How to Make a Green Smoothie — 5 Step Template (whole food vegan, oil-free)
welcome to Healthytarian living in
this video episode I will be sharing
with you another healthy terian meal
template this one for green smoothies
and green smoothies are something that
I've been personally enjoying for over
10 years now and also teaching about the
benefits of green smoothies for years
when it comes to not just their
nutrition and health benefits but even
practical benefits as well as part of
this video I will first explain to you
why green smoothies in as much of a
summary as possible then I will take you
through the five-step template to use to
make numerous combinations of amazing
delicious and optimally healthy green
smoothies and finally we will finish
this video episode off with a demo of me
making one particular green smoothie
combination
for starters they are one of the fastest
easiest and most nutrient-dense meals
possible really the only thing better
than making a green smoothie is eating
the ingredients you would use to make
that green smoothie as they are without
actually blending them otherwise you
just have to place the green smoothie
ingredients into a blender and then
consume it as you desire my approach to
green smoothies is also 100% whole food
and plant based this means that healthy
terian green smoothies do not include
any isolates or extracts that means no
oils of any kind or any type of protein
powders they provide an outstanding
balance of wholesome healthy
carbohydrates which make up most of
their calories as well as a good balance
and proportion of healthy plant proteins
as well as healthy fats they are super
rich source of vitamins and minerals and
when it comes to minerals specifically
minerals that many people are concerned
about getting enough in their diet like
calcium magnesium potassium and iron
they are also a super rich source of
healing and protective antioxidants and
phytonutrients on a practical level they
help you eat your leafy greens which are
the most nutrient-dense foods which
should be part of our diet every single
day several times a day in fact but
which most people do not get enough of
and often have a hard time eating and so
as part of green smoothies you can enjoy
at least one if not several servings of
leafy greens in a very pleasant and
actually very delicious format they also
provide you with several servings of
fruits and vegetables within one meal
and if you like myself use these as a
breakfast meal that means within your
very first meal of the day you've
already checked off several servings of
fruits and vegetables they also help you
eat omega-3 rich seeds specifically flax
seeds and chia seeds which are very tiny
and often very hard to eat or not quite
ideal in other forms or meals finally
green smoothies feature so many health
benefits for us they are highly
alkalizing they are highly
anti-inflammatory they are highly
cleansing and detoxifying
they are highly beneficial for weight
loss as well as healthy weight
maintenance and of course being rich in
greens leafy greens and chlorophyll they
are also outstanding to optimize our
energy levels and last but not least
green smoothies are ideal for any life
stage they are perfect for kids and they
are great for any stage of our adult
ears right into our elderly years at
which time sometimes chewing or
digestion may become more difficult and
an easier to digest food meal idea like
a green smoothie as well as a quick and
easy meal idea can actually be the best
source of high quality nutrients and
healthy foods
for step one of the green smoothie
template pick a leafy green and rotate
them through regularly and you really
just need one leafy green yes you can
pick more than one but really as I'll be
sharing with you throughout this entire
template video and as is my general
approach to teaching about health and
nutrition keeping it simple is best it
is much better and optimal for our
digestion and it also makes your life
easier and less complicated of course if
you are using wild edibles going picking
in the spring or summer from a safe and
clean place or if you are using the
prepared green mixes especially usually
store sell them as baby mixes of all
kinds then of course you can just throw
in what you have available the best
leafy green options for green smoothies
include kale spinach and collard greens
other good options are bok choi bok choy
and any outer green cabbage leaves if
you do have access to wild greens you
can also use ones like dandelions
plantain or curly doc and for more tips
if you are harvesting wild greens see my
wild green smoothie video the greens you
would typically not want to use as part
of your green smoothie are any lettuce
greens save those for your whole meal
salads typically they go better as part
of salads and they do tend to change the
