A girl can’t live on meat and potatoes alone. Well, I can’t anyway. I’ve been running ragged for the past month or so. I’m naturally a healthy eater, because I generally gravitate towards healthier foods. But when I’m running ragged and stressed out, my palate desires nothing short of comfort food. Let me just tell you what I had for dinner this past week: prime rib with a side of mashed potatoes last Friday; buffalo chicken “salad” with a tub of fries last Saturday; fish and chips on Sunday; the greasiest burger you can imagine with a tub of fries on Monday; and two giant chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with soy ice cream on Tuesday. And for that buffalo chicken “salad?” “Salad” is euphemism for batter and creamy dressing with a couple of lettuce leaves. It would be an understatement to say that I feel sluggish.
When I’m feeling this sluggish, I try my best to go through a cleanse of sorts. I say “of sorts,” because a strict cleanse only leads to an epic fail for me. I need latitude and options when it comes to food. I just try to cut out all processed foods and red meat. One constant during this period is my Green “Goddess” Smoothie. What’s up with the “Goddess?!” Self-absorbed, obnoxious narcissist perhaps? NAH, I’m way too painfully aware of my own limitations for that. 😛 It just makes me feel better in my time of need.
But ladies (and gents, just in case you care), let me tell you. This will change your skin; it does mine. Whenever I drink this on a regular basis, I get rave reviews on the state of my skin – even from strangers. The lady who was bagging my groceries at the Korean market asked me what I was doing to my skin! That should be incentive enough for me to make this smoothie every single day for the rest of my life… if not for my pesky laziness.
Green “Goddess” Smoothie Recipe
Serves 1 person as a meal replacement or
Serves 2 people as part of a meal
Ingredients
3-5 romaine lettuce leaves
1 BIG handful of baby kale
~5 sprigs of parsley
1/2 large lemon or 1 small lemon
1 small fuji apple
1 small banana
2 TB ground flax seeds (or combination of flax and chia seeds)
~1 cup of water
~5 ice cubes
1/16 tsp of stevia (optional)
1/2″ ginger (optional)
1/2 – 1″ cucumber cylinder (optional)
- Add romaine, kale, parsley, lemon, apple, ginger, cucumber, and water to the vitamix or blender. Close the lid tightly. Slowly turn up the variable up to 10. This should just break down the contents. It will look slightly lumpy. It should only take about 10 seconds using the variable knob for the contents to break down in a vitamix.
- Add rest of the ingredients to the vitamix or blender. Turn the vitamix or blender on. If using a vitamix, turn the variable knob to 10, then to high. Blend on high for about 45 seconds – 1 minute until completely smooth. If you are using a different blender, it may take longer.
Cook’s Note*:
If you plan to drink this on a regular basis. Try to change the ingredients from time to time. For example, use spinach in place of kale, skip the banana, or use a pear in place of an apple. Using a few chunks of frozen pineapples really gives this a tropical flavor. I usually cut up 2 or 3 pineapples and freeze it in freezer bags for smoothies. I find that this smoothie is most effective (for your skin) when the banana is not used, but that will affect the taste and texture. It will be healthy either way. 😀
I use a vitamix for this smoothie. If you don’t have one, use a powerful blender. Kale leaves will be difficult to pulverize if the blender isn’t powerful enough, and the texture of the smoothie will be less than desirable.
Don’t blend for too long. The smoothie will get warm.
If you are a newbie to green smoothies, it may be easier to drink if the consistency is thinner. You can adjust the water to make it thinner (or thicker) depending on your preference.
I use KAL stevia. It is the best stevia I’ve used. Stevia, if used too much, will have a bitter taste. KAL is pure stevia with less of a bitter taste when compare with other brands. If used in moderation, especially in fruity drinks, you won’t really taste the difference between this and other types of sweeteners (e.g., sugar or agave nectar).
Hi gomo. Everything in this recipe looks good enough to put directly on the skin (for a facial) too…I recently blogged about homemade skincare using different food ingredients. Whether you eat/drink it or apply it directly, I guess certain things just naturally make your skin glow. I gotta try your Green “goddess” smoothie some time. One thing I that keeps me from having radiant skin is my caffeine addiction =(
Almost everyone I know is addicted to caffeine – even my grandma! Caffeine and glowing skin are not mutually exclusive, at least I hope not. 😀 I hope you try this smoothie. It also does wonders for my mid-afternoon crashes. Hope you’re having a lovely weekend Miss Kim!
That’s a very healthy smoothie, look at that ingredient list! Pinning it!
Thanks Julia! I really needed this after my grease and starch binge as of late. It does do wonders for sluggishness/fatigue. Happy Sunday!
