Super Green Smoothie

If you need to get greens into you quick, fear not! Here's an easy (and tasty) way to do it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 cup kale

• 1 cup spinach

• 1/2 cup celery, chopped

• 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped

• 1 apple

• 1 frozen banana, chopped

• 1 Tbsp flaxseeds

• 1 cup ice cubes

DIRECTIONS

1. Roughly chop all the fruit and vegetables. Remove the apple core.

2. Place the vegetables, flaxseeds and water in a blender and blend on the highest speed until well mixed.

3. Add the apple, banana and ice and blend until very smooth.

RAW TIP:

1. For a different taste, try alternating the fruit component by using frozen berries or mango.

A word from The Raw Food Girl

I still remember my first encounter with a green smoothie. It was basically a traditional (and rather unhealthy) banana smoothie, made with cow’s milk, yoghurt, banana and honey, with a large handful of raw silverbeet chucked in. I was so excited, and in eager anticipation I chugged the green concoction down. And it tasted… weird. The silverbeet kind of burnt my throat. No idea why that was, because it doesn’t now. Maybe it was because I had never had so much silverbeet in one sitting before. Or eaten it raw. Whatever the reason was, I didn’t like it and it put me off trying again, for a while at least. When I finally plucked up the courage to try again, I made sure the fruit content was waaay higher than the veg, like this Tutti Fruity. Lots of sweet fruit meant that I couldn’t taste the greens. It also meant that my toddler children drank them quite happily, so that made me happy too. But as I gradually got used to the taste of raw green, I started to love them. To crave them. Raw kale? Come at me. Baby spinach? Practically tastes like fruit now (just kidding). And suddenly I found that the ratio to fruit and veg had drastically changed in favour of green vegetables. Don't get me wrong - I freaking love fruit. Packed with vtitamons, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes, it's an essential part of a healthy diet. It’s an excellent source of carbohydrates, and studies show that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Fruit is great. However, fruit does contain a fair amount of sugar. I’m not going to tell you how much you should eat – that amount differs from person to person, depending on your activity level. The more active you are, then the more fruit you can safely have. So if this is your first encounter with a green smoothie, go easy. My rule of thumb is start with 2 fruits to 1 veg, and gradually increase to 1 fruit to 2 veg (like this one), but add more fruit to suit your calorie needs. The goal is to be nourished - not hungry!