Orange-mango green smoothie

The base for most of my smoothies is either kale (green or purple) or spinach, usually baby spinach. My go-to fruits are frozen mixed berries, frozen raspberries or “Power fruit blend” of cherries, blueberries and blackberries. Sometimes I add an orange, clementine, or carrot. Then I top up with a generous amount of filtered tap water.

I prefer my smoothies thin. If you like them thick, add less water or use almond milk instead of water. This combination of greens, fruit and liquid pretty well guarantees a good drink, although despite this tried and true method, I never seem to get the same smoothie twice because I don't measure what goes into them.

You can buy “power greens” by the bag, or buy a bunch of fresh kale. I prefer to avoid the plastic boxes that a lot of greens come in these days, if possible. They are a scourge on the environment. Bunches of kale may not be  as quick as the packaged version, but it’s not an onerous task to de-stalk them: just take a good, sharp knife (a veggie butcher-knife works best), and slide it down the stalk from the bottom end to the top. The leaves fall off right at the stalk no problem. De-stalk the whole bunch and put any extra leaves in a plastic bag for use next time.

Here’s one a recipe I tried recently that was really delicious. Fill the Vitamix or blender to half full with kale, add two peeled celementines, some coconut water and about half a cup of mango-orange juice. Top up with filtered water and voila! You have a tasty, sweet green drink.