Many of you will be more than familiar with starting your day with a protein smoothie, but how about taking it up a notch and making it a Green Smoothie? The Green Smoothie craze has been sweeping the health world recently...with raw foodies, Cross Fitters and even whole families getting in on the action at breakfast time.

Nutrient dense plant foods

By adding in plants foods, especially green plants to your breakfast smoothie, you are increasing the nutrient profile of your first meal of the day in an easy and accessible way that you and your family will hardly even notice. Green plants contain chlorophyll, or ‘plant blood’, that helps to alkalise and detoxify the body, provide energy and important nutrients, especially antioxidants, magnesium and calcium, and boost oxygen-carrying capacity of our blood by increasing haemoglobin.

Follow the guidelines below to choose your own Green Smoothie adventure...

1 CUP OF LIQUID BASE OF CHOICE	2 HANDFULS OF GORGEOUS GREENS	A TOUCH OF FRUIT (medium piece)	A PINCH OF SUPERFOODS
Water Coconut water Coconut milk Almond or other nut/seed milk Green tea (cooled)	Spinach Kale Silver beet Cos lettuce Cucumber Celery Parsley Coriander Mint If you’re feeling extra punchy, try... Watercress Dandelion leaves Bok choy Mustard greens	Lemon or lime (with some peel) Apple Pear Avocado Banana Mango Berries Grapes Kiwi Pineapple Papaya Peach	Coconut meat Protein powders –   hemp, pea or rice Cacao Vanilla Acai berries Goji berries Spirulina Ginger Maca Wheat or barley grass Chia seeds Cinnamon Bee pollen Flaxseed meal Probiotics Kefir

Tips for perfecting the perfect Green Smoothie...

• The basic recipe is water + greens + fruit – choose any combination of the above to make a smoothie to best suit your tastes, budget and fridge contents
• Frozen bananas (take peel off before freezing), avocado and coconut meat give that extra creaminess to a smoothie
• Lemon or lime juice can help to reduce the ‘green’ taste if too much for some
• For a bright green smoothie, choose only lighter coloured fruits (pineapple, mango, bananas, apples, pear etc).  Using berries, acai and cacao will result in a darker and sometimes browner smoothie – this will still taste delicious but just will not look as bright
• Stick to lower GI fruits such as berries and green apples, and use avocado and coconut meat to help with blood sugar control
• Less is better with super foods – start easy with spirulina, maca and bee pollen, and work up slowly to a level that suits your digestion, energy and body

So if you’re looking for an amazing energy boost to kick start your day, try a green smoothie for breakfast today!

Get great Nutritional Advice from Karen Ball