Fwd: Green Drinks, Dr. Oz and Oprah

November 7, 2007

FYI. It was a great episode of Oprah. Not a raw vegan show, but definitely a big step in the right direction.

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Green Drinks, Dr. Oz and Oprah Part Two

In this post we are going to talk more about green drinks, thanks to the popularity of the Oprah Show entitled How to Turn Back Time Part 2 with Dr. Oz.... so keep reading!

Green Drinks are still being talked about all over the world, as people have had a chance to view their TiVo or DVR, or live outside of the U.S. who saw it the next day.

Oprah said it best in the show as she took her first sip of Dr. Oz's green drink:

"It's like a glass of fresh!"

Fresh indeed. There is nothing better than to have a green juice or a green smoothie in the morning!

For those that are unfamiliar with these green drinks, let us explain the difference:

Green Juice: green juice is usually a combination of a lot of greens (pounds of greens) and other vegetables like celery that are juiced together to create a green juice. These juices are usually very green in color. Some juices have carrots or other colorful vegetables juiced together with other ingredients, and they tend to have an orange or red color. Because they are juiced, the fiber from the ingredients are filtered out, and the end result is a very smooth liquid beverage. Some people feel that juicing is an excellent way to get daily nutrients. Wheatgrass juice is the juice extracted from wheatgrass, and is very popular in juice bars and health food stores.

Required equipment for juicing: a juicer.

Green Smoothies: A green smoothie is a beverage that is a combination of fruits and vegetables that are blended instead of juiced. All of the fiber from the vegetables and fruits are kept intact. Many people enjoy a range of green smoothies. Some have many vegetables and salad greens in their smoothies, and add a bit of fruit to make it palatable. Some people have green smoothies that are mostly fruit, with a few greens thrown in for extra nutrition.

Required equipment for green smoothies: a blender, preferably a high speed blender.

Free recipes!

Here are three examples of green juices and green smoothies:

This first recipe was posted yesterday but due to popular demand we are posting it a second time:

Begin With A Green Drink

by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

2 big handfuls of Spinach

1/2 cup parsley

1 rib of celery

1 thumb of ginger, skin peeled

1 lemon

1 medium cucumber

2 apples

ice cubes (optional)

Directions:

In a juicer, place all ingredients except optional ice cubes in a juicer until juiced. Serve in your favorite wine goblet or other favorite glass of choice. If desired, add ice cubes for a refreshing cold beverage.

And now.... here are the same ingredients, but this time this is the recipe that Dr. Oz mentioned at the end of the Oprah show. His recipe needed a bit of clarification, so our changes have been added below to help you understand his recipe.

Dr. Oz Green Drink

Modifications made by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1 Cup Spinach

4 Celery Stalks

1 Cucumber

1 Large Apple (cored and peeled)

1 Lemon (juiced in a citrus juicer or by hand)

1 Lime (juiced in a citrus juicer or by hand)

1/2 Inch Piece of fresh Ginger (peeled)

(small handful of parsley)

water, to blend

ice cubes (optional)

Directions:

Mix everything in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed blend on high 2-3 times until fully blended. Pour into two tall glasses and serve with ice cubes if desired.

Bonus recipe!

Here is one more Green Smoothie recipe, this time with the addition of a banana. Adding a banana (or several) into a green smoothie gives it an unbelievable creamy texture, as well as helps the energy from the smoothie get absorbed into your body at a slower pace, which gives you released energy for hours!

Apple Lime Smoothie

by Heidi Ohlander

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

5 medium bananas

2 apples - harelson, honeycrisp, granny smith or similar tart/sweet apple (cored and peeled)

2 leaves of lacinato (dino) kale

1 cup of spinach

juice of 2 medium limes

1/4 cup water

ice cubes to taste (optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender except ice cubes. Blend, adding ice cubes at the end while still blending. Pour into glasses.

Questions and Answers:

Here are some questions that we received that may help you understand more about these green drinks:

Q: Did Dr. Oz strain his green drink on the show? It looks very liquid-y?

A: We are not quite sure if Dr. Oz strained his green drink. It does look very much like a juice, and not like a typical smoothie. One theory is that he added quite a bit of water. In our modified recipe for his green drink (recipe shown above), water is added to his drink, otherwise it would be difficult to get it to start blending. Did he strain it? It looks like many of the ingredients had floated to the top of the drink, giving it a foamy appearance.

Q: So is his drink a juice, or a smoothie?

A: Good question. If you look at the description of his green drink on the synopsis of yesterday's show, there is no mention of it being blended or juiced. It is only if you watched the show that he mentions that he blends his drink. He uses a blender to make this drink.

Q: So I need a blender?

A: If you want a quick, easy and cheap way to start getting healthy, get yourself a blender. Smoothies are a great way to get lots of healthy, energy giving nutrients, as well as a daily dose of fiber without having to take a pill or some strange powdered formula. One surprising fact about blended green smoothies, is (if done right) they taste incredible! A great book to get started with green smoothies is Victoria Boutenko's Green for Life.

Q: Do you have to use all these ingredients?

A: Heck no! We use all sorts of different combinations! Sometimes we use lots of greens, and there are times when we just want fruit smoothies, which is a totally different topic for another time. The point is to use what you have, and to create combinations that taste good to you. In fact, if you feel these recipes are too strong, or taste bitter, you can always add more fruit.

Remember, you can always add more fruit!

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~ Raw Food Right Now!