The name sounds interesting, just by hearing the words, “Green smoothie challenge,” you know there has to be some greens involved, probably in a smoothie, and it may be a challenge. Yes on all three counts.
The greens mean green leafy vegetables, not those silly fruits posing as vegetables. The diet is specific in requiring you to use real greens, such as romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, napa cabbage, swiss chard, baby bok choy, collard greens, watercress, mustard greens, and parsley are acceptable. You can choose which ones you prefer and you can mix them up as well. The last green is mint, which is added in addition to your greens, for flavor.
The real interesting part comes in developing the recipe for the smoothie. If you were raised on watercress or collard greens for example, you would probably enjoy them in a smoothie. If you are not used to strong flavors, you will want to start with the milder greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, and baby bok choy. Personally, I enjoy the kale because it has a nice flavor and it blends up really green, and has significant amounts of calcium, potassium, thiamin, and vitamins A, C, and K. If the taste of kale is too strong in the beginning, try adding it to the romaine and slowly replacing most or all of the romaine. The darker the leafy green, the more bang for your buck! Lastly, tear up your greens as small as you can, I have even resorted to cutting them in tiny pieces (preferably with a plastic knife which keeps them from browning). The reason for this is that the smaller the greens, the easier they are to blend and the more liquid the consistency of your smoothie. I found I can even drink them through a straw.
In the blender, make your smoothie in this order: one cup of ice, one cup of water, 1-2 cups of fruit, and the rest, all the way to the brim are your greens. The reason I like to make it like this is that after the blender have made quick work of the tough ingredients, you can shut the blender off momentarily and mix the greens into the liquid. When the greens are nicely submerged, blend for one or two minutes more until the smoothie reaches a smoothie-like consistency.
Another way to add variation is to mix in spices such as raw ginger root for zing, cinnamon for flavor and glycemic regulation, and lemon juice (which tastes good in almost any smoothie). Don’t be afraid to experiment, I wouldn’t add sugar or another sweetener, it just makes it taste like dessert, and if you are drinking this you don’t need anymore desserts. That brings me to the last word, “challenge.” The challenge part will probably be the taste. However, being a sweet-lover myself, I can really say that I enjoy drinking my green smoothie. I pour it into a thermos like container or a Styrofoam cup ala a popular juice franchise, and I drink it slowly. I don’t even mind the fiber in it, it gives the drink more complexity and makes you really think you are drinking your vegetables. And literally you are! Just think, how many of us have time to eat 2-3 cups of leafy greens at one sitting? How many of us chew our food enough to release all the good nutrients? And, how many of us eat enough fiber to cleanse our bodies and our digestive tract? This diet does all that, and it tastes pretty darn good for a liquid salad! So, take the challenge and drink the green smoothie once a day, in lieu of a meal if you want to lose more weight, for about two-four weeks and see how you feel and how the scale feels. Let me know what happens!
Reference
http://www.greensmoothiechallenge.com/
