Green smoothies are a wonderful way to get additional greens and fiber into your diet. For this Modified Paleo Diet recipe, I suggest using a Vitamix or other high-powered blender as these blenders will break down plant cellulose to make it easier to digest. Try to buy fresh organic produce when possible, or at least buy from local farms or farmers markets.
Blend ingredients until smooth and ready to drink. If you want a cold, shake-like taste experience, add ice or use frozen juice cubes. Fresh and organic is best when it comes to Paleo diet foods. But when neither organic nor fresh fruits are in season, you can use frozen fruits. Depending on how you make it, this smoothie can come out so thick that you’ll need a spoon. Or, you can add more liquid.
- ½ –1 apple or ½ –1 ripe pear, cored and cut into chunks
- ½ –1 lemon, juiced
- 1–2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut
- 2–4 kale leaves, rinsed and torn
- 2–4 romaine lettuce leaves, beet greens, collard greens, rainbow chard, rinsed and torn
- 1 cup frozen/fresh blueberries or raspberries or strawberries
- 1 handful of fresh arugula, parsley, cilantro, or mint leaves
- 4–8 cups water and/or coconut water (depending on blender size and desired consistency)
Recipe Variation: If you are using a high-powered juicer or blender, such as the Vitamix, you can experiment with adding other Paleo diet foods to the mix, such as:
- ½ cup pomegranate
- 1 raw or cooked beet, cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp. miso paste
- 1–2 kiwi fruits, peeled
- 2 tablespoons flax, sesame, or chia seeds
- 1 bell pepper, cut in half
- ½ bunch of dandelion greens (can taste bitter)
- 2–3 stalks of celery (helps lower blood pressure)
- ½–1 avocado
- 4 inch piece of burdock root, cut in cubes
- 2 inch piece of turmeric root, cut in cubes
- A handful of seaweed (wakame, dulse), soaked for a couple minutes
- 2–3 medjool dates as a sweetener
Nutrition Facts per Serving: Varies based on the ingredients used.
Recipe inspired by The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Tom Malterre and Alissa Segersten.