By: Jessica Gillespie

Naturalista Jessica!

The summer tends to be the time of year when I’m buying and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. I like to make fresh smoothies, soups, dips, and sauces with whatever I can find at the farmer’s market during the week. Last year, I started making green smoothies to drink in the morning. Vegetables have a very high water and antioxident content. The green ones tend to have less sugar too.

When I drink the smoothies I notice great mental clarity, higher energy levels, the whites of my eyes were even “whiter”, and I have glowing skin. I use romaine lettuce as a base for my smoothies because it has a mild taste and can be liquified easily. Then I toss in cucumbers and a fruit to sweeten it. I like the grassy taste so normally I use a green apple but for people who want the smoothie to just LOOK green and not TASTE green, add a sweeter fruit like pineapple or a banana.

Jessica's Green Power! AM Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 kale leaf
• 2 romaine lettuce leaves
• 1/2 of a whole cucumber (skin peeled)
• 3/4 cup water
• One green apple with skin (cored and seeded)
• 1 frozen banana
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
• Bunch of mint leaves (optional)

Instructions:

• Cut the plant leaves away from the stem before tossing into your blender.
• Blend your leaves first to liquify and then add your fruit and flax.
• This cuts down on blending time and reduces the amount of extra water you have to add.
• Garnish with mint leaves (optional)

Makes about 3 cups. Enjoy!

Check out some of Jessica’s other fabulous green recipes on her blog: http://fork-fed.tumblr.com/

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