THINK GREEN.....THINK HEALTHY

I know when we think of our health, GREEN is often synominus with sick or ill..." Heh are you ok? You're looking a little GREEN" Well let's flip GREEN upside down and think of it in terms of HEALTHY instead....

LET"S THINK GREEN SMOOTHIES!!!

WHY I LOVE THEM

1) They are a great start to your day with their natural energy boosting properties

2) They are jam-packed with vital nutrients

3) They give a boost to your immune system with all their phytonutrients

4) They are quick and easy and make a great "nutrient packed" snack in a pinch

Smoothies are different than juices because they consist of the entire fruit or vegetable (skin and all) and not just the juice. They are fibre rich yet easier to digest and have the added benefit of leaving

you feeling fuller due to the fibre content.

HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITES:

These will make more than 1 serving. I use small mason jars and place the extra servings in the fridge for later; be sure to drink them up within a day though! You want them fresh!!

AVOCADO CUCUMBER GREEN SMOOTHIE

1 cup of good quality filtered water

3-4 stalks of celery with leaves

1 avocado

1 medium cucumber with skin

juice from 1 lemon

handful of parsley

1 clove of garlic

STRAWBERRY ALMOND BANANA GREEN SMOOTHIE

2 cups fresh spinach

1 banana

1 cup strawberries

3/4 cup almond milk

3-4 mint leaves

2 tbsp nut butter

KIWI CILANTRO SMOOTHIE

1 small cucumber chopped

2 ripe kiwis, peeled

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves

6 ice cubes

The best part of is that they don't have to be complicated!! And you can easily "switch it up" by adding/substituting any of the following:

Try using:

filtered water
coconut water
coconut milk
almond milk
hemp milk

Leafy Greens like:

romaine lettuce
collards
kale
spinach
or any variety of green leafy lettuce

Some Energy Boosting Fruit like:

banana
blueberry
strawberry
pineapple
kiwi
apple
orange
pear
mango

And if you want an extra boost try:

chia seed
nut butter
cinnamon
vanilla
hemp seeds
your favourite protein powder

Just remember local, fresh and good quality fruits and vegetables are best! Wondering about buying organic? The Environmental Working Group has developed a handy PDF guide listing the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" fruits and vegetables. The "Dirty Dozen" is a list of fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide loads; each of these showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items...these are the ones that should be on your "organic foods shopping list". The "Clean Fifteen" is a list of fruits and vegetables least likely to hold pesticide residues... so although I prefer all of my fruits and vegetables on my "organic foods shopping list", if you're finding doing so expensive then choose these as your non-organic choices....be sure to wash them thoroughly before consuming