I’ve been having them for breakfast, and after getting used to the odd texture and the initial trauma to my digestive system as I “cleansed” (we’ll just leave it at that), I have decided I quite like them. So far I’ve been using kale, tomatoes, celery, carrot, lemon, sometimes spinach, sometimes banana, and I throw in a little flax seed and then a touch of old bay seasoning for taste. In just two weeks, in conjunction with a new exercise regime (I’m logging an hour a day on the exercise bike, walking tons, and other things), I’ve not only lost a few pounds, but my BP is down a few points (it wasn’t bad to begin with), I wake up more alert and with more energy, I find my mood is more positive (not that you would notice here), and I no longer need a nap in the afternoon. I even tried to nap the other day just BECAUSE I LIKE TO NAP, and I couldn’t.
Not sure how much to attribute to the exercise or the smoothie, but I will just assume it is a synergistic effect. Regardless, it is a rather easy lifestyle modification, and I plan to stick to it. KALE- NOT JUST FOR DINNER ANY MORE.
So share with me your green smoothie recipes. I’m thinking I might use some fennel and maybe beets tomorrow.
Danton
Peaches and avocado and fresh mint! Add a banana, if you want.
Odie Hugh Manatee
You don’t want to know my green smoothie recipe. It involves lots of heavy alcohol, lime 7-11 slurpees and a toilet bowl (if I’m lucky).
schrodinger's cat
Green smoothies don’t sound very appetizing. I make mine with berries or mango and non fat yogurt. Sometimes I will add silken tofu to shake-up things a bit.
AndyG
If you use beets, don’t be scared if your bowel movements look like something out of a splatter movie for a day or two afterwards. Likewise with pink pee.
kindness
Oat bran is also really good for you. Helps keep the LDL/HDL cholesterol right. Tastes pretty good in stuff too.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Chocolate mint chip ice cream, whole milk. Blend.
The Spy Who Loved Me
I just gagged on my coffee. Dear God, we don’t need to know about your “cleansing”.
RoninJin
Green Goodness works for me.
BretH
Carrot, celery, kale and maybe some apple slices in the juicer, banana, frozen blueberries and whatever else fruit-ish is on hand in the blender, with a scoop or two of brown rice protein powder (with maybe a bit of vanilla soy powder mixed in if I want it to taste more like a milkshake).
Yours sounds healthier, but I am not sure I could do banana and Old Bay before noon.
WereBear
Good on ya!
Now me, I regard kale as something to resole shoes, but juicing it is probably an improvement.
Comrade Mary
Is “Green Smoothies!” our new safeties?
I haven’t made the leap to all veggie, but love using protein powder, some pineapple and berries, a little Greek yogurt, some ice cubes, and several cups of baby spinach or kale. Tastes great and you get a metric nitriles of greens, too.
General Stuck
Yea, right, this swill sounds like flouride laced commie juice to me. Drink that shit and start singing Soviet folk songs in the shower. No thankie you, my arteries cannot be assimilated, nor softened up for my early patriotic bypass/
Kidding. Been a pragmatic liberal granola for a while now. Quick Oats for breakfast, green iced tea and real lemonade to drink with Stevia. And my fridge is packed with various frozen bean soups made from crockpot love. And the dog takes me for a walk every day, sometimes twice.
Comrade Mary
FYIP. Safeties should be safeword and nitriles should be buttload.
Todd
Since I work on Wall Street, I blend Benjamins with the Finest Bourbon.
wasabi gasp
So much green smoothie, so little time.
Samara Morgan
heya Cole.
Yglesias showed up on freddies thread last nite.
Did you see?
so much mischief, so little time.
:)
sixers
Look at me, I’ve worked out for 2 weeks in a row!
Ira-NY
If possible, consider riding a bike outside. It is much more pleasant than riding an exercise bike and as a consequence much easier to sustain over time.
