I recently talked to a raw fooder about green smoothies and how it made me bloated most of the time when i drank them. I went on a green smoothie cleanse for 3 days and it didn’t really do anything to me other than make my stomach bloated. She then told me that green smoothies are not the way to go, and that because of the combination of kale, spinach and fruit, the body has a harder time to digest.
however, since i have been on the forums everyone talks about how they always drink green smoothies in the morning and how good it is for you. so i guess i am just confused…are green smoothies good or bad?
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i usually put in 2 leaves of kale, and handfuls of spinach, some lemon juice, an apple, and half an orange….sometimes i will put in mango
but that’s about it…yeah she said that kale is the culprit…can you really lose weight off of green smoothies? i guess my problem is having a hard time losing weight on raw…the nuts are killing my diet
spinach makes me bloated and gives me horrible cramps no matter what I make with it. cooked ( before raw ) or uncooked.. now I put kale in my smoothies/salads and have no problem feeling bloated when eating it. So i guess it’s different for each person?
I have always heard that you should only mix leafy greens with fruit. And don’t mix melon with anything. My husband is on a smoothie juice fast and he mixed watermelon with tomatoes…he’s not feeling so great right now (plus that just sounds disgusting!)
You might also try putting in pineapple and/or papaya. Both are very high in enzymes to help your digestion.
You should also “chew” your smoothie. When you chew, enzymes are produced that help you digest as well. Hope that helps!
yeah i make it pretty think. I like spooning out my smoothie too..makes me feel like its a milk shake..THanks for the ideas..it may just be the kale..I look at it and it just looks hard to digest!
I don't eat raw all of the time, but I've been increasing my percentage quite a bit...
I've found with the green smoothies (and fruit smoothies), you need to avoid any dairy/fats/oils/etc if you're having the smoothie for "cleansing" reasons. Anything like milk, yogurt, nuts, nut milks/butters, flaxseed added to the green/fruit smoothie will prevent it from passing fast enough through your system.
I also stick by the general rule to have one on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning is best), and not eat anything following the smoothie for about 30 minutes or so. (Not that I'm even hungry after the smoothie anyways...)
It's best to try to avoid dairy completely anyways (I realize this is a raw forum, but I saw a few mentions of dairy).
My favourite green smoothie is:
1/2 cup chopped kale
1 frozen banana
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 tsp each vanilla extract and ground cinnamon
1/2 cup each crushed ice and cold water