The health benefits of green smoothies
Many people find the idea of eating many servings of fruits and vegetables a day overwhelming. The thought of eating salads every day or bunches of lettuce and spinach may be enough to discourage people from following a healthier diet. Fortunately, there are some painless ways to get more leafy greens into your diet without feeling like a bunny. Many people who have a hard time eating leafy greens choose to drink them in the form of green smoothies. Green smoothies are fruit smoothies that contain green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale. Getting used to the taste can take a bit of time, but once you do, you can drink the equivalent of an entire salad in the form of a green smoothie.
Drinking green smoothies is a great way to increase your vegetable intake. Some common vegetables that can be easily added to smoothies are romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, celery, and cucumbers. Of course, you shouldn’t add all of these at once. Most people who drink green smoothies recommend a ratio of 40% vegetables to 60% fruit to keep it tasting good. If you’re just starting to drink green smoothies, choose a mild green like spinach and add a small amount to your smoothie. Once you’re more used to the flavor, you can increase the amount of vegetables you’re mixing.
In addition to increasing your vegetable intake, green smoothies can also help you eat more fruit. A smoothie might contain a peach, a handful of strawberries, a banana, a few blueberries, and an apple. This adds up to at least three or four servings of fruit in one delicious drink. Most people dilute their shakes with 100% fruit juice, although some people choose to use water or milk to give their shakes a drinkable consistency.
In addition to the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking them is also a great way to get more healthy fats into your diet. It’s easy to add healthy fats without altering the taste or texture of the drink. Adding the flesh of an avocado to a green smoothie will significantly increase the healthy fat content without changing the flavor. If avocados are hard to find in your area, try adding ground flaxseeds to your smoothie. The easiest way to do this is to buy whole flaxseeds and grind them a little at a time. Even a few tablespoons of coconut oil added to a smoothie will significantly increase the nutritional value of your drink.
Many people wonder if drinking green smoothies is better or worse than juicing fruits and vegetables. Although the jury is still out, they do have some significant advantages. When you drink juice, you lose the fiber in fruits and vegetables that is part of what makes them so good for you. They allow you to drink all that fiber easily. It also takes much less fruit to make a green smoothie than it does to make a cup of juice, making green smoothies more affordable for many people.
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