Green Smoothies with a Twist and a Bean Smoothie

I made Green Smoothies, not to drink, but to eat! First up, the most delicious Green Smoothie Salad Dressing. You absolutely must make this. It’s my most favorite salad dressing ever. This is adapted from a recipe from Austin’s own nutritionist and raw foods chef, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo. (She has free e-recipe books you can download from her site.)

Creamy Green Smoothie Salad Dressing

Makes about 2-1/2 cups

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
(or an apple, something for sweetness)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 large avocado, peeled and pitted
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro (or dill or basil or herb of your choice)
juice of half a lime or lemon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
½ cup water

Directions:
Blend altogether in a blender until smooth and creamy.




It’s so good because (a) it’s got avocado (and cilantro!), (b) it’s beautiful, and (c) the cayenne comes through just every few bites to make you go, Hey, that was nice!

I’ve been eating tons of salads using my fresh greens. One thing about beets – even though they are not my favorite veggie, I sure do love beet greens in my salads. Most of my salads have looked similar to this, using red leaf lettuce, arugula, amaranth greens, beet greens, and sunflower sprouts.

I put plenty of Green Smoothie Dressing on them.

My second green smoothie went into my ice cream maker. This is also adapted from Dr. Ritamarie’s recipe for Tropical Green Smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 small papaya, peeled and chopped
1 banana, peeled and chopped
1-20 ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice
3 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
(I meant to add in some coconut extract and fresh ginger, but forgot.)

Directions:
Blend the fruit in a blender until smooth. (Add in flavorings, if desired.) Add in the spinach a cup at a time and blend until smooth. Put into an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.

I know these ingredients aren’t very precise, so I took a picture of what I used so you could see about how big the fruit was that I used.

This amount was a bit too much for my 1-1/2 quart Cuisinart. I would recommend removing about a cup of the blended mixture before adding it to your ice cream maker. You can enjoy it unfrozen in anticipation of the ice cream you’ll make the next day. Or you can just drink it all!

I know, I know, it looks a lot like the dressing. It was beautiful with chopped strawberries on top, but my pictures were blurry.

Greens are supposed to diminish your sweet tooth, but they don’t stop the out-of-control chocolate cravings I’ve had lately. This led me to a new pudding, since I don’t seem to tolerate the chia pudding. I made a quick personal pudding with date puree and it hit the spot.

Emergency Cocoa Date Pudding for One

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons date puree
2 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
stevia powder if needed to sweeten
sliced strawberries for garnish

Directions:
Mix together and enjoy.

I eat lots of beans. Lots of beans every day. They are my protein since I can’t eat tofu or seitan. I have been so happy to find recipes for quiche and brownies made with pureed beans instead of tofu. In my neverending quest for new bean recipes, I happened to find a bean smoothie. I didn’t really like the original fruity recipe, so I came up with chocolaty version that’s darn tasty.

Bean Smoothie

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
¾ cup white beans, any variety (half of 15-oz. can)
½ cup nondairy milk
1 banana
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 packet stevia powder (1 t?)
dash cinnamon
10 to 12 ice cubes

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except ice in a blender until smooth. Add in ice cubes a few at the time and blend again.

Like the brownies, you can’t tell it’s made with beans. I’m going to do a lot more experimenting with this recipe and there is definitely a bean ice cream in my future.


What a healthy post this was! I sure hope you’ll at least try the Green Smoothie Dressing and let me know if you like it as much as I do.