smoothie flavor in more unpleasant ways
as opposed to the greens that I
mentioned which actually get masked
quite well if you have the right
combination of fruits
now the other greens that you may not
wish to use our greens like arugula or
rapini both of these have very strong
and sharp flavors and unless you're a
big fan of either one you don't want
those actually coming out in your green
smoothie the amount that you would use
will depend more or less on the type of
leafy green you are using if you are
using big leaves of kale or collards one
leaf alone especially the big huge
collards may be all you need for your
green smoothie serving typically though
we would measure it as part of a handful
so if you're using spinach or small
dandelion leaves a handful to two
handfuls is a good serving for a green
smoothie and the more you get advanced
in consuming green smoothies the
more handfuls you can add of leafy
greens make sure that any leaves you use
are clean and washed and it is always
best to work with fresh leaves as much
as possible seasonal and local even
better and of course organic
however certain leafy greens freeze very
well such as kale for more tips on how
to do that see my how to freeze kale
video step 2
pick one to two fruits just like with
leafy greens yes you can go for more but
as I shared with you previously the
simpler the better
bananas and leafy greens alone make
exceptionally delicious and great
smoothies bananas in general actually
are one of the key ingredients for
making very creamy and delicious
smoothies but if you don't enjoy bananas
I would still say give the green
smoothie a try with the banana because
the banana flavor gets mixed around with
the other ingredients in a way that
diminishes banana flavor specifically
but brings out a nice subtly sweet and
fruity flavor experience if of course
you can't eat bananas for any reason
like allergies then the next best fruit
to base your smoothies on would be
mangles as they also have a nice creamy
and richer type of consistency and
flavor other best fruits to use include
pineapples oranges strawberries
blueberries peaches and red grapes other
potential fruits would be apples pears
plums apricots and papayas when it comes
to raspberries blackberries or
pomegranates these may not be ideal
choices for everyone depending on the
type of blender especially that you have
as really regardless of the type of
blender you're going to get some
grittiness as part of your smoothie
texture the only fruits you don't want
to be using for your green smoothies are
melons this includes anything like
watermelon cantaloupe or honeydew and
they're not ideal for several reasons
part of optimal food combining these
fruits are specifically this group of
fruits should only be eaten ideally on
their own and not mix with any other
fruits or foods whereas the other fruits
that I talked about generally speaking
will pair fine especially if your
digestive system is okay with leafy
greens or as part of a green smoothie
the other reason is that melons in
general don't actually bring out the
best
green smoothies so enjoy their beautiful
flavors and refreshing watery and juicy
nature on their own but keep them out of
green smoothies to use fruits for a
green smoothie you can pick from fresh
or frozen of course as much as possible
try going again fresh local organic and
seasonal but when that's not possible
you can also rely on frozen fruits now
to not make the smoothie too cold as
room temperature or just slightly
chilled is best for again our digestive
system try to use one frozen fruit if
you have two and one fresh fruit if you
are not going to be using any frozen
fruits and you like to or must for any
reason habit chilled smoothies like the
chilled that is then do feel free to use
perhaps a couple of ice cubes also when
it comes to green smoothies there's no
need for any dry fruits the fresh or
frozen fruits that you're going to be
using are already going to make your
smoothies super delicious and so there's
really no need to add the concentrated
sweetness of dried fruits keep those
again for a different time when it comes
to the specific amounts of the fruits
that you would use typically think of
one whole fruit whether that's a smaller
or a larger fruit of its kind or about
half a cup to 1 cup of the fruit if it's
something like berries one less thing to
note about fruits is that they will
specifically determine the color of your
green smoothie so even though I
generally speak of them all as green
smoothies there are some green smoothies
that aren't actually going to be green
in color yellow or orange fruits make
green colored smoothies blue or dark
blue fruits make more of a purplish
green smoothie any red fruits they will
make more of an olive colored green
smoothie step 3 pick a seed and or a nut
ideally you want to use omega-3 rich
