I recall hearing it’s important to switch up the greens you’re using in green smoothies regularly. I have been using organic baby spinach pretty much nonstop for the past month. I can’t think of anything else I could stomach in a smoothie. Dandelion’s too bitter, mustard greens would taste like a spicy mustard smoothie (gross)...I haven’t tried collards but while I could handle using them as a wrap, I think they might be too bitter for smoothies. My blender isn’t powerful enough for kale. I’m not sure if it could handle chard, that’s on my list to try.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions for mild greens? Obviously I could use plain lettuces but that just seems kinda pointless…it’s like crunchy water basically, isn’t it? I like using spinach cause I know it has alot of nutrients. I did put a small head of romaine lettuce in the other day…even THAT came up a bit bitter to me beneath the fruit.

And honestly, why do we need to switch them up? I mean if the ones we ARE eating are nutritious, what’s the problem?

I don’t have a good enough reason to get you to switch them up, but red and green leaf lettuces and romaine are nutrient rich and mild.

there are nutrients and enzymes in good quality leuttice. Maybe not ice bergy but the other types are good.
It’s nice to mixe up and experiemnt with greens, it can be suprising. Try mint which is great with cucumber and celery juice. Or put sprouts like sunflower seed greens into it. Other green herbs like parsley and coriander.

Or go the wild route with nettles and grass, both are quite mild.

I don’t know if it is necessary to mix it up or not, but sometimes a change feels good.

Branwyn, there MIGHT be a way you could do kale. Try deveining, then freezing it. Once frozen, you can crumble it into small pieces as you put it in your smoothie. I freeze mine because thereā€™s no way I will use a whole bundle before it goes bad. I also absolutely love alfalfa sprouts in smoothies. They add a nutty flavor to a fruit smoothie.

I use all kinds of greens. Lettuce, spinach, kale, parsley, celery, cilantro, dandelion, any edible weeds, carrot greens, beet leaves etc and any mixture of those. My secret is if I make mix then I put more of neutral tasting ones and less of specific tasting ones like dandelion. Also if I make smoothie with bitterish leaves I add some lemon or lime juice which takes bitterness away and then some dates or honey to balance out sour taste of lemon. And then anything tastes good. I was actually trying last few days to poste my Universal Green Smoothie recipe but right now that somehow does not work. So I will do it when that problem will be fixed.

It is best to mix greens up because certain greens have high oxalic acid contents. Oxalic acid binds with the calcium and iron in the greens and is not available to your body. You do however get the vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and protein from these greens. High oxalic acid greens are spinach and chards.

If you use kales, broccoli, cabbage, and collards you could have a problem with your thyroid if they are used in excess. You do get the full benefit of calcium and iron in these greens.

It is just a good idea to mix them up and not to focus on just one green. If you use spinach for instance and kale in the same smoothie, the spinach will not bind up the calcium and iron that is contained in the kale because it is already bound in the spinach.

These are not my ideas but I was taught this by Marsha Vernoga who is a registered dietitian here in Chico, Ca. Marsha has been raw for five years so I believe she has a good handle on these issues.

So you should put kale and spinach in together? I have switched back and forth with these two but had no considered using both in the same smoothie.

Sure always mixing up the foods is a good way to get a different variety of nutrients aswell as each foods own unique phyto-nutrients and beneficial compounds.

We want as wide a variety as possible when it comes to the above and for obtaining optimal health.

Amla

Not to interrupt, have you considered a pear and parsley smoothie? It is mild, and nondisruptive to my system, as well as sweet.