[jannas843]

For the past three years, I have progressively gotten into a habit of making a "green smoothie" for breakfast (or at least once a day) for the purpose of incorporating more raw vegetables into my diet. I didn't grow up eating raw vegetables and didn't even really know what a vegetable was (outside of canned green beans), until I moved away for college when I was 21.  So needless to say, I didn't really acquire the taste for them at a young age. This has proved to be a real challenge during these later years when it comes to trying to incorporate a more diverse array of raw vegetables into my diet.  For this reason, my daily "green smoothie" is imperative to me making strides towards achieving greater health.  I would like to help others, along with myself, in coming up with a "green smoothie" that is not only rich in raw veggies (along with all of their healthy properties), but that also includes some sort of powdered supplements that include many of the vitamins that one might get from a daily "multi-vitamin," AND that is a healthy source of protein (not derived from milk or soy products). Is there a daily vitamin+ protein supplement, in powdered form, that has organic ingredients and close to all the essential vitamins and minerals that one needs in a day?  Does something like this even exist? Also, if it does, is there any information that anyone might have about combining these supplements with raw veggies?  Perhaps they are both absorbed better if taken seperately? Any advice or information on the above topic would be greatly appreciated OR any ideas on how to beef up the nutrient value of my "green smoothie" would be extremely appreciated as well.  Thanks!

[shobhan]

I would be interested to know what you put in your green smoothie.  i just bought a book called Smoothie Formulas which goes together with Conquering Any Disease by Jeff Primack.  I make a smoothie every morning that has kale celery cucumber cilantro basil mint kiwi and pineapple ginger and turmeric.  I tried to add Plant Fusion protein powder once and it really was a horrible change to a really fresh delicious smoothie.  I also used to add spirulina to this, but I really like it best with just those ingredients.  I personally prefer to eat my protein as eggs meat or fish.  But I love the smoothie and don't like to start my day without it.

[jannas843]

I try to add some variations to my smoothie, but most mornings they consist of the following

-1/2 banana (for flavor)
-1/2 apple or pear
-mixed kale salad (a blend of various types of kale, collard greens, and rainbow chard from the farmers market that comes already cut up.  AWESOME!)
-1 small baby carrot
-bok choy
-celery

Then I usually add either flax seeds or chia seeds and I use either water or unsweetened green tea for the liquid.
Thanks for the idea on the green smoothie.  I am appreciating this exchange very much, as it continues to help me think about new things that I can be experimenting with when it comes to my morning smoothie.  Thanks for the input!

[Susan M.]

There is a smoothie mix product called Spirutein which contains enough supplemental micronutrients that it could probably be used in place of a daily multi. It also contains spirulina. The protein is soy. The soy is not organic, but it is GMO free. It's not a perfect solution, but you might take a look at it. I used it for my kids when they were in elementary and middle school and they both tolerated it quite well.