seeds as your main ingredient choice
here this means flax seeds chia seeds or
hemp seeds do note that hemp seeds will
change the flavor of your green smoothie
some people like it some people don't
so do experiment and are not as ideal in
their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio as the
other two choices so I always recommend
sticking to flax or Chia for your green
smoothies if you have a powerful blender
then use them in their whole form
otherwise if you don't then simply use
them
by them in their ground forms what about
other seats technically yes you can use
other seats but I don't recommend it
sunflower seeds are high in omega-6
which most people are getting too much
of anyway pumpkin seeds can cause an
unpleasant smoothie flavor sesame seeds
can also distort the flavor and are best
made into a tahini like savory spread or
sauce nuts can also be used either in
addition to the seeds or in place of the
seeds that will depend most on your
metabolic and lifestyle needs by adding
nuts you can add more calories or
nutrients or creaminess to your smoothie
and so when using nuts be sure that you
are using them in their raw forms and
soaked as much as possible the best nut
options to include as part of green
smoothies are raw almonds or raw cashews
you can also substitute here an avocado
if you want to bulk up your smoothie
calories nutrients or creaminess then
use an avocado in terms of your nuts and
seed amounts you want to aim for a
quarter cup as a serving or a small
handful or about two tablespoons I
recommend starting with a quarter of the
avocado and working your way up to see
what works for you as it is very easy to
ruin a green smoothie with too much
avocado step 4 pick a boost now this
step is completely optional most green
smoothies do not require any boosts as
they are already well-balanced
nutritionally and offer such an amazing
nutrient density however sometimes you
may need to or want to add a certain
boost to your green smoothie these would
be whole food forms of medicinal or
specialty plant foods simply dried and
powdered common examples of potential
boosts include maca ashwagandha triphala
shatavari spirulina chlorella or raw
cacao for a chocolaty smoothie each one
will have its own specific amount
whether you are using it for health
maintenance or as part of a certain
healing protocol do use them wisely as
more is not better and I have seen over
the years so many people make these
elaborate smoothies of 15 different
ingredients which first cost you so much
money
complicates the heck out of the smoothie
and in the end does not end up
tasting well or good at all and so keep
it simple
focus on one boost at a time if you feel
you need it and when or what you would
most benefit from at the time for
example use the adaptogen ashwagandha in
your smoothies during times of extra
physical mental or emotional stress or
use maca to help balance your hormones
step 5
add your water for various reasons many
people are conditioned to believe that
to make a smoothie you would need either
non-dairy milk or coconut water or worse
yet juice of some kind and none of these
are actually ideal choices to include as
part of an optimally healthy whole food
plant-based smoothie commercial
non-dairy milk is a processed food that
is watered-down and includes various
undesirable ingredients like oils
sweeteners flavors and other additives
there is really no need or good reason
to be putting the commercial non-dairy
milks and wasting your health and money
into your green smoothies so if you want
more nutritionally or calorically than
the green smoothie will already provide
then work with step 3 in a wise way your
nuts and seeds when it comes to coconut
water that's lovely but if you actually
live in the tropics otherwise it is a
processed food product that comes an
undesirable packaging with a steep price
tag so it is also completely unnecessary
in this case as your smoothie is already
packed with amazing electrolytes and
nutrient density and when it comes to
juice that's just a given big no-no if
you're making homemade real juices for
the purpose of cleansing or
detoxification or as a snack juicing
your own fruits and vegetables that's
fine use them at that time for that
purpose but as part of green smoothies
you're already using the right
ingredients in your leafy greens and
fruits use them in their whole form and
do not water them down with any type of
juice this is why the ideal liquid for
an optimally healthy green smoothie is
high-quality water how much you use will
depend on how runny or viscous namely
thick you'd like your smoothie typically
about half a cup to one cup of water is
ideal so those are the five easy steps
of our whole meal green smoothie
template
now to make a green smoothie yes you
will need a blender that is one of the
