Apple and Romaine Green Smoothie

My children love this apple and romaine green smoothie recipe! This was the recipe that won them over.

Sometimes finding a familiar flavor is all you need to get past the hurdle of appearance. When I first started making green smoothies, my kids thought I had gone nuts. When I said I was making enough for everyone to try, they cleared the room!

This is the recipe that brought everyone back to the kitchen to take a sip.

When we first started drinking green juice, we searched high and low for a juice combination that the kids would drink. Everything seemed to be too bitter. We finally hit upon this combination that tasted very much like sweet lemonade. It wasn't my first thought to start here when trying to bring greens smoothies into the house, but it was a natural progression. Being familiar with this recipe for green juice, it wasn't too far of a leap for them to give this a try.

Apples contain Beta-Carotene, iron, potassium, and Vitamin C. The Vitamin C content is not as high as in oranges. Apples have a very high mineral content, and contain pectins and malic acid which are good for normalizing the intestines. Apple are useful when treating anaemia, dysentery, heart disease, headache, eye disorders, kidney stones. They are well known to promote vigour and vitality. I am sure you have heard the saying, "An APPLE a day keeps the doctor away!" Apples are also an excellent way to providing essential fluids to your body.

More recent research has shown that it is always best to NOT separate the juice from the apple. The apple fiber contains an enzyme that is necessary for the digestion of the apple juice.

Did you know that the health benefits are color coded right into them?!

The color of the apples peel will let you know what kind of benefits consuming it will give you!

• Red Apples help you remember better, improve your heart health, keeps your urinary tract healthy, and lowers your risk for some cancers.
• Green Apples are known to grow strong bones and teeth, aid your eyesight, and contain anti-cancer properties.
• Yellow Apples strengthen your immune system, help your eyesight, good for your heart, and help reduce your risk for some cancers.

Sweet Greens! This is like drinking green lemonade!

This is one of my kids' favorite green smoothies.

Ingredients

2 Apples

Romaine Lettuce

½ Lemon

Water

Regular Blender Instructions:

Apples: Please peel the apples if they are not organic. The stores put a wax coating to make the apples shine that is not appealing in a green smoothie. Plus, the chemicals that are sprayed onto conventionally grown apples can be almost completely eliminated by removing the outer layer, or the peel. In addition, you may want to cut the core out.* The easiest way to do this is to simply cut the apple slices away from the core, and then they are mostly cut into sizes to make it easier for the blender to handle. This is generally quarters on an average sized apple. If you are not coring your apple, you may want to consider removing the stem...something about eating twigs doesn't appeal to most people! Personally, I just put everything in.

*Unless you are using a Vita-Mix, this may be necessary to do for the health of your blender.

Romaine Lettuce: Peel off the leaves you are going to use and rinse each one thoroughly. Adjust the number of leaves to suit your personal preference. If you are just starting to consume green smoothies, you will want to keep the greens to about 20%, which is about 2 large leaves. Over time, increase this amount. Your taste buds will adjust, and start to "ask" for more greens to be put in.

Lemon: For a regular blender you will want to peel the lemon, although you can leave on the white pith for added nutrient bonus. I suggest ½ a lemon, but adjust to your own tastes. My family enjoys the lemon flavor, and we use a entire lemon. You may also use lemon juice! I did say to start where you are! Having been pasteurized, it will not give you the same nutrients, and the taste is slightly different than using raw lemon. If it is what you have available in your cupboard, feel free to use it!

Water: 1-2 Cups, depending on how thick you like your drinks. Do add some water to facilitate the blender in processing the foods. Again, start where you are. If you want to use filtered water, it is recommended, but not necessary. If what you have available is tap water, than USE it! To keep your green smoothie colder, you may add ice as PART of your water.

Your willingness to improve your life and health will start you on your journey, but only if you do it.

Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.

Makes approximately 2-3 cups.

Vita-Mix instructions:

Follow above instructions, but there is no need to remove the peel of organic apples, or the core of the apples. Organic lemons may be blended with their peel intact, although I recommend cutting them into half or quarters for quicker and easier blending.

Remember to quickly turn up the speed and flip into high gear. The motor runs best this way! And don't blend for longer than a minute, or you will end up with a hot green smoothie!

Apples can be traced back to the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Greek and Roman mythology refer to apples as symbols of love and beauty. In other places the apple is referred to as food for the Gods. Apples made their way to the rest of Europe, Britain, and finally to America.

There are thousands of varieties of apples. The most popular include Golden &

Red Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and McIntosh. Although apples can be found in grocery stores year round, September and October are the best months for going apple picking in the United States