Green Eden smoothie
Around 12 years ago was about the time when my culinary interests firmly nudged me towards more nutritious choices.
As a part of that journey, I first invested in a high-powered blender (which remarkably still holds a place in my kitchen) which marked the start of my smoothie-making era.
As the warmth of Spring and Summer beckoned, I found joy in experimenting with a colourful palette of seasonal fruits and vegetables fresh from the weekend market, paired with an array of herbs and greens grown in my garden. Of course, I would then take (too many) photos of my smoothie recipes with my phone camera to enthusiastically share with friends online.
Such were the simpler days of social media, with Instagram most notably serving as a naively innocent, algorithm-less bulletin board for the square-framed, filter-heavy, polaroid-esque snapshots of our lives, and of course, our #foodporn.
Among my earliest posts, I stumbled upon a green smoothie recipe that I made many times and enjoyed, so much so that I deemed it worthy of sharing on my feed. I adored the refreshing flavour combination and found it to be such a simple way to get more greens into my diet at the time.
So, inspired by the resurgence of Spring this year, I felt a bit nostalgic and decided I’d love to recreate this blend and share it anew with equal enthusiasm.
A medley of tropical fruits, greens, cucumber and citrus, this smoothie is a veritable treasure trove of nutrients including prebiotic fibre, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, silica, copper, tryptophan and bromelain. A sip of this concoction nurtures the gut, supports glowing skin, and provides essential cofactors for serotonin, the “feel-good” hormone and neurotransmitter best known for uplifting one’s mood.
For me, this simple smoothie personifies euphoria in a glass and takes me back to those nascent days in my garden growing, gathering and cultivating my passion for nourishing food so many years before becoming a Clinical Nutritionist.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (approx. 1/2 medium-sized pineapple)
1 cup fresh mango, chopped (approx. 1 large, or 2 small mangoes)
1 cup cucumber, chopped (approx. 1-2 lebanese cucumbers)
2 large ripe bananas, peeled and chopped
4 cups fresh greens (I prefer to use mostly baby spinach, with a little lettuce, rocket or kale - large stalks removed)
1 large orange (peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped)
1 small bunch fresh soft herbs of choice (my favourites for this recipe are pineapple sage, coriander, or mint)
2 cups of ice
Layer all ingredients in a high-powered blender jug, starting with fruit, then ice, then greens. Pulse a few times, then blend until completely smooth. You may wish to add a small splash of chilled water or coconut water if the smoothie is a little too thick.
Notes; fresh in-season fruit tastes best. For the most nutrition, this smoothie is best consumed immediately, or stored in an air-tight bottle in the refrigerator and consumed on the same day.
Optional add-ins; 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 Tbsp marine collagen, 1/2 avocado, 1 kiwi fruit.
