by Dr. Anita Davis, Naturopathic Doctor

Summer’s not over yet!
Grab that fresh produce, use up extra veggies – and give yourself a pick-me-up!

A classic green smoothie recipe can be made in no time. To the uninitiated, you will want a good tasting, smooth-textured drink, that doesn’t cause a lot of fuss to make or clean up afterwards.

BENEFITS
Increase your vegetable and water intake.
Increase your minerals/vitamin/antioxidant/fibre intake.
Make it easier for your digestive system to extract and absorb the nutrients.
The busiest person has time to drink this on-the-go!

TIPS
The general rule is to use 60% fruit and 40% veggies.
Use some frozen fruit to chill your smoothie
Cut down prep time by freezing fruit that is going to go bad, or pre-chopping and storing bigger batches.
High-powered blenders break down the fibre more, making the smoothie, well, more smooth!

RECIPE (2 servings)

Base: 2 cups water/orange juice/coconut water
Veg: 1/2 cucumber and 1 celery stalk
Greens: 1-2 handfuls of spinach or kale
Fruit: Your choice of pineapple chunks (masks the kale taste!), green grapes, green apples, pears, mango, 1/2 peeled lemon or it’s juice (depending on the power of your blender). Just follow the 60:40 rule!

Bonus: 2 tablespoon of flax seeds – boost your fibre great for hormonal balancing
2 tablespoon of chia seeds – boost your protein, fibre and omegas.
1 inch of ginger – anti-inflammatory and may help relieve pain and cramping

Once you get the basics down, and your tastes change, you can tweak the recipe for different health goals!