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Thank you for the invite! Your site sounds great. I will be sure to drop by! 😀
Good pictures! And excellent smoothie. Although I usually would eat these ingredients in a salad, it’s fun making them into a smoothie, too! Really good stuff – thanks so much.
Thanks John! I’m a smoothie girl. I would rather slurp than chew. I guess I’m a lazy eater, among other things. 😀
WOW! Look at the color of that smoothie! Talk about a ton of vitamins and minerals in one glass. What a delicious way to start the day.
Thank you MJ! I love the color of this too. It makes me feel like I’m doing something good for myself. 😀 Hope you are getting a great start to the week!!
I just love a green smoothie and this looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Melissa! I love that it gives me an extra boost of energy throughout the day. I think it’s also a great way for me to get all the veggies in me that I otherwise wouldn’t get. 🙂 Happy Monday!
I know how sluggish those “diets” can make you feel. This looks like a great smoothie, I’m gonna have to try it! I’ve been doing the green smoothie challenge for almost three weeks now, but I often feel like they’re just too full of sugar, so I’d rather make this smoothie! Also, I tried your spicy tomato sauce not long ago, and it was GREAT!! Definitely making it again 🙂
Thanks Yvonne! So glad you liked the spicy tomato sauce. We have that all the time here and love it. I hope you try out this smoothie. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it really does help with the mid-afternoon energy crash. Hope you are well! 😀
I love my greens.. I make a similar drink with coconut water, lime and pear.
Always good to mix up the ingredients, looking forward to trying yours.
Thanks for coming by the site Norma! And thanks for the reminder. I make this often times with coconut water but totally forgot to mention it! Lime and pear sounds good too. They would be great substitutes for the apple and lemon. Hope you’re having a great start to the week!
i love your version of green goddess! I was on a juicing kick for sometime last year b/c of the health issues and I know it does wonders for skin, weight, energy, mood change…I wish I have that strong will to go on it again for few weeks and kick all the bad stuff out of me, but so far can’t do it more than 4 days–I blame coffee and tempting food 😀 I will try this for sure. Love the rich green color, just beautiful, healthy and tasty! I wish you great and relaxing week! 🙂
Hi Sandra! I can’t be too strict when it comes to food either. I just try to eat as sensibly as I can when I’m going through a cleanse or a detox. I’m sure it’s tougher if you have kids. I hope your health issues have all been resolved, and you are well. Thanks for your kind words as always. Hope you and your family are well! 🙂
Beautiful color! And this is such a wonderful drink to start a day. I love looking at what’s going into the juicer and drink afterwords. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment. 😀
Thanks Nami! It does make me feel a whole lot better. Great thing about this is that it’s so adaptable. When I’m around my niece and nephew, I just add some frozen berries into the mix. They love it. Makes me feel like a great aunt! 😀
There are times I have to live on meat and junk food too. Then I feel sick and crave for something healthy. As soon as you mentioned about the good skin tone, I thought I’ve got to try this smoothie! Asians/Koreans girls do love to hear that compliment! ‘Your skin looks lovely!’:D
Everyone loves to be told they look healthy and glowing! 😀 It’s a motivational tool; you know it’s actually working. You have to try it. It’s one of those things I swear by when I’ve been feeling sluggish or fatigued for a period of time. I even got my mom on it. She loves it!
Hi, Great website. I enjoy reading each of your post, and the recipes are fantastic. I was wondering – for this smoothie recipe, do you throw in the whole lemon or just the lemon juice?
Thank you so much lily! Yes, for this recipe, I just make sure to get all of the rind off and throw in the whole lemon as pictured above – not just the juice. That way you get the benefits of a whole lemon – fiber and all! If it’s a huge lemon, just use half. I’m using one of those bagged lemons from TJs; those are really small. So I use one whole lemon. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions! 😀
What a lovely vivid colour! I would drink it even without asking what’s inside, but the ingredients do look delicious and it will improve my skin too??? I’m flabbergasted! and so happy to discover your beautiful blog! I love Korean cuisine, so I’m sure I have a lot to learn from you.
PS My Japanese friend has always been repeating that Korean women have a gorgeous complexion thanks to kimchi 😉
Thank you for coming by the site and for your kind words. I don’t know about the kimchi part, but this smoothie always seems to help my skin. 😀 I’m always happy to hear that people are getting to know and loving Korean food. I hope you try out the smoothie. It always makes me feel healthier. Happy hump day Sissi!