Trinity
Excellent Cole! I discovered green smoothies two years ago and they have quite possibly saved my health/life. :) I STRONGLY recommend investing in a VitaMix blender. You will not believe the amazing difference it will make. Well worth every penny! (And this is coming from a serious cheapskate.)
That said, I keep my smoothie recipes fairly simple. I love kale and spinach the most. A little frozen ripe banana and some vanilla coconut or almond milk is delicious!
rlrr
Real Amercians start their day by consuming enough pork products to feed a small third world village.
Guster
One or two bunches of kale, de-veined and torn into bite-sized pieces. A splash of shoyu. A quarter or half of a lemon, squeezed for juice. A splash or two of olive oil. A clove or two of garlic, pressed. Two teaspoons (or tablespoons, if you’re a huge fan) of tahini.
Massage together with your hands for a few minutes, until the kale is tender and delicious.
You’ve gotta like garlic and tahini, but easy and delicious if you’re a hardcore kale fan.
gogol's wife
Okay, I’m glad John Cole is back to normal. A couple of days ago he was holding back on telling us what he had for dinner. Now we’re back to his sharing the most intimate details, which is the way most of us like it.
gogol's wife
@rlrr:
That’s what my father did, and lived to 92.
rlrr
@gogol’s wife:
He must have been blessed with the anti-exploding heart gene.
Sir Nose'D
Cole,
Eat your smoothie post-exercise. My favorite recipe:
1 scoop whey protein
handful of kale, spinach, beet greens
1+ tbsp cod liver oil (lemon-flavored)
2 tbsp ground flax seeds, raw
0.5 cup plain yogurt or keifer
1 cup strawberries
1 banana (or 0.5 cup blueberries + 0.5 cup blackberries)
ice and water
This year I’ve lost a shitload of body fat (27% to 17% since Jan 1). Eat veggies and lean protein at every meal, ideally 4-5 times per day.
Samara Morgan
oh and, GO PALEO.
eat like the cavemen.
its what the system was designed for.
Ian
Hey John, can you give us your basic recipe?
jibeaux
Green stuff in a smoothie doesn’t bother me, might even try it, but an Old Bay Smoothie? Yeeeesshhh…
Wag
One had to be careful with smoothies. Yes, everything in them is good for you, but it’s also really easy to swill down 600 calories in a hurry if you’re not careful.
Me? I’ll stick with my daily bowl of cheerios with a handful of blueberries or fresh Colorado peaches sliced on top. Chased by plenty of black (zero calories) coffee.
Samara Morgan
@gogol’s wife: especially the “cleansing” of his GI tract.
Samara Morgan
@Wag: palisades peaches….mmm
gogol's wife
@rlrr:
Hard labor on a Hungarian agricultural estate starting at age 3.
Bill H.
If it will mean the end of sharing with us recipes like that, for God’s sake put some Hemlock in it.
Lojasmo
Agree with paleo. I lost 30 pounds, and dropped 30 points off my systolic BP (my cholesterol dropped 70 points too.
schrodinger's cat
An exercise idea: Try giving Tunch a bath. Oh and don’t forget to record it and post it for our amusement!
Wag
FWIW, black coffee is the most underappreciated beverage. No calories, plenty of flavor and caffeine. What’s not to love?
The Dangerman
@AndyG:
This isn’t TMI, but approaching it. Please do (DON’T) share.
A few thoughts as I start my first cuppa caffine this morning: Flax seeds have a perfect balance of the Omegas. Blueberries if you can get them. Look up Resveratrol and natural sources of it (BB’s are great, green tea is good, and good chocolate is super healthy; on that last point, google Kuni Indians). Definitely consider Paleo and also consider raw foods as much as you can tolerate (hey, I like a steak every once in a while and tar tar isn’t my style).
Edit: On Resveratrol (sp?), look for book by Beth Geisler at your local library or seller.
Amanda in the South Bay
Cole should just rename this post “Bowel Movements” rather than Green Smoothies.
JGabriel
John Cole @ Top:
Dude, show us yours …
.
