My 'Go For Green Smoothie'

Sure, I love quinoa as much as the next person and have been known to enjoy the addition of chia seeds to my morning cereal. But when people start talking about wheat germ shots and activated almonds (which, as I found out recently from a misty eyed and overly excited girl at Veggie Bar, is simply almonds soaked in water) I have to admit, I start to think this whole 'health food' thing is a bit of a gimmick. The caveman diet, the 5:2 ratio and the lemon detox have all had their time in the sun when it comes to health food trends and I have to say that these are band wagons I never chose to board (seriously, who wants to eat like a caveman?). However, recently I found myself rather intrigued by this whole 'green smoothie' thang, which has resulted in pressed juice bars popping up all over Melbourne. The idea of blending banana and spinach together was such an unusual one that I felt I had to discover  what all the fuss was about for myself.

After much googling and sifting my way through health and fitness blogs (apparently there's some berry from Venezuela that can melt fat off your thighs...and it's only $139.95 a kilo!)  I finally found a recipe that I felt wouldn't put me off eating vegetables for the rest of my life. Technically the colour itself is not actually green, which I feel makes the whole experience slightly less gag-worthy for a beginner, but there's no doubt that this drink is green in spirit -I like to call it the 'Go For Green Smoothie'.

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 orange

1 handful of spinach

1 banana

3/4 cup of frozen or fresh berries (I used a combination of fresh blueberries and some frozen raspberries)

1/2 a stick of celery

a few ice cubes

1 tsp of linseed

1 tsp of sunflower seeds

1 tsp of pumpkin seeds

Method:

Add juice and spinach to the blender and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend the crap out of it.

E voila! My green smoothie. I have to say, I used a food processor which didn't make it as smooth as I would I have liked. In fact the texture was a cross between PVA glue and lumpy mucus...yes, it was somewhat off putting. But taste-wise this baby wasn't half bad! I'm not saying I'd have one every day, or that Iv'e suddenly decided to start eating soggy almonds, but if you want to give this trend a try then by all means, blend away.