Vital, healthy, refreshing: thanks to a good portion of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, green smoothies are real power drinks. Here you will find many tips for all kinds of vegetables, blenders, preparation and recipes.
Curtain up for the healthiest stars in smoothie heaven: green smoothies have become an integral part of the repertoire of healthy eating. The vital power drink provides you with important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.
Starring: green leafy vegetables. The otherwise so popular sweet fruits, on the other hand, have to be content with a tasty supporting role.
We’ll show you the optimal ratio of vegetables and fruit in a green smoothie, which types of vegetables are best to put in the blender and which ingredients you should rather avoid.
Table of Contents
Green smoothies: what’s in them?
The Green Smoothie was invented in the USA in 2014 by the Russian-born nutritionist Victoria Boutenko and triggered an absolute hype that continues to this day.
Green vegetables such as rocket , spinach, garden herbs (parsley, basil, etc.), kale or celery were packed into the blender for the first time. But not just based on gut feeling, but the nutrition expert strictly adhered to the “only true” formula:
The smoothie should consist of at least 50 percent vegetables. Experienced green smoothie drinkers can also try 60 percent. The taste is then a little bitter.
The most important criterion for the selected type of fruit: it must be ripe. The sweeter the fruit, the more digestible and delicious the smoothie is.
Lemon juice, dried fruit, ginger , honey or rice syrup provide the missing acidity, sweetness or spiciness – according to your taste.
How much is healthy or unhealthy?
The Federal Center for Nutrition (bzfe) sees green smoothies as an enrichment and a successful change in supplying the body with nutrients. “Of the five recommended servings of fruit and vegetables a day, smoothies can occasionally replace up to two servings,” says the bzfe.
The serving size is 200-250 milliliters. However, it is recommended to refrain from additional fruit during the day. The missing daily ration should be compensated with vegetables, for example in the form of oven vegetables, salad or vegetable pans.
Nutritionists also discovered that green smoothies have an extremely high nutrient density – thanks to the green leaves.
They are bursting with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, which above all strengthen our immune system. The dietary fibers it contains support the development of a healthy intestinal flora and are a plus for good digestion.
The green chlorophyll promotes cell structure. Trace elements and secondary plant substances push our performance.
Are there also critical ingredients in green smoothies?
Yes, there are, such as essential oils from parsley, the oxalic acid from spinach and chard or the high nitrate content in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, lamb’s lettuce and rocket.
Among other things, oxalic acid can inhibit the absorption of calcium, iron and magnesium in the intestine. But the all-clear: oxalic acid is only harmful to the body in very large quantities.
In order to absorb as little nitrate as possible , the bzfe recommends not putting the leaf stalks, the outer leaves, for example lettuce, and the thicker leaf veins in the blender.
The right fruits and vegetables for green smoothies
It should be nice and green – green leafy vegetables, salads and herbs provide the refreshing colour. I like to make sure that I mainly use local and seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Of course you can also use exotic fruits like pineapple , mango and avocado from time to time. It should remain varied – especially in the winter months, when only apples and pears from local cultivation are available.
The table shows you the right fruits and vegetables as well as herbs and “special ingredients” for green smoothies:
| category | Matching varieties |
|---|---|
| fruit | Apples, pineapple, avocado, bananas, pears, grapefruit , blueberries , raspberries, kiwi, mango, oranges, passion fruit |
| vegetables | leaves of radish, kohlrabi, beetroot , celery; lettuce such as arugula, lettuce and lamb’s lettuce; spinach, chard, celery, kale, |
| Herbs | Basil, dandelion, cress, mint parsley, chives, thyme |
| “Special Ingredients” | Chia seeds, dates, goji berries, honey, coconut water, turmeric , linseed oil, ginger, rice syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice |
You should avoid these ingredients
- Carrots and beetroot, as their vegetable juice would color them too much. Of course they taste great.
- Rhubarb is also taboo as it is inedible and even harmful to health when raw
- Milk, yoghurt and plant-based drinks
- Bought juices full of water because they contain too much sugar
- The addition of sugar and sweeteners is also not beneficial
Mix it up: How to prepare green smoothies in the blender
Regular and kitchen blenders quickly give out with green leafy vegetables, since green vegetables are made of solid, tough fibers.
We therefore recommend preparation in a high-performance blender. It has the advantage that with its up to 30,000 revolutions per minute it can completely break open the cell walls of lettuce, spinach and co., it can perfectly chop hard vegetables such as celery, nuts and frozen fruit and process them into a creamy puree.
In addition, the liquid is not heated, so that all nutrients are preserved.
What goes in the blender first?
There are different approaches. This variant has turned out to be optimal for us because it is very gentle on nutrients, the mixer does not get too hot and a wonderful smoothie consistency is created:
The green vegetables go into the blender first with a little water to completely break up the tough fibers. The second step is fruit and special ingredients such as linseed oil , cinnamon, ginger or lemon juice.
5 unique benefits of green smoothies
- Rich in vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances such as chlorophyll
- Green Smoohies are alkaline and therefore bring our acid-base balance into balance
- They are easy to digest as all the ingredients are finely mashed in the high-performance blender. Very gentle on the stomach
- Cravings can be prevented because green smoothies are very high in fiber and filling
- we stay fit and awake because our gastrointestinal tract doesn’t have to spend a lot of energy on digestion
Green Smoothie for Weight Loss
Feel free to experiment with making green smoothies. Everything is possible, nothing is neccesary.
We are currently loving the combination of spinach, avocado, mango and a squeeze of lime. Thanks to the avocado, the version has a lot of power and even replaces a complete meal. Perfect when things get stressful again.
Which combination would you like?