Samara Morgan
@Lojasmo: it makes sense. its what we were genetically designed for by the inexorable hand of Holy Evolution.
:)
schrodinger's cat
Does Green Smoothies replace Green Balloons now?
wasabi gasp
Just searched the archive and the phase “stool sample” isn’t in there yet. This is getting exciting.
cathyx
Wow John, this is great news. I assume you take your dogs on those walks, but if not, you should. Sleeping better is a result of exercising, eating healthier, and losing weight, it’ll only get better from here the more you exercise and lose.
I have no recipe to offer, just support to keep up the good work.
adolphus
Veggie Boy. I like it!
eldorado
so, you can’t nap?
not exactly selling this are you?
Derf
Ok, I’ll bite.
I have these 2 or 3 times a week:
Proportions and amount are up to you.
powdered greens (in health food section of grocery store)
Whey powder
water or milk
ice
non-fat yogurt
liquid egg white
banana, preferably frozen
frozen blueberries or whatever other fruit you have lying around
sugar or sweetner (optional)
whatever else you want
blend for awhile
The Dangerman
Another Paleo person here; it just makes sense.
Also, for exercise, consider High Intensity Interval training; if you’re extreme (and live next door to a hospital or fire station), consider an extreme form of HIIT like Tabata training.
Omnes Omnibus
I had pain au chocolat and cafe au lait. I also run five days a week.
RichardC
@19: Yes, a VitaMix is great. Well worth the $$, although Consumer Reports says that a much cheaper blender (I forget the brand) is almost as good.
My usual breakfast smoothie: Banana, about a pint of greens (mixed or spinach), multivitamin capsules (not tablets), 1 Tb flaxseed, 1 Tb chia seeds, 50 ml DHA (for omega-3s), 1 c soy milk, 1 c assorted frozen berries.
Many variations are possible but I don’t want to think in the early morning, so I usually have the usual. I attribute my longevity (60) to this concoction and not having a TV.
cathyx
So if we are confessing here, I’m paleo too. My favorite site for all things paleo:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
master c
Ive been doing them for about 14 mos. My body loves them. I blend a blender full of spinach and water, then add frozen fruit, a banana, and flax. I started doing it cuz I have a hard time eating all the greens I need to. It looks crazy-but its very sweet and it’s all real food.
CaseyL
Summer is the time to really shake things up, innit?
I haven’t made any drastic changes to my diet lately, because that part was done a couple years ago, when I was told to eliminate “most meat, and anything processed and white” – potatoes, bread,and pasta being top of the list. I can’t give up cheese, though. Which is a pity: I’d probably drop 10 pounds within a month if I could give up cheese.
But this is my Fitness Summer like it is for most other folks. There’s Fitness Boot Camp 2 or 3 times a week, and some serious hiking at least every other week, sometimes twice a week. I haven’t lost weight so much as I’ve toned up quite a bit.
The trick with any change in regimen is keeping it up long term. For me, that means being able to scrape myself out of bed for Boot Camp when it’s still pitch dark outside.
Also, any drastic change to your diet will produce dramatic results – for about 3 months. After that, your metabolism adjusts to the change and, if you’re not careful, you gain back all the weight.
Teak111
The old lady makes the green smoothies and I program the TV. Its works.
Three-nineteen
Do any of these smoothies last if you make up a lot and store it in the fridge? I would like to have enough to last 3-4 days.
I used to drink fruit smoothies in the morning, but quit because 1) they were up there in calories (300-400) and 2) they didn’t really fill me up – I still ate the same amount of food every day. I need something that is hopefully under 200 calories for 8-10 oz, doesn’t taste too vile, and I can keep in the fridge at work for an afternoon snack.
nevsky42
Go to the Whole Foods website and search “green smoothie” and you’ll find one that’s pretty tasty (kale, spinach, soy/rice milk, banana, dates, and berries). The only caveat is you need to blend this longer than you might expect if you want it to be actually smooth, but it’s really good if you want something that tastes like a milkshake. I make extra of this because my four-year-old loves it…
Monkey Business
Kale was what we used to feed my guinea pig.