given kitchen appliances that you must
have and the type or quality of your
blender will highly dictate the texture
of your green smoothie if we are working
with a very low powered or low quality
blender you're going to get various
pieces or chunks of the ingredients that
you used some people don't mind that
that's just fine they like to chew theirsmoothies which is actually the ideal
way to consume them anyways but if you
do mind then this is where you're going
to need to invest in a good blender
ideally a Vitamix which is a
high-powered blender but they do range
from about three to six hundred dollars
however you can easily go down to the
nutribullet pro or the Nutri ninja pro
which will cost you about $100 or less
and we'll do a pretty nice job
pulverizing most ingredients down to a
pleasant enough palatable texture other
than that a green smoothie should take
you about five minutes basically you
just need to wash any ingredients that
need to be washed and place them into
your blender press that button and
that's all it takes so let's get started
as part of step one we are to choose a
leafy green I'll be using bok choy the
only thing I recommend you doing is for
something like bok choy actually remove
the stem now there's nothing wrong with
using the stem by all means you can do
it even more nutritional benefits but
this is the part that will change the
green smoothie to be a little bit
sharper in flavor and the same thing
goes for greens like kale or collard
greens as part of step two we are to
pick one to two fruits and we'll be
using one banana and we'll also be using
some frozen mango finally as our ideal
seed or nut as part of step three will
be using flax seeds and as part of Step
five we're going to be using high
quality water when you are placing the
ingredients into your blender if it's a
regular blender start by layering your
fruits in first and if it's a personal
blender where you flip the cup upside
down then the leafy greens go in first
and the fruit should be last
and here is our beautiful green smoothie
that is of a beautiful easy to drink
consistency and they are best consumed
fresh but of course given different
lifestyle needs you may need to pack
them for later or take them on the go
with you which is fine as well
just keep them in a sealed container if
you need to store them for more than a
few hours then in a sealed container
refrigerated is best for up to or about
24 hours a typical green smoothie for
one person will be about 3 to 400
calories you can consume green smoothies
on their own as a meal if you prefer
something a little lighter or you can
pair them with some other whole plant
food that you would enjoy for example
you can use green smoothies to make a
smoothie bowl if you use less water and
make them thicker then they can also
serve as yogurt like or putting like
meal ideas and typically I would say aim
for about 2 cups or 500 mils or 16
ounces and that would be a normal
serving to have so hopefully as you
practice with more combinations and find
what works best for you your favorite
once your going to get hooked on how
delicious they are and how rejuvenating
they make you feel if you would like
more in-depth information about green
smoothies explanations about their
nutritional and health benefits as well
as combinations of different flavors etc
then you can also check out my
essentials of green smoothies video
course on udemy comm thanks for watching
this video and see you in another one
enjoy
you
In this episode of Healthytarian Living (https://www.healthytarian.com), holistic health and nutrition teacher Evita Ochel (https://www.evitaochel.com) shares a 5-step template for making optimally healthy and delicious green smoothies. For more info, see Evita's "Essentials of Green Smoothies" video course on Udemy here: https://www.udemy.com/green-smoothies/?couponCode=SiteSpecial20 **Video Overview and Chapters:** 1. Intro and video topics (0:08) 2. Part 1: Why Green Smoothies? (0:53) — Nutrition, health and practical benefits 3. Part 2: The 5-Step Green Smoothie Template (3:48) — What ingredients to use and why — Step 1(3:49) — Step 2 (6:24) — Step 3 (9:55) — Step 4 (11:45) — Step 5 (13:06) 4. Part 3: Green Smoothie Demo (14:55) — Concluding tips **SUMMARY IN SPANISH:** Creé una traducción del resumen del video, que puede encontrar aquí cerca de la parte inferior, y leerlo o consultarlo mientras escucha el video: https://www.healthytarian.com/post/how-to-make-green-smoothies **Evita's Article:** 7 things that can make a smoothie unhealthy: https://www.evolvingwellness.com/post/things-that-can-make-green-smoothies-unhealthy **Links to Blenders mentioned in the video, found on Amazon.com:** 1. Vitamix blenders (https://amzn.to/2JewHs6) 2. Nutri Bullet Pro (https://amzn.to/2IS7TTy) 3. Nutri Ninja Pro (https://amzn.to/2xluBlF)