Raw Vegan Fruity Green Smoothie

2 cups tightly packed raw baby spinach

2 cups filtered water

1 peeled orange chopped roughly

1 apple cored, seeded and diced

1 cup fresh, frozen or tinned (in natural fruit juice) pineapple

1 cup red grapes

½ avocado

Throw all the ingredients in your blender and puree until smooth and creamy.

I try to include as many raw fruits and vegetables in my daily diet as I possibly can. I like to get all of the benefits of the phytochemicals which can boost health. Green smoothies literally changed my life, and I now start my morning with a different blend of greens every day.

If you are new to green smoothies and a little “green phobic”, this fruity green smoothie is a wonderful introduction into what I would consider the greatest boost to your health. Trust me, this raw vegan green smoothie tastes just like a fruit smoothie. You would never know it contained handfuls of gorgeous green spinach. I choose raw baby spinach to make fruit smoothies for green smoothie newbies as it has such a mild flavour that is masked and hidden by fruits. This smoothie is a wonderful way for the whole family to sneak more greens into their bodies.

Popeye’s favourite vegetable is a nutritious delicious dark leafy green that is a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and potent antioxidants like lutein, which has been found in many studies to combat cancers. To this, I have added in some whole fruits. I like to throw in whole fruits instead of juices in order to boost the fibre content, which helps clean out the body and improve intestinal health.

You can use any fruits you have in your kitchen to make delicious fruit green smoothies; but I have chosen some fruits that are known to have powerful anti-cancer properties.

Firstly, red grapes, that contain powerful antioxidants such as bioflavanoids, that can work as cancer preventives. Grapes also contain other powerful substances such as anthocyanins that help repair and protect DNA.

I have also thrown in a whole peeled orange that contains the pith as well as the fibre. We all know oranges are well known for their vitamin C content, but oranges also contain other anti-cancer compounds such as limonene, which can stimulate cancer-killing immune cells (lymphocytes etc).

I have also added a whole unpeeled apple that has been cored and quartered. That way you get the benefit of the fibre, as well as the pectin which can help with intestinal health. Apples are a wonderful addition to green smoothies because they are relatively inexpensive, come in all kinds of varieties, and are widely available all year round.  Apples add a gorgeous sweetness to green smoothies, but they also contain many anti-oxidants and vitamins such as quercetin, which has been effective in protecting against some cancers.

I have also included a cup of pineapple to this green smoothie blend. I absolutely love the gorgeous tropical flavour of pineapple. I used fresh pineapple, but you can also source frozen or tinned pineapple very easily in grocery stores. Tinned pineapple is great to keep in your pantry for use in smoothies. You can pick it up cheaply with coupons and specials. Just make sure you purchase pineapple in natural fruit juice and not sugary syrup.  Besides being delicious, pineapple are rich in the enzyme bromelain that can inhibit the growth of malignant cancer cells.

I have also added ½ an avocado. I actually use a whole avocado, but this might not be for everyone. Avocados are my favourite way to add a beautiful creamy texture to smoothies. I think avocados are God’s butter. They are rich in a powerful antioxidant called glutathione that can attack free radicals in the body. They also contain more potassium than bananas, without the high sugar content, and are also a good source of beta-carotene. But this smoothie tastes delicious without the avocado for those of you wanting to make this smoothie a bit more affordable.

Either way, this fruity green smoothie is delicious.