I don’t eat cat food, and my cat is higher on the food chain than my guinea pig was, so I’m sure as shit not moving down the food chain and eating kale.
debit
This reminds of the time I bought a juicer. The recipe book had a “cleansing” drink recommendation (one fresh pear and one fresh apple). I had pears, I had apples and so I juiced one of each and drank it down. It was delicious and the perfect breakfast before leaving for work until the cramps hit.
I thought cleansing was meant in a sort of generic “this is healthy because there’s some sort of magical toxin cleansing property in fruit juice and yay!” not the reality which was “if I don’t pull over and find a bathroom now I will have to abandon my shit stained car on the side of the road walk into the wilderness to die of shame.”
Fruit is fucking dangerous.
master c
NO SUGAR!!!!
birthmarker
@Three-nineteen: Try nonfat greek yogurt then add sweetener of choice, and a tablespoon of nuts (I use walnuts.) You could add fruit if you wished. It’s filling and high protein. And you don’t have to wash the blender.
jibeaux
@Omnes Omnibus:
Except for the running, this sounds fantastic.
Liberal Sandlapper
@debit:
Dammit! i just spit coffee ALL OVER my new POOTER!!
Villago Delenda Est
@rlrr:
Mmmmm…..bacon.
Homer: Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute. Lisa honey, are you saying you’re *never* going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!
Homer: [Chuckles] Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.
Omnes Omnibus
@ jibeaux: I like running. I also found good French bakery recently. I am sampling my way through their offerings; as a result, it is good that I like running.
schrodinger's cat
@Three-nineteen: The non fat yogurt smoothies I make are pretty low in calories. Or tr this for an afternoon snack half cup plain non fat yogurt, half cup fruit, 1 tsp of honey or maple syrup.
MercyWoman
For lighter fare, try: 1 cup water, 1 big handful spinach leaves, juice and zest of one lemon, 1/2 of a granny smith apple, handful of chopped celery and 1 clove garlic. It’s tart, tangy, and, yes, does need a little getting used to. But so obnoxiously healthy you can almost feel your cells energizing!
Spinach blends smoother than kale.
artem1s
if you are serious about the green food plan, get some bulk spirulina and add that to your smoothies. Very, very good for digestion.
http://www.powersupplements.com/spirulina/spirulina-benefits.html
mcmullje
1/2 cup of plain unsweetend almond milk, 1 -2 t nut butter, 2 tst ground flax seeds, 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit – cherries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, pears, or frozen bananas, Ice.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m trying to think of what else sounds good at a French bakery for breakfast. That turned into what DOESN’T. So I abandoned the exercise.
Waldo
@Ira-NY: Agreed. My once-a-week 3-hour ride outdoors is a pleasure. 1 hour on the indoor bike and I’m ready to confess to any capital crime to make it stop.
The Dangerman
@mcmullje:
Also a fine tip, but, if you can, make your own AM; you’ll want to use raw almonds that are actually RAW almonds (google for more information if this is an interest).
kindness
@Wag: What!?! I can love coffee more with a touch of Baileys in it. We must be somewhat civilized now, right?
Really, I usually go with 1/2 & 1/2 & a little sugar. But Baileys is killer.
@debit: oh god. Too much information.
schrodinger's cat
@Omnes Omnibus: I used to run at least twice a week and go to an aerobics class 3 times a week but grad school has been brutal. I need to get back to my fitness routine.
Omnes Omnibus
@ Yutsano: That is about the size of it. They also have variety of tartes that I am working through as desserts – so far the basic tarte au citron is winning.
cleek
woohoo, extra bonus Gillian Welch show!
hooray for Saxapahaw.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Do they sell by the slice? If so I’d be visiting daily. And nothing beats a baguette mere hours from the oven. Even better if you can eat warm with brie and apples or figs. French food has an interesting reputation for being complicated, but that’s true only for the gourmands.
