Smoothies and Drinks Archives - Healthy Green Kitchen

Strawberry Date Silk Smoothie

We recently hosted a big brunch for family and friends who came from out of town for my daughter Maddie’s Bat Mitzvah. After the brunch, I was left with a good deal of beautiful fresh strawberries so I spent a few days whirring them into smoothies. This one, made with Silk soy milk is a … Read more

Blood Orange, Papaya, and Dark Cherry Smoothie

We went to the Dominican Republic back in December and boy am I missing it right now. The beach was so, so beautiful and the weather was perfect. And the fruit! The mangoes, papayas, etc. were really delicious. I drank their juices and ate plates of them every day.

Ever since I got home, I have been buying papaya at the market because I enjoy it so much. While I love a few slices with my breakfast, I’ve also discovered it’s great in smoothies. One of my new favorites is this one with fresh squeezed blood orange juice, papaya chunks, and frozen dark sweet cherries.

I made this smoothie last week hoping to share it with you on Valentine’s Day. But there’s really no reason to relegate this dark red beauty of a smoothie to a holiday! It’s a wonderful winter treat you can enjoy any time.

You don’t have to use blood orange juice; You can absolutely use the juice of any type of oranges. Don’t use bottled orange juice if you can help it, though…it won’t be nearly as good if you do. I’ve also made a version of this without the frozen cherries and I like that one, too, but the cherries add great flavor and a powerful punch of nutrients so I strongly recommend them.

Feel free to change up this smoothie by adding some more fruit such as banana and/or pineapple, greens, yogurt, protein powder, etc.

I’ve owned a Blendtec blender for at least 10 years and I use it as much or more than any other piece of equipment in my kitchen. It’s perfect for grinding, wet and dry chopping, kneading, and of course blending ingredients for smoothies, shakes, batters, soups, sauces, and dressings.

Blendtec recently gave me the chance to upgrade my blender to the newest model and at first I wasn’t going to do it because my old machine worked fine. But now that I have the newest Blendtec model with the “Twister Jar” designed specifically for blending thicker recipes, I am pretty thrilled because this Blendtec works like a dream.

I really only used my old Blendtec for smoothies, but I am having lots of fun experimenting with the new one. It’s great for making frozen desserts and nut butters. You can even use if for pizza and pasta dough.

For this Blendtec review post, I made two recipes. The first one is a Spiced Pear Smoothie I’ve been enjoying a great deal lately.

The second is a Homemade Peanut Butter that tastes better than store bought.

You can find both recipes below, and for more information about Blendtec, please check them out on social media!

Blendtec on Facebook
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Blendtec on Google+

And if you’re looking for a great deal on one of the Blendtec blenders, be sure to shop their website for refurbished models.

I was a pretty early adopter of the green smoothie, but I burned out on them a while back. I was really excited about trying the Citrusy Green Smoothie on page 20 of the new book Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables: Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and More, though. It looked different from any green smoothie I’ve had before…

I’ve now made this smoothie a few times and I really love it: the fresh orange juice and the pineapple combine with the greens to make a very delicious drink. The other thing I like about this smoothie is that it has some coconut oil in it. If you are going to drink green smoothies, I always advise adding some fat because fat helps your body to assimilate the calcium in the greens. Coconut oil is a good source of healthy fat, and makes a tasty addition here.

Though I haven’t yet had a chance to make more of the recipes from Brassicas, I am very much looking forward to doing so.

Author Laura B. Russell does a really nice job of focusing on both the nutritional benefits of these veggies and the cooking methods that allow them to shine. There are chapters on Kale, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage, Broccoli, Leafy Brassicas, Asian Brassicas, and Root Brassicas and Kohlrabi; the photographs by Sang An are really beautiful.

Also of note: the book addresses the potential downside of consuming too many brassicas raw (there is a concern that doing so can interfere with thyroid function). The upshot (which I discuss in my book, as well): don’t eat loads of uncooked brassicas. This means it’s best not to go overboard with the green smoothies, especially if you have a thyroid problem (honestly: I don’t think it’s a good plan to go overboard with any food, no matter how healthy it’s supposed to be!). There’s nothing to worry about as far as cooked brassicas go, though. So eat those cooked greens, etc. to your heart’s delight.

We’re big on kombucha in my house. It’s is one of my favorite healthy thirst quenchers, and I wrote a guest post for MindBodyGreen about how and why to make kombucha at home. I’m posting the recipe below as well, along with some links to additional recipes and resources that may be helpful if you are interested in making your own kombucha :)

Note that I adapted this recipe just slightly from the new (and wonderful!) book Mastering Fermentation: Recipes for Making and Cooking with Fermented Foods. There are many different recipes for making kombucha floating around the internet, but I like this one because it’s very simple. A lot of people seem to be intimidated when it comes to homemade kombucha, but it’s not at all difficult. Give it a try! If you have questions or concerns, please ask them in the comments section below.

Strawberry Date Silk Smoothie

Blood Orange, Papaya, and Dark Cherry Smoothie

Blendtec Review, Pear Cinnamon Smoothie, and Homemade Peanut Butter

Citrusy Green Smoothie

Homemade Kombucha