Since Lindsay is into green smoothies (I’m waiting to make them until I get my new Vita Mix blender!) and I’m into Sarma Melngailis, I thought I’d share Sarma’s green smoothie recipe.

Sarma is a vegan raw foodist. She is also president of OneLuckyDuck, which sells raw ingredients and supplements, and owner of Pure Food and Wine, one of New York’s premier raw food restaurants. She co-authored the book, Raw Food Real World, which is beautiful and filled with fascinating recipes (I can’t wait for my new ice cream maker to arrive so I can make her raw vanilla ice cream.)

Sarma is a guest blogger at the raw foods blog We Like It Raw (which is a really interesting blog–check it out!), and her most recent post includes her recipe for green smoothies.

Sarma’s Giant Thick Green Shake Recipe

This is what I put in my Vitamix. I generally consume at least this much each day. There are endless variations, and you can add all sorts of supplements if you want, or not. I get a little carried away sometimes on that end, but you can leave them all out. By the way, notice they’re called “supplements” and not “substitutes”… I don’t think one should feel okay about eating green powder instead of fresh greens, but if you’re just supplementing, why not? I like sweetness so I throw in stevia and vanilla. You could use agave, or toss in a mango, or a ripe banana. Oh, the fun.

Ingredients

1 grapefruit, peel cut away
2 lemons, peel cut away
2 limes, peel cut away
2 cucumbers, peeled n chopped
1 splash aloe vera juice
2 tablespoons thawed E-3 Live or powdered crystal manna
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons liquid stevia, or 4 to 5 packets powder stevia
A squirt of green tea extract
1 heaping tablespoon green powder
A wee pinch of Himalayan crystal salt
Now, stop here and blend the above to get your liquid base going… then add the following in batches, blending as you go, stuffing in as much green leafy goodness until you can fit no more.
1 bunch of parsley or cilantro, or both, stems and all
1 big handful sunflower sprouts if you can get them
1 bunch or more of kale, swiss chard, rainbow chard, collards, spinach, watercress or any combination of dark greens (dinosaur kale is my favorite).
Pineapple is also great as a fruit base.

Store whatever you don’t consume right away in a tightly sealed glass mason jar.