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Green Smoothie Resources? And What kind of Blender?


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Dh and I jumped on the bandwagon and watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead last night. Afterwards, he turned to me asked when we would start juicing. :D I'm not convinced that I want to do a juice fast, though. I'd rather make smoothies and get more fiber in my diet (especially since colon cancer is in my family history).

 

So do you have any books or websites that you'd recommend on green smoothies? Where should I start?

 

Also, I have a cheapo blender. I don't know if it could actually purée greens. What kind of blender do I need?

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I had an Oster for years, and I was burning out the motor with all the new green smoothies I was making. Then, the glass carafe broke so we decided to upgrade since the motor was going as well.

 

We bought a VITAMIX. It was the best decision. I make smoothies at least 3 times a day. That thing can blend to no end!

 

My fave smoothie:

 

big bunch of organic baby spinach

frozen mango chunks (from Trader Joe's)

water + ice

melted extra virgin coconut oil

 

blend till smooth. YUMMMMMM

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I started drinking green smoothies with my KA blender. It required adding items in order and sometimes blending the greens to mush before adding more frozen stuff.

 

Then I got a Vitamix when it was a daily habit and haven't regretted the purchase once.

 

Bierko family has some great smoothie resource on you tube and their website, google for links (on phone or I would link up).

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I have used a few different Oster blenders(lost first one in a fire- not a problem with the blender) and both worked well. I used both for a few years nearly daily each without any difficulty. I have heard great things about the vitamix but it wasn't in my budget, the Oster worked just fine. I bought a pro model from Amazon.

Edited by soror
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I have a Vitamix also. However, it is possible to use a $30 Walmart one. You'd just likely go through them faster. Depending on how much you use it, possibly *very* quickly.

 

I agree that smoothies are better than juicing. I may do a few juices or even work down to a short-ish juice fast then come back up to smoothies. But I really think smoothies are better in general. They are also cheaper!

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Thanks everyone! I have a friend who will be having a Vitamix party soon, so I'll look into that. In the meantime, I'll have to see how my blender handles the greens. I'll probably be making a trip to the local produce store today. :D

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I was just talking to my neighbor about this last night and she agrees with everyone else....get a Vitamix!

 

If it turns out you're not getting the results you want with your blender (I wasn't), you can also try a food processor. I saw that recommended somewhere (maybe Kimberly's blog) and that's what I'm doing until I can get a Vitamix.

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I have a Ninja--way cheaper than the Vitamix! I looked at all the Costco blenders (except the BlendTec), and the Ninja was twice as many watts as the rest. My only complaint is the pitchers are plastic--I wish they were glass.

 

I have popsicle molds to freeze what is leftover, and my rule is they can either have a smoothie or a smoothie popsicle. They don't always love them, but the popsicle is easier to get down.

 

I've read that one should alternate between leafy greens, we've been doing spinach and kale. Baby spinach blends much better than regular spinach, and I've been told that Costco now carries baby kale! Regular kale/spinach don't blend all the way, and the kale chunks are what my kids object to most.

 

I try to do 2 veggies (one leafy green + one other) and 2+ fruits (frozen berries from Costco + whatever I have on hand). Bananas are great sweeteners and hold everything together nicely.

 

I love my green smoothies! They are filling and a great way to get more fruits & veggies than I would ever eat whole. And now that we've resolved the "chunky kale" issue, my kids enjoy them too. :)

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I have both a Vitamix and juicer and I prefer the Vitamix. If I want juice instead of a smoothie I just strain it through a nut milk bag. You don't have to throw away the pulp. You can find a lot of uses online for it. And I'd read up on the benefits of both juicing and smoothies to see which you prefer. Some people want the nutrients absorbed right away through juicing and some people want to feel full like through smoothies. Both are great, IMHO.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just wanted to post an update because my Vitamix arrived yesterday (I love the UPS guy :001_wub:).

 

All I can say is WOW. The difference between a $30 blender and a Vitamix is amazing. In the words of my dh, "it's a smoothie, not a chunky!" I had gotten used to chewing on the bits of kale in my smoothie, but yesterday morning I had thrown a peeled lime into my smoothie (made with the old blender) and I couldn't finish it with all the bits of citrus membrane floating around. After the Vitamix came I blended up the leftover smoothie and it was actually good! It's amazing how much difference texture can make.

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Dh and I jumped on the bandwagon and watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead last night. Afterwards, he turned to me asked when we would start juicing. :D I'm not convinced that I want to do a juice fast, though. I'd rather make smoothies and get more fiber in my diet (especially since colon cancer is in my family history).

 

So do you have any books or websites that you'd recommend on green smoothies? Where should I start?

 

Also, I have a cheapo blender. I don't know if it could actually purée greens. What kind of blender do I need?

 

Have you seen my recent blog posts on this very thing? (Shameless self-promotion...:tongue_smilie:)

 

Here's what I blended yesterday and really liked a lot:

 

2 apples, cored and peeled

2 carrots

about 1" slice of pineapple, with rind removed and cored

4 strawberries (had them left, so I threw them in)

about 1 cup crushed ice

 

It was delicious.

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Awesome! I puree carrots and cauliflower to add to things like potatoes and marinara sauce to lighten up and add some nutrients.

 

It makes THE best hummus ever!

 

I also use it to grind grain and make nut butters. DD cannot have nuts and pumpkin seed /sun butter is cheaper to make.

 

I really want to upgrade mine to the new ones with the variable speed. I have had mine for years before they were so popular and it just has low, high.

 

My recent best has been figuring out how to make a mayo without eggs that actually tastes good! And it is lighter.

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