Green Smoothie Essentials for Beginners

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Yes, green juicing is all the rage. Green juices are healthy, delicious, and filling, making them the perfect snack or occasional meal replacement. Unfortunately, ordering from a cool juice bar like JUGOS or Cocobeet will likely cost you $10 a pop. So how can you get these nutritional benefits without coughing up $70 per week? DIY, duh! Even if you don't have a high end juicer, there are some simple recipes you can make with a traditional blender, or immersion blender, that will get you similar results. 

Since I use an immersion blender, I make smoothies instead of juices because the blender doesn't break down foods as thin as a juicer would. I also stick to easily blendable ingredients. For example, collard greens are easier to blend than kale. Here is one of my fav, protein-packed smoothie recipes:

1 fair trade banana

4-5 fresh organic strawberries

1/2 cup chopped collard greens (add more if you're a more experienced juicer, or if you want more veggies!)

1 generous tablespoon of organic Greek vanilla yogurt

1 teaspoon organic morninga powder

Add pineapple juice to taste (more if you are new to juicing because pineapple is good at masking veggie tastes, but look out, fruit juice contains a lot of sugar). 

Blend. Refrigerate. Enjoy.

- Cameron