Raw Food Diet – Free recipes and tips by The Rawtarian

When I first started learning how to make green smoothies I would follow recipes rigidly.

There are thousands of free green smoothie recipes online. Just google them or buy a book. (Victoria Boutenko’s Green Smoothie Revolution has everything you ever wanted to know about green smoothies.)

But now that I’m used to making green smoothies myself, I’ve taught myself how to make green smoothies that work for me.

I don’t like them to taste too green, so I generally keep the ratios as follows:

In my blender I add:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water
• A large handful of greens (spinach, romaine lettuce, carrot tops, etc.)
• Approximately a banana and an apple’s worth of sweet fruit

I almost always use a banana in my green smoothies because bananas make the texture so smooth. If my green smoothie tastes too green, I’ll add a date or two (medjool dates are my favourite), some fresh sweet pineapple, or a sweetener such as raw agave nectar.

Depending on what I’ve added to my green smoothie the liquid will congeal really quickly. For example, by the time I’ve finished drinking my first cup the remainder in the blender will be all strange looking and congealed. Usually I’ll just blend it up again for a few seconds and it will return to the more liquid state, which I prefer.

My favourite, simple, economical green smoothie is as follows:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water
• A medium handful of romaine lettuce (or two big lettuce leaves, ripped into small bits)
  
• One banana
• One apple (or just half an apple if you like it thinner)
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Learning how to make green smoothies is a snap.

Start with some good, clear recipes. After you’ve made about twenty or thirty green smoothies, you’ll notice that there are some definite commonalities to the ratios of fruit to greens.

You’ll be making your own raw smoothie concoctions in no time.

Happy blending!

Photo credit: Green smoothie