Veggie Smoothies - Recipes 2 and 3

Note: This post was written 26 September 2012.

With each day comes another smoothie. I almost did not make one this morning, due to time constraints; but we forged ahead anyway. =)

This week, we are working on eating out the beet greens; so that is why they come up so often (besides, it's only the third recipe).

Recipe 2 - makes  6 cups (Yes, I am now saying the amount rather than the servings.)

• 4 cups of chopped beet greens, with their stems
• 1 cup of raw beets, chopped, and with their skin
• 1 cup of chopped purple carrots
• 1 avocado
• 1 mango, peeled, and pitted
• 1/2 lemon, partially peeled (keep the seeds, though)
• 4-5 cups of water

Blend for at least two minutes -- three is probably better. Don't let the smoothie get hot! Heat will kill the nutrients. If you feel it getting warm, and you still need to blend, add some ice (and possibly some water).

Personal Take: If you noticed, I was a bit more specific about the water. The reason for this is the smoothie was thicker with that amount of water. I love thick smoothies. 

Anyway, it tasted pretty good. Presumably, the vegetable taste was stronger -- that is because there were less fruits in this batch. However, I must admit that it tasted good. I really enjoyed this smoothie. But all of my family said that it was filling, so having seconds is not likely. =)

Recipe 3 - makes 4 cups

• 3 cups of beet greens, with their stems
• 4 baby beets (I did not measure it this time around)
• 1 cup of chopped purple carrots
• 1 starfruit, with seeds
• 1 banana
• Not certain of how much water...

Personal Take: Rule number one says, "Do not forget the lemon." Oops. It did not change the taste, but the color was slightly more burgundy than usual. Lemon is a natural preservative. It slows the process of oxidation, which occurs when the food is open to the air -- when it is cut, pureed, torn, broken, etc. Lemon is important.

Other than that mistake, the smoothie was delicious. My brother said that he could definitely taste the banana, and that made it taste good. Frankly, I agree. It helped to mute the strong flavor of the greens. Which, by the way, was pretty strong.