Smoothies and Green Drinks

That's right, I said "Green Drinks."

I'm hooked on green drinks! Ever since I got my Vita Mix blender, I just can't stop making them. I am now up to 2 a day, which equals over 1 pound of raw leafy greens + 1 pound of fruit. Leafy greens are the most nutritious foods in the world. But I won't get into that, you can read all about it here or even better, here. I make a green drink for breakfast, and one about an hour before dinner.

After many many mistakes, I have come up with a couple of yummy, basic green smoothie recipes. Many of the ones I find online are (in my opinion) too sweet, or have too many things added to them (also adding in the calorie count). I want to keep it simple, so here are my top recipes:

2 cups water + 2 romaine hearts (or 1 head) + 1 apple (cored and sliced) + 1 lb frozen pineapple

2 cups water + 2 romaine hearts (or 1 head) + 1 lb frozen mango

1 cup soymilk + 1 cup water + 10 oz baby spinach (one Ready Pac bag) + 1 banana + 1 lb frozen blueberries

1 cup soymilk + 1 cup water + 6 oz greens (I mix 2 of the following: kale, mustard, turnip, & beet) + 1 banana + 1 lb frozen strawberres + 1 pitted date

Put in the blender in the order given above. I usually put my liquid and greens in first, blend, then add my frozen fruit slowly. The above recipes are enough to fill 2 big glasses (about 16 oz each).

I chose the above greens because they are the most affordable. My WFM sells a 6 pack of romaine hearts for $5. Ready Pac baby spinach is $1.99, and a 12 oz bag of mixed greens is $4. But when something else is on sale, hey--I buy it. In the summer, I can buy fresh fruit and greens from the farmer's market as well. Also, it's easy to grow spinach and chard in your garden!

Frozen fruit is great. It is picked when the fruit is at it ripest, and even if you choose not to buy organic, the fruit is not sprayed with fungisides (like fresh conventional fruit might be). It is so much cheaper than fresh, and it eliminates the need to add ice. Remember that if you have fresh fruit laying around that is getting over ripe, just throw it in a baggie in the freezer and use it for smoothies (bananas too!)

I know it sounds expensive, but remember that when you eat this stuff regularly, you are less hungry and don't need to snack as much. I was sure that my grocery bill was going to go up when I started drinking these twice daily, but it has not at all. I just replaced some of the other food I was eating with this stuff.

ORGANICS 101

ORGANICS 101

As I move through my day-to-day duties working in a natural foods store, it has come to my attention that many people are adamant about buying organic food, and don’t really have a good understanding of what the USDA legal definition of “Organic” means. I would like to help de-mystify this.

Organic Food, by USDA definition, must meet certain qualifications and be certified by 3rd party accredited certifier to be sold under the term “organic.”

Here are the standards that food must meet in the US for it to be certified Organic:
Crops grown without the use of residual pesticides, fungisides, or herbicides, and no chemical/synthetic fertilizers.

No GMO (genetically modified organisms) seeds or ingredients

No sewage sludge used on crops.

Farming/ranches practices that are sustainable.

Animals fed organic feed.

Animals raised without the use of synthetic growth hormones & antibiotics, with humane treatment. (additional standards for animals will be put in place in 2011)

Farm/ranch/facility must keep records and logs, and have an Organic Plan.

Must be certified annually.

For more specific info, check out the USDA’s website here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Organic/

People buy organic for various reasons. Some do not want pesticides on their food, while others are concerned about the environmental impact from conventional farming. Some folks just feel organic food “tastes better.” I am pretty creeped out by GMO’s, so that is my main reason, combined with environmental impact.

But getting certified to be organic can be a huge cost burden on a small farm or ranch, so some alternatives are popping up. Check out Certified Naturally Grown , “a non-profit alternative certification program tailored for small-scale, direct-market farmers using natural methods.”

Organic food is typically more expensive than conventional, because it is much more labor intensive for the grower. The cost of certification also increases the price as well.
If you are passionate about buying organic, but are concerned about the price, it might benefit you to find a local farmer’s market in your area and shop there. The prices are lower because the farmer is selling directly to the consumer. If you can get out of the city a bit and go to a more rural farmer's market or farmstand, the prices will be even lower. Transportation is a huge cost to farmers trekking into the city to sell food.

You may also be interested in joining a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. CSA's work in several ways, but basically you purchase a "share" of food from a farm (or collective of farms) that is delievered to a pick up area near you. Some CSA's let you choose what you want to buy, and with others you get whatever they have available. In my experience, most CSA's can be pretty costly, and I find farmer's markets to be cheaper. But I know plenty of folks who LOVE CSA's, so check it out.

Let me know if you have any questions!