Green Beauty Mix
Caring for your beauty is more than just proper skin care. It also includes acting on the inside, which I wrote more about in the post on taking care of yourself. A healthy, balanced diet is definitely an essential part of the process. Cucumbers contain silica, which is beneficial for our skin. Kiwi and apple are good sources of vitamin C, which is essential for collagen synthesis. Nuts, in turn, provide unsaturated fatty acids. It’s a great combination! 🙂
Preparation
I put all the ingredients into the blender and mixed until smooth (you can add some water if the smoothie is too thick).
The order things go into the blender
Liquid first, leaves second, hard fruit last. Coconut water at the bottom gives the blades something to pull the spinach into, and a jug loaded the other way round leaves a pocket of air under the blade and a wall of leaves above it that simply spins. If your blender is struggling rather than blending, this is almost always why.
Hazelnuts are the part that decides how smooth the drink gets. A high-speed blender handles them raw; anything weaker leaves gritty specks, and the fix is to soak them for a couple of hours beforehand or to blend them with the coconut water alone for half a minute before everything else goes in.
What to keep and what to swap
The cucumber is what makes this drink light rather than heavy, so keep it even if you change the rest. Spinach can become kale or young chard, though both are stronger in flavour and want a little more apple to balance them. Kiwi can go if you find it too tart on an empty stomach, and half a banana in its place makes the smoothie creamier and considerably sweeter.
Peel the kiwi but leave the apple skin on and the cucumber skin as well, provided both are washed well. Drink it the same day: green smoothies separate within an hour and darken by the next morning, which costs nothing in taste but a lot in appetite.
If you would rather have drinks and meals like this one planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
Green beauty mix smoothie
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the coconut water into the blender first, then add the spinach and the hazelnuts.
- Add the chopped cucumber, the peeled kiwi and the apple on top.
- Blend until smooth, adding a little water if the smoothie is too thick.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Liquid first, leaves second, hard fruit last. Coconut water at the bottom gives the blades something to pull the spinach into; loaded the other way round, the leaves simply spin above an air pocket.
A high-speed blender handles hazelnuts raw. With a weaker one, soak them for a couple of hours first, or blend them with the coconut water alone for half a minute before anything else goes in.
Kale or young chard both work, though they are stronger in flavour and want a little more apple to balance them. The cucumber is the ingredient to keep whatever else changes, since it is what makes the drink light rather than heavy.
Peel the kiwi, leave the apple and cucumber skins on provided both are washed well.
It is best the same day. Green smoothies separate within an hour and darken by the next morning, which costs little in taste but a lot in appetite. Drinks and meals like this one come planned into the week with a shopping list in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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