I am off to the store right this minute. I’ve been carb (among other things) loading for weeks and up just a “few” pounds since my last vacation. Can’t seem to get back on track. Seems like this will help do the trick. Enough is enough! 🙂
Yay!!! When I eat clean for a couple of weeks, I can tell the difference in energy levels right away. A friend of ours started making this for breakfast; and now, her meat-eater husband complains if he doesn’t get the smoothie in the morning! I hope you like it too Angie. 🙂
Having my first one right now! I really like it and bought enough for the week. Thanks for the recipe!! Enjoy your week
So glad you like it Angie! Have a great week! 🙂
Hi Gomo, thank you very much for your recipe. I started drinking it few days ago. I know it is always best to drink the smoothie right after we blended so the nutrition won’t die down. Is a overnight smoothie be totally bad to drink because sometimes I don’t have the time to blend it in the morning? Or can is it still good nutrition wise within 24 hours?
Hi Bonnie~ Although it’s best to drink it right after, I know it’s difficult to make this in the morning sometimes. Supposedly, smoothies should be consumed within the hour. This is mainly due to oxidation that occurs. I found that the best way to keep the taste and the freshness for a longer period of time is to limit that from occurring as much as possible. It’s impossible to prevent it.
If you have a mason jar with a tight screw-on lid, fill it up the top. Do it over the sink. If a little spills over, that’s fine. Screw on the lid tightly. If some spill over while you are tightening the lid, again, no big deal. You don’t want to leave any room between the liquid and the lid. Putting a saran wrap tightly over the mouth over the jar (you want contact bet/ the saran wrap and the liquid; so top it off), then screwing on the lid also helps. Sometimes, I do this at night when I don’t have the time to make it in the morning. You should test a small batch – right after you blend it – to see if this works for you. If the color of the liquid turns brown, it’s oxidized too much to have much benefit (other than the fiber that remains). I hope this helps!
Oh, don’t want to state the obvious, but refrigerate right away! 😀
Hi Gomo, thank you so much for sharing these wonderful health information with everyone! I just have one short question regarding to this smoothie. If I want to use this to fight against afternoon energy crash, do I need to have all the ingredients? In other words, will it still have the same effects if some of the optional ingredients are missing? thanks a lot! I actually have really bad afternoon energy crash and one of my friends recommended me to try drinking green smoothies for breakfast. i’m excited to start! again, thank you so much for sharing such wonderful information online!
Welcome aaliyah! The most important part of this smoothie is the “green” part. So make sure you have the leafy greens. Lemon is also a vital part of this. But the fruits, especially the banana, aren’t as important. Omitting some of the fruits, however, will have an effect on the taste (won’t be as sweet and/or creamy). And out of the optional ingredients, ginger is probably the most important, because it aids with digestion. But they are just that, optional. BTW, couple of chunks of pineapple will make this smoothie taste refreshingly tropical. Hope this helps!
Hi, I’ve tried the smoothies for two days now, they’re definitely helping fighting against afternoon fatigue. So, thank you! pineapple sounds good, i’ll add them once in a while if i need more flavour
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for letting us know. I had really bad fatigue around 3-4pm. I too found that this really helps. Hope you had a wonderful weekend aaliyah!
This looks awesome! Will it really help with skin? I am looking for recipes like this to help me improve my skin and facial appearance! And I am also a better slurper than chewer!! 🙂
Thanks Sheila! I drink this whenever I do my cleanse. It really brightens up my skin and helps with my mid-afternoon fatigue. I hope you give it a try!
I made this today and it is Absolutely Delicious! I also feel I have a lot more energy. I left out the banana because I wanted this primarily for detox & skin health. I added a tsp of turmeric just because it is so good for you.
Thank You!!
Thanks for letting me know! So glad you liked it.:) The turmeric sounds great. I will need to start a detox myself soon. Thanks for the reminder. Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
Just now made it & it so delicious. I’m hooked!!!
Thanks Rosie! So glad you liked it. I’m sort of hooked on this myself!:D
I have a nutribullet will it be ok to use that instead?. This recipe looks so good. And im getting more into smoothies/juicing. Cannot wait to try it.
Hi Lynn! I have seen the nutribullet pro900 series at our local bed bath and beyond. That looked super strong, and it did have a picture of kale in the background.:) So I’m guessing it would work. But I’ve never used one and can’t really be sure. Try a small batch to see if it pulverizes the kale. I’ve found kale difficult to sip or drink unless completely pulverized. If you are getting into smoothies/juicing, you should really look into the vitamix. I know they can be quite expensive, but I’ve found it to be worth every penny. I use it every single day (often more than once). And yes this is quite good! I’ve been drinking this everyday lately. Just make sure to change the greens you use every now and then if you drink this on a regular basis. Hope this helps!