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From:	joanne (75-163-93-144.omah.qwest.net)
Subject:	green smoothies and general info
Date:	February 6, 2007 at 6:14 pm PST

In Reply to: Kid vegetarian help posted by Jen on January 8, 2007 at 7:32 am:

I know a few have mentioned green smoothies, but I'd like to add to it and be more specific.

First some quick background info. I have 3 children ages 13, 11 and 9. They've been vegetarian for several years (the youngest pretty much his whole life) and strict vegetarian (no animal products) for about 4 or 5 years with some 'slip ups' and 'cheating' here and there. We try to eat at least 50% raw every day; some days we are all raw. 99% of the time we are 'whole foods' eaters ... no junk, no sugar, low table salt, etc. Lots of allergies, so usually if we eat a grain it will be brown rice or quinoa. They are all pretty in touch with their bodies, so if one says "mom, I really don't feel like eating that right now" I respect that. My oldest is like me and usually does not feel like eating till around 11-12 so the two younger ones have raw fruit for breakfast and wait for us to be ready to have a big smoothie. Lunch is usually around 2 or 3 and supper before 6. (we homeschool ... if they went to public school this might be a problem!)

We have at least one green smoothie a day (we have a Vitamix and use it a lot!). When I watch other children, they love the green smoothies too. A typical smoothie for all of us would consist of a green (usually either one very large head of romaine, a whole stalk of celery {not one rib but the whole thing minus the leaves), or about a pound of spinach); RIPE bananas (about 12-16 depending on the size); and another fruit (a pound bag of frozen fruit or two works well, or whatever else is on hand). Add water to blend.

Some personal favorites (single meal smoothie for one person or a nice treat or snack for a few people):
-4 bananas, 2c blueberries, 4 ribs celery (I could live off this one!)
-8 oranges, several handfuls of baby spinach
-2 to 3 bananas, about 2c grapes, 3 to 4 peaches (strawberries work well too), 4 ribs celery

Other greens we use: parsley (a little tangy but very nutritious), leaf lettuce, kale (not too much, it's pretty strong), and more.

A few more smoothie tips - baby spinach tastes much better than mature spinach in the smoothies. Celery does not make the smoothie look green unless you add a lot ... and even then it's not too noticeable. If it's a citrus smoothie, I might add a little fresh ground flax.

I hope that was not too much information on smoothies!

Vegetable soup would be another way to get in some greens, but I think raw is best :o)
Raw vegetable salads too using romaine lettuce. Mmmmm! Maybe your daughter would like it with a sweet dressing like strawberries or oranges blended with raw almonds, sesame seeds or cashews?

joanne

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