Green Smoothie Ideas and Recipes from Victoria Boutenko

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The Green Smoothie info and recipes below come direct from Victoria Boutenko, the author of Green for Life. Some great ideas if you’re looking for good combinations and greens and fruits.

Which fruits taste good with which greens?

Here are some tried-and-true combinations that unlock the secret to delicious smoothies. The fruits in parentheses are optional. I’ve suggested banana to sweeten EVERY smoothie, but you could also use pear, apple or mango. Of course, I hope you’ll experiment to find your favorites!

Green Smoothie Power

Green Smoothie Power

    The Kale Family: Any variety of Kale OR Dandelion Greens, PLUS Apple OR Mango OR Pear, AND Banana (berries OR kiwi)
      The Spinach Family:
    Spinach, PLUS Apple OR Peach OR Mango OR Kiwi, AND Banana & a squeeze of lemon (berries OR cherries OR figs)
    The Collard Family: Collards, PLUS Blueberries OR Peaches OR Cranberries, Peaches OR Pear, AND Banana
    The Orange Family: Arugula OR Celery OR Swiss Chard, PLUS Orange OR Mango, AND Banana (strawberries, peaches OR pineapple)
    The Sprout Family: Romaine OR Clover Sprouts, PLUS Apple OR Pear, AND Strawberries OR Kiwi, AND Banana
    The Herb Family: Parsley OR Cilantro, Apple OR Mango, Banana (strawberries, pineapple)

You can use this overview as a guide whenever you’re at the grocery store looking for what’s fresh and ripe!

Now available! My Green Smoothie DVD and Green Smoothie eBooks, including 200 recipes and a Quick Start Guide, so you can learn more home at your own pace. You can become the next Green Smoothie success story!

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Green Smoothie Power and Tabouleh Raw Food Salad Recipe

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I’ve found a new discovery in my healing journey….yes it is the GREEN SMOOTHIE! Wow, I am loving these things – so tasty and so packed with nutrition, and such an easy way to bring more greens into my diet!

Green Smoothie Recipe:

  • Greens
  • Fresh banana, papaya & pineapple
  • The stems from parsley (left over from raw tabouleh salad…see below)
  • 1.5 cups cold water
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 1 tsp. spirulina
  • 2 probiotics, opened and sprinkled into the blend

High Energy All Day!!!

Green Smoothie Ingredients Before

Green Smoothie Ingredients Before

Green Smoothie Ingredients After

Green Smoothie Ingredients After

Next step...Drink and Enjoy!!

Next step…Drink and Enjoy!!

Another Green Smoothie Recipe

  • Greens (different than yesterday’s but it’s Thailand, so I have no idea what they are – just dark and leafy with little flower buds, all thrown in!!)
  • Fresh banana & pineapple
  • The stems from parsley (nothing goes to waste!)
  • Coconut Oil
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 1 tsp. spirulina
  • 2 probiotics (same as yesterday)
  • 1.5 cups cold water
Fast, Easy & Delicious TABOULEH!

Fast, Easy & Delicious TABOULEH!

Raw Tabouleh Salad Recipe

I also made a wonderful Raw Tabouleh Salad:

  • 2 bunches fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • handful of dried goji berries (they soften in the salad after about 2 hours)
  • extra virgin olive oil, cayenne pepper, black pepper & sea salt

All the parsley, what a blast of nutrition!!

Watch out world – I’m on a role now!!!

Now available! My Green Smoothies for Dummies book and Green Smoothie eBooks,including 200 recipes and a Quick Start Guide, so you can learn at home at your own pace. You can become the next Green Smoothie success story!

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How to Deal with Social Pressures on a Raw Food Diet

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I consider myself very lucky to have a few raw food vegan friends (ok, 2)…but it really helps when you try this new path and way of living to try to find others around you doing it too, mainly just as an avenue to share thoughts or ideas and also to help inspire and motivate.

Often I find if I am in a ‘normal’ group of people, they immediately begin to defend and preach about why they think eating meat is essential or why eating cooked foods is necessary, and I find it, well to be honest, exhausting sometimes. I am never judging others for what they eat or don’t eat, and in that respect I find it quite harsh when I feel people judging me. What’s da dilly guys?? Can’t you just accept me for who I am where I am on my life’s journey? I accept you unconditionally, regardless… so why all the fuss???