Samara Morgan
@Omnes Omnibus: hot fresh brioche with a bowl sized tasse of cafe au lait.
my summer in Brest.
jibeaux
@cleek:
Is she coming to that Saturday Rivermill thing? Not going to be nearly enough room.
jibeaux
@cleek:
Aw, I’ve found it. I have a kids’ slumber party Saturday. Very wise of you as a music lover to have cats.
Nutella
If the high-protein, low-carb diet works for you paleo diet people, so be it. I object to the name ‘paleo’, though, which implies the diet is what our hunter/gatherer ancestors ate.
Actual hunter/gatherer societies got most of their food from gathering whatever edible vegetable matter is available (nuts, berries, leaves, roots, fruit) with infrequent gorging on meat protein when the hunters succeed in bringing home some prey, so the ‘paleo’ diet may work but there’s nothing paleo about it.
Omnes Omnibus
@ Yutsano: The tartes are small, individual sized. I have been going everyday since they came back from vacance on the 22d.
@ Samara: I will probably pick brioches for tomorrow morning.
JGabriel
@Ira-NY:
Perhaps this is not the best weekend to make that recommendation to someone on the East Coast?
.
ruemara
My green smoothie recipe involves cashews, basil, parmesaen, and olive oil. Its great over pasta and bread.
Although, to be serious, I like a good hemp seed smoothie.
Lojasmo
@Nutella:
You have a serious misunderstanding of the paleo diet.
Samara Morgan
you know…im pretty much shunned and despised on this blog.
but you guys dont get it.
my core anthem HAS ALWAYS BEEN that science and hiphop dance will save the world.
anne lauries post on the barbarian flash mob, Beyonce and Michelle Obama get moving. and World of Dance……look at those kids faces….look at these kids faces.….its the future.
so i hafta ax you juicers….
which are you drinking? the water or the wave?
Paul in KY
@Samara Morgan: I’ve been looking for Aurochs steaks at Trader Joes. Can’t find them ;-)
Maybe they have Sivatherium…
Paul in KY
@Waldo: I ride indoors too. If I didn’t have the tunes to rock out to, I don’t think I could make it thru an hour.
kc
Sounds like a pain. You have to wash all those veggies and then blend them and then wash the blender.
Pass the Cocoa Puffs!
mafisto
I’m shocked at the number of paleos. I wonder if it really is about to hit critical mass.
JC, it sounds like you have savory smoothies down. If to go to sweet, keep in mind that a tall glass of fruit can have a staggering number of calories. One way to blunt the trauma is to use ice and mango. Ice, because it’s water (duh), and mango because it has the magical ability to aerate the smoothy, making it rich and creamy without the calories.
Also, don’t be afraid of ginger. It’s best juiced, but in any case it can add spiciness along with its beneficial qualities.
trollhattan
Jayzus, this kale invasion must be driven back into the sea. Vile, vile stuff.
that is all
shano
Hemp milk adds a great balance of omega 3 to 6 (American diets need more 3s) To this I add some fresh pineapple and basil. delish. I also use kelp powder and maca root from the Andes, it will balance your endocrine system. and yes to some fresh ginger root and ginseng. a tablespoon of brewers yeast for B vitamins. A tablespoon of tumeric with mango is a good anti cancer smoothie!
Michael J.
I tend toward less sugar (fruit) and more towards protein. My current recipe is a variation of what I wrote up here: http://www.notio.com/2010/04/morning_smoothi.html
Lojasmo
Second the increasing of omega three. Wild salmon (duh) grass fed beef (and milk from grass fed cows) and pastured eggs are all a good source.
Edit: just ate a huge bowl full of shredded cabbage and carrots with three cage-free eggs after a sixteen hour fast. Time for coffee
The Ancient Randonneur
What? No description of your bowel movement? Man, this blog sure has gone down hill since the days of the champion who defended the universe from the likes of the Jane Hamsher’s of the Left.
keith G
You are kidding, right? Cleansing? That’s pretty low rent.
