Smoothies featuring coconut oil

Killer Kale Smoothie

Lacinato (Dinosaur) kale growing inside a hoop house during a cold Michigan winter.

Here’s another healthy green smoothie featuring my favorite green leafy veggie. Some people find kale too bitter (try kale chips), but not me, I like a little bitterness.

If you live in a temperate climate and can get your hands on kale grown outdoors in colder weather you’ll find it’s more pleasing to the picky palate – after a good frost kale’s leaves become much sweeter.

As is the case with other Brassicas, kale increases the amount of sugar inside its leaves to lower the temperature at which freezing begins. Pretty cool survival mechanism, eh?

Sweetness and bitterness aside, kale provides these key health benefits, which make it an excellent veggie to green your smoothie with.

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Blueberry Coconut Kombucha Smoothie

Blueberry Coconut Kombucha Smoothie My foray into the wonderful world of kombucha began last summer and has now come full circle with my first kombucha smoothie!

For those that don’t know, kombucha is a fermented tea. It’s teaming with probiotics or friendly bacteria, which are increasingly getting more attention because of how important they are not only for digestion, but overall health.

Kombucha has a long history of use, in fact, the ancient Chinese went as far as labeling it “Immortal Health Elixir”.

Here are a few of the key health benefits associated with this bubbly fermented beverage.

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Supergreen Aloe Smoothie

Supergreen Aloe Smoothie Greens and the wonderful superfood aloe vera combine for one super healthy smoothie.

Most people are familiar with using aloe vera topically. It’s great for burns, sunburn, rashes, acne, poison ivy, and a host of other skin conditions.

But the real magic and health benefits of aloe are experienced by those who consume it.

The gel of raw aloe contains a bevy of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, fiber, amino acids, enzymes, and the all important polysaccharides.

Polysaccharides are carbohydrates, or long chain sugar molecules, responsible for the following health benefits:

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Tasty Turmeric Smoothie

Tasty Turmeric Smoothie Get all the wonderful health benefits of turmeric, in particular its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, by incorporating it into this delicious and easy to make smoothie.

Turmeric has been used in Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for centuries because of its superior health promoting properties. In the health circles I hang out in I feel like this “super spice” is being talked about more and more, primarily because of its superior anti-inflammatory action.

With inflammation at the root of so many illness such as arthritis, it’s important to include anti-inflammatories into your diet. With turmeric you get much more than a reducer of inflammation though.

Here’s a quick rundown of turmeric’s other health benefits.

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Cilantro Smoothie

Now that’s a nice thick cilantro green smoothie.

The unique flavor of cilantro has the ability to liven up any dish or smoothie. I got some beautiful cilantro from my local farm this past week and had to blend up an equally beautiful green smoothie.

Also known as coriander, this wonderful herb with fantastic flavor offers much in the way of health benefits. Many herbs and spices such as cilantro pack a higher concentration and wider variety of antioxidants than common fruits and veggies. This means more effective free radical scavenging in your body.

Cilantro is perhaps best known for its ability to cleanse and remove heavy metals like mercury from the body. Chemical compounds in cilantro bind to heavy metals, loosen them from your tissues, and usher them out of your body in the process known as chelation.

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Minty Spinach Green Smoothie

Minty Spinach Green Smoothie Take your green smoothies to the “minty side” with a little fresh or dried mint. It enhances the flavor and imparts some nice health benefits.

Earlier this summer I harvested a boatload of three varieties of mint: Moroccan, apple, and water. I used a little bit of the fresh herb in smoothies and teas, but dried out the bulk of it. Now I have three little mason jars with each variety of mint to dip into whenever I make a smoothie.

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