Green Smoothies by Jennifer Thompson Green Smoothies For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014935509 ISBN: 978-1-118-87116-4 ISBN 978-1-118-87116-4 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-87101-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-87127-0 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents at a Glance Introduction ......................................................1 Part I: Getting Started with Green Smoothies ......5 Chapter 1: Reaping the Benefits of Green Smoothies ...........................7 Chapter 2: Choosing the Best Equipment for Green Smoothies .......21 Chapter 3: Shopping and Preparing for Your Green Smoothies .......31 Part II: Making Your Green Smoothie Taste Great .....................................................43 Chapter 4: Choosing Your Greens .........................................................45 Chapter 5: Deciding What to Use for Fruits and Sweeteners .............59 Chapter 6: Adding Super foods, Medicinal Ingredients, Liquids, and More .............................................................................75 Chapter 7: Adjusting Smoothie Ingredients to Suit Your Taste ........93 Part III: Green Smoothies for Every Day ..........101 Chapter 8: Morning Green Smoothies.................................................103 Chapter 9: Midday Green Smoothies ..................................................111 Chapter 10: Evening Green Smoothies ...............................................119 Chapter 11: Green Smoothies for Kids ...............................................127 Part IV: Green Smoothies to Meet Your Individual Health Needs ................................145 Chapter 12: Green Smoothies for a Healthier You ............................147 Chapter 13: Green Smoothies for Chronic or Serious Medical Conditions ...........................................................179 Chapter 14: Green Smoothies to Maximize Your Workouts ............205 Chapter 15: Green Smoothies for Fertility, Pregnancy, and Beyond .................................................................213 Chapter 16: Green Smoothies for Detoxification ...............................231 Part V: The Part of Tens .................................245 Chapter 17: Ten Green Smoothie Myths Debunked ..........................247 Chapter 18: Ten Common Questions about Green Smoothies ........253 Appendix: Metric Conversion Guide .................259 Index .............................................................263 Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................1 About This Book ........................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions .................................................................2 Icons Used in This Book ............................................................3 Beyond the Book ........................................................................4 Where to Go from Here .............................................................4 Part I: Getting Started with Green Smoothies .......5 Chapter 1: Reaping the Benefits of Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Understanding the Nutritional Value of a Green Smoothie ......................................................................7 Chlorophyll: Drinking the green blood of plants .........7 The pH factor: Getting alkaline ......................................8 Enjoying enzyme energy .................................................9 Calling fiber your friend ..................................................9 Boosting your mineral intake .........................................9 Increasing vitamins for vitality ....................................10 Picking green protein ....................................................10 Getting variety with greens ..........................................11 Smoothies versus Juice ...........................................................12 Toasting to a Healthier You ....................................................12 Boosting immunity ........................................................13 Fighting fatigue ...............................................................13 Living longer and better................................................13 Improving memory ........................................................14 Strengthening digestion ................................................14 Losing weight naturally .................................................15 Radiating Beauty from the Inside Out ...................................15 Improving your skin ......................................................16 Reversing gray hair........................................................16 Strengthening nails ........................................................17 Brightening eyes ............................................................17 Tackling the Effects of and Risks for Various Maladies ..................................................................18 Heart disease ..................................................................18 Diabetes ..........................................................................18 Cancer .............................................................................19 Autoimmune disorders .................................................19 Anxiety and depression ................................................20 v Table of Contents Chapter 2: Choosing the Best Equipment for Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Picking a Blender .....................................................................21 Thinking about blender type ........................................22 Not panicking over price ..............................................24 Looking for specific blender features .........................24 Location, location, location: Surveying your storage needs .............................................................26 Making Smoothies without Killing Your Blender .................27 Storing Your Smoothies ..........................................................28 Factoring Juicing into the Equation .......................................29 Chapter 3: Shopping and Preparing for Your Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Knowing What to Look for in Smoothie Ingredients ...........31 Debating organic versus non-organic .........................32 Avoiding genetically modified fruits and vegetables ...........................................................34 Buying Your Produce ..............................................................35 Making a list....................................................................36 Starting with local farmers’ markets ...........................36 Finding produce on a budget .......................................37 Caring for and Prepping Your Produce .................................39 Washing...........................................................................40 Storing .............................................................................40 Freezing ...........................................................................41 Part II: Making Your Green Smoothie Taste Great ........................................43 Chapter 4: Choosing Your Greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Getting the Lowdown on Adding Greens ..............................45 Introducing the Top Greens for Health .................................46 Kale ..................................................................................48 Spinach ............................................................................48 Swiss chard .....................................................................49 Watercress ......................................................................49 Collard greens ................................................................50 Celery ..............................................................................50 Bok choy .........................................................................51 Dandelion greens ...........................................................51 Mustard greens ..............................................................51 Turnip greens .................................................................52 Beet greens .....................................................................52 Alfalfa sprouts ................................................................53 Fresh herbs .....................................................................53 Lettuces...........................................................................54 vi Green Smoothies For Dummies Using Green Powders Rather than Fresh Greens.................55 Incorporating Wheatgrass ......................................................55 Eyeing wheatgrass’s health benefits ...........................56 Getting the most out of adding wheatgrass to a smoothie ..................................................................57 Measuring out the right amount .................................58 Chapter 5: Deciding What to Use for Fruits and Sweeteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Boosting Smoothie Nutrition by Adding Fruits ....................59 Beyond an Apple a Day: Picking the Top Fruits for Your Smoothies ....................................................................60 Banana .............................................................................61 Apple ...............................................................................61 Grapes .............................................................................61 Avocado ..........................................................................62 Pear ..................................................................................63 Lemon and lime ..............................................................63 Orange .............................................................................64 Kiwi ..................................................................................64 Grapefruit........................................................................64 Berries .............................................................................65 Peach and nectarine ......................................................66 Plum .................................................................................66 Apricot ............................................................................67 Papaya .............................................................................67 Pineapple ........................................................................68 Mango ..............................................................................68 Cantaloupe ......................................................................68 Watermelon ....................................................................69 Pomegranate ..................................................................70 Persimmon ......................................................................70 Cucumber .......................................................................71 Tomato ............................................................................71 Bell pepper .....................................................................71 Considering Other Natural Sweetening Options ..................72 Raw honey ......................................................................72 Stevia ...............................................................................73 Dates ................................................................................73 Agave nectar ...................................................................73 Avoiding Artificial Sweeteners ...............................................74 Chapter 6: Adding Super foods, Medicinal Ingredients, Liquids, and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Looking at the Pros and Cons of Eating Superfoods ...........76 Making a case for adding superfoods to your diet ....77 Balancing superfoods with the rest of your diet .......78 Examining Top Superfoods for Green Smoothies ................79 Spirulina ..........................................................................79 Chlorella ..........................................................................80 vii Table of Contents Aloe vera .........................................................................80 Acai powder....................................................................81 Bee pollen .......................................................................81 Flaxseed ..........................................................................82 Coconut oil .....................................................................82 Cinnamon ........................................................................83 Goji berries .....................................................................83 Maca powder ..................................................................83 Adding Other Supplements ....................................................85 Letting your food be your medicine ............................85 Deciding when to use extras and what to use ...........85 Figuring Out Which Liquids Are Best for  Your Smoothie ............................................................................87 Hailing hydration: Water is best ..................................87 Going cuckoo for coconut water .................................87 Getting the skinny on vegan milks ...............................88 Knowing What to Leave out of Your Green Smoothie ....................................................................90 Ditching dairy: Yogurt, milk, and cottage cheese ......90 Refusing refined sugar ..................................................90 Ignoring ice .....................................................................91 Putting the brakes on protein powders ......................91 Chapter 7: Adjusting Smoothie Ingredients to Suit Your Taste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Adding Greens, Fruit, or Water to Get Your Smoothie Just Right .............................................................93 When to add more greens ............................................94 When to add more fruit .................................................95 When to add more water ..............................................96 Incorporating the Right Parts of Your Produce ...................97 Debating skin-on produce .............................................97 Using or losing fruit cores and seeds ..........................98 Tossing stems and leaves in or out .............................99 Making use of leftover ingredients ..............................99 Part III: Green Smoothies for Every Day ...........101 Chapter 8: Morning Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Getting a Healthy Start to a Good Day ................................104 Chapter 9: Midday Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Getting That Afternoon Energy Boost .................................111 Chapter 10: Evening Green Smoothies . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Considering the Sense of an Evening Smoothie .................119 viii Green Smoothies For Dummies Chapter 11: Green Smoothies for Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 Perfect Transition! Making Green Smoothies Baby’s First Food................................................................127 Trying Toddlers’ Green Smoothies .....................................134 Healthy is Cool! Gearing Green Smoothies toward Teens ......................................................................140 Part IV: Green Smoothies to Meet Your Individual Health Needs .................................145 Chapter 12: Green Smoothies for a Healthier You . . . .147 Cooling the Burn of Acid Reflux ...........................................148 Eating Your Way to Fabulous Skin .......................................156 Finding Relief from Constipation .........................................163 Achieving Goals with Weight Loss .......................................171 Chapter 13: Green Smoothies for Chronic or Serious Medical Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 Winning the Battle with Inflammation .................................180 Minimizing Heart Disease Risk .............................................188 Navigating Diet Choices When You Have Diabetes ...........194 Healing after Surgery, Chemo, or Radiation .......................201 Chapter 14: Green Smoothies to Maximize Your Workouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205 Getting Nutrition before and after Workouts .....................206 Benefitting from a pre-workout smoothie ................206 Recovering with a post-workout smoothie ..............207 Chapter 15: Green Smoothies for Fertility, Pregnancy, and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Using Smoothies to Boost Fertility ......................................214 Meeting Nutrition Needs with Smoothies during Pregnancy ...............................................................220 Packing Smoothies with Calories and Nutrients while Breast-Feeding ..........................................................226 Chapter 16: Green Smoothies for Detoxification . . . . .231 Cleaning Your Body from the Inside Out ............................232 Catching common signs you need to detox .............232 Recognizing why getting rid of excess toxins is important ..............................................................233 Green Smoothie Detox: One Day per Week ........................234 Green Smoothie Detox: Simple Three-Day Cleanse ...........235 Making your detox shopping list ...............................235 Walking through the detox, day by day ....................236