative Juice link!
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/01/cre…
Green smoothies are ingenius. I've "eaten" more greens in the last year than all the prior years of my life x 100, simply by adding greens (baby spinach, kale, collards) to my smoothies. It's an amazing delivery system for getting greens into your body.
The sauerkraut is an interesting addition. I will definitely have to try it. I'm thinking about making my own. Have you ever tried? I'm guessing it has the same or similar benefits as adding kefir to your smoothie (a tip I learned from Kim at Cook It Allergy Free), which has become a staple for me. In fact, I started making my own Goats Milk kefir and it is fantastic and way less expensive than buying it already made. Just gotta keep it going.
Thanks!!!
Ellen
Okay, I'll admit I once used miso in a smoothie (imparted a bit of an umami characteristic) but the thought never crossed my mind to use sauerkraut! Genius!
I am starting to experiment with smoothies and these both soung pretty good and healthy.Will try them.
Thanks again
I just made the smoothie with sauerkraut, and it is as tasty as you described. What is a standard serving size? About half?