A vibrant breakfast.

[Paul]

It's always great to start off the day with something that gives you energy and a buzz. I make this with many different ingredients but my favourite at the moment is this one.

This makes 2 litres:-

1 Litre of filtered water.
1 bag of fresh Kale.
Half a bag of Spinach
1 Lemon.
4 Bananas (Brown spotty ones).
8 Damsons.
1" - 2" of fresh Ginger.


http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/images/breakfast/0001.jpg

De-stone the Damsons, remove just the outer skin of the Lemon (leave the White pith and leave the pips in), roughly chop the Ginger (leave all the skin on).

http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/images/breakfast/0002.jpg

Roughly cut up the Kale leaves use all the storks too....

http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/images/breakfast/0003.jpg

Put the whole lot in a decent blender, we use a VitaMix Pro 500 as this baby is powerful.

http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/images/breakfast/0004.jpg

The end result is 2 litres of pure vibrant energy :encouragement:

http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/images/breakfast/0005.jpg

[John B]

Hi Paul,

Great pics! thanks for sharing your breakfast idea with us. I'm trying to loose some weight and realise I need to completely change my eating habits.
I've read a lot about green smoothies, do you follow a recipe, or how do you choose the ingredients?

[Paul]

Hi John, I tend to make it up as I go along. I always have spinach in there, the Kale is relatively new as I have only just started using it the last few months.

I normally put 3"-4" of cucumber in there but I forgot this morning. Most of the ingredients are normally fresh but in the hot months I do sometimes put frozen mango, raspberries etc in to make a refreshingly cool smoothie.

Basically just put in your favourite fruits in their whole form and then add lost of Green Kale or Spinach... Kale is really good for reducing the risk of cancer, anti inflammatory, anti oxidant, see here for more info on the benefits (http://www.organicallypure.co.uk/forum/content.php?186-October-Kale-seasonal-fruit) :encouragement:

[Teri23]

This looks healthy Paul, I do have smoothies, but not that much green, I find it very strong in taste.
Why do you put cucumber in?

[Paul]

Cucumber is a natural diuretic which helps flush out toxins from the body.

[John B]

Can you put powders in too, like Maca powder, or Algae?

[Paul]

Sorry John, I missed your question.

Yes of course you can, I often add Spirulina powder in mine.

[Esme]

Does your body get used to this breakfast? I've always been under the impression that it is important to mix things up, so your body doesn't get used to the nutrients. (I'm not really sure why)

[Paul]

Although the basic ingredients (kale, spinach and bananas) remain the same, I do tend to vary the other items.

So in answer to your question, as the ingredients are always changing so are the nutrients contained within.

[Esme]

Although the basic ingredients (kale, spinach and bananas) remain the same, I do tend to vary the other items.

So in answer to your question, as the ingredients are always changing so are the nutrients contained within.

Okay, that makes sense, so the base ingredients remain the same, but you mix up the other ingredients to add variety. I suppose I presumed due to its colour it is always the same ingredients.

[Louise]

Okay, that makes sense, so the base ingredients remain the same, but you mix up the other ingredients to add variety. I suppose I presumed due to its colour it is always the same ingredients.

Hi Esme, The base of greens and bananas generally remains the same, however, this can be mixed up from a mixture of kale and spinach, to all one or the other. It's also worth considering different types of greens, including lettuce, Swiss chard, beet greens etc

The rest can vary as much as you would like it to, and that includes any supplements for example spirulina, Macao powder etc.
Keep in mind though, the taste will change quite dramatically depending on what you add in or take out.

[sophie]

I have read about the importance of chewing your food, how does this concept work with a smoothie? Does this take away the need to chew?