Mike E
I’m a veteran of many a juice fast, and for 99% of them I’ve stuck to two recipes–applecelerycarrotparsley; and, cantaloupe (muskmelon), with the rind left on. One time I tried a “cleansing” abomination that comprised of cabbagebeetsgarlic and the resulting kitchen deployment was a real crowd scatterer. Never again!
R-Jud
Timely. I’ve just come home from the hospital and will be having smoothies and juice to help flush crap out of my system over the next few days. My favorite green juice: two fistfuls each of kale and spinach, two granny smith apples, a lime, two carrots, and a knob of ginger. Delish.
ETA: I don’t believe in “cleansing”, as my liver functions just fine, but the no-fiber diet they give you in the hospital, along with all the morphine, is not friendly to one’s gut. Veg juice is a good way to supplement, especially when ordinary food doesn’t mix well with painkillers.
Constance
Mark’s Daily Apple, a paleo site, has good smoothie recipes. After I became slightly diabetic I gave up smoothies but this encourages me to try again with green veggies. I love my ham and eggs but get tired of cooking every morning.
Not exercising enough yet but am down to a good weight and all the blood work came back in good ranges, including the cholesterol. After a year on paleo I also reversed my osteoporosis. Next year I expect to have reversed the osteopenia.
Good luck with the new regime. Seems like it’s working.
greenergood
@Three-nineteen: There might be a reason for why your smoothies didn’t fill you up. Apparently there’s a big difference between smoothie-ing a bunch of cherries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, etc. etc., and actually EATING them. The smoothie route crushes up the fiber that you would ordinarily expend energy digesting so you end up accessing much more of the sugar in your smoothie ingredients. Meanwhile the fiber has been atomized so no fiber-digestive function there. Smoothie-ing vegetables is different cause you’re not releasing sugar (as much) and you’re breaking down fiber that is more difficult to break down digestively.
If I can find a link I will, but just thought I’d pass this on.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@keith G:
Eh?
patrick II
@AndyG:
So, if you use pink pee your bowel movements will look like something out of a splatter movie?
I’ll be sure to avoid that.
Jenny
I use love to nap after recess.
Thoughtcrime
I’m reminded of a line from a guilty pleasure movie, Nothing But Trouble
Usually it’s just Republicans that make this come to mind.
chopper
@WereBear:
bitch are you for real? kale is fuckin’ delicious.
make kale chips sometime, your family will worship you.
chopper
@greenergood:
i think you’d really have to blend the shit out of your fruit to physically destroy the fiber in it. 10 seconds in a blender isn’t going to cause any chemical changes to it.
HyperIon
Maybe this is what Maturin put in his infamous slime draughts.
metalgirl
@debit: It felt so good to LOL at this – thanks!
Rihilism
Can’t help you there. I start everyday with a single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man’s hat…
Omnes Omnibus
@Rihilism: Yoko?
Roy Greene
You need a better blender to get the right texture. Look in to a Vita-Mix professional series. Only two or three types of blender do this properly. My preferred recipe is 1/2 bunch of kale, 1/2 lemon not peeled, 1 apple seeds removed, 1 to 2 frozen bananas, a piece of ginger the size of your thumb nail, 2 table spoons of fax seed and 16 oz of cold water. Make sure the banana are ripe prior to freezing. Make sure the banana are ripe prior to freezing. A banana is not ripe until all the green is gone and black spot are visible on the skin. Only use organic bananas. Only use all organic ingredients.
RossInDetroit
Okay, all that stuff sounds terrible. Someone had to say it.
My morning meal is a bowl of equal parts canned fruit, grocery store granola cereal and Dannon plain ‘natural’ yogurt. No machines needed.
If you really want to go whole hog you can grow your own Spirulina in an aquarium. Lots of people do it.