What a wonderful world it would be if we all had more love and compassion for each other. Friendship should be about support and acceptance, yes?

Where's the Love??

Where\’s the Love??

One time last year while I was on a 100% raw food diet, I went out with friends for a meal. I mainly went out to appease my one friend – her other 2 friends I didn’t even know…anyway my friend at the time knew I was eating raw foods, but mentioned nothing of it at the meal and I proceeded to order a salad without a hitch, also not mentioning any special dietary requirements myself. All safe and cruisy on the down-low. My friend then ordered a Bailey’s shake made with coconut and banana…when she tried it she said ‘Jennifer you must try this it’s amazing…’ so I said ok, and had a sip. At that VERY moment, her friend immediately commented a ‘Oh, so much for the raw food diet!’ I said’ ‘Excuse me? There isn’t any milk in the shake…’ And she said’ ‘Um, Bailey’s, DAIRY, Hello???’ I mean, can you imagine???? In front of a group of people having this stranger try to humiliate me? If I had any ego whatsoever about the diet, maybe, maybe, I could see that response, but never did I ever mention it to anyone….I was horrified to know that I was being watched like a hawk when I was simply trying to experiment with a healthier way of living.

The whole ‘healthier than thou’ tactic to me is quite elitist, condescending, and ultimately self-defeating.

These are some of the obstacles you may face when transitioning to a better diet and lifestyle.

Celebrate your differences!

Celebrate your differences!

And this is why I mention how wonderful it can be when you meet others who are already on your same journey and who help to uplift, love, support and inspire you – it is very important to find a few people like that on your journey! When you find them, stick together!!

True friends will love and support you no matter what you eat or don’t eat, but they are rare gems in this world today, and when you find them, keep them!

Anyway, my 2 raw food friends had recommended some books for me to read and I am so grateful that I asked because I am now reading them and have learned so much new information already!

Based on the one, I am going to try more green vegetable smoothies and see if I can feel a difference…up to this point I was having my ‘standard’ smoothie but with more fruit mainly and just spirulina as a green…now I see that I must add the whole green veggie as well – spinach, kale, bok choy, etc….today I made my first one and it was great!

Green Smoothie Recipe:

  • Fresh Kale
  • Fresh pineapple, banana, & papaya
  • Ground Flax Seed
  • Probiotics
  • Water

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Healing – Sharing – Flowering – Transformation – Change

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Blossoming, Healing, Living

Blossoming, Healing, Living

These were my Tarot cards that came up on the Osho Zen Tarot today (no joke!) and so I knew it must be time to update the website, finally. I’ve been under the radar for awhile, out of touch with updating my websites, but not for lack of content, just lack of a positive perspective perhaps. I’ve had a very rough time in my life the last several months and I have fought hard both physically and emotionally to pull through it. Amazingly enough, I found that I was able to keep to about an 80% raw food diet despite everything, and for that I am so grateful because really, in times of stress, your body needs good nutrition more than any other time. At the moment I am back to about 90% raw, and working to get closer and closer to 100% every day.

We will all face challenges involving pain and suffering in our lives, and we must remember to take care of ourselves and feed our bodies well during those times.

Forgiveness is a Blessing!

Forgiveness is a Blessing!

The transformation and change part stem from the ability to forgive those who have hurt me during this process. It is important to note that forgiveness is not at all a sign of weakness; it is merely part of the ‘letting go’ process. We will never truly heal if we do not find a way to forgive those who have hurt us. And forgiving ourselves is equally as important. I will not lose my faith in human kindness!! There so many more people who have inspired and motivated me through life than those who have disappointed me!

I continue to surround myself with positive energy and kind-hearted souls.

I plan to do another fast/cleanse again soon and hope that I can transition to 100% raw food again after the cleansing. We will see how I go. In the meantime, I have been enjoying a wonderful morning smoothie inspired by my lovely Hawaiian friends Zeoc, Jen and Micah. You should definitely give this one a try…

In a blender combine:

Frozen chopped bananas
Fresh pineapple and papaya
Spirulina powder
Ground flax seeds
Goat’s yogurt
Probiotics (2-3 capsules opened)
Coconut Oil

Blend and enjoy – Yum-bo!

Can also add bee pollen, honey, flax seed oil, hemp oil, or liquid mineral supplements.

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