This tropical treat has the perfect fruit-to-veggie ratio, which makes it a great beginner-friendly green smoothie. The spinach has a mild taste and is packed with over 20 different nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and high-quality amino acids. It’s rawesome stuff! Oh, and this recipe is kid-tested and approved too:)

Ingredients
2 cups spinach
2 cups water
1 cup mango
1 cup pineapple
2 bananas, Use at least one frozen fruit to chill your smoothie. I often use frozen mangos and bananas my green smoothies.

Instructions
1. Tightly pack 2 cups of leafy greens in a measuring cup and then toss into blender.
2. Add water and blend together until all leafy chunks are gone.
3. Add mango, pineapple and bananas and blend again until smooth.
4. Pour into a mason jar (or cute cup of your choice).

Recipe Credit: Jen Hansard, co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies

How to cook steel cut oats. The secret to making perfect steel cut oatmeal on the stove top that turns out delicious and creamy every time! Healthy and low calorie, this is the only oatmeal recipe you need. Simple, vegan, and high in fiber, steel cut oats keep you full all morning long. Easy to make ahead and you can add any of your favorite toppings.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups water plus additional as needed
1 cup milk any kind you like (I use unsweetened almond milk)
1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt do not omit this!
Toppings and mix-ins of choice

Instructions

1. Place 2 1/2 cups water and milk in a medium/large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. As soon as the liquid boils, stir in the oats and salt. Return the mixture to a steady boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low so that the oats are at a gentle simmer. Don’t walk away from the pot at this point, as oats sometimes like to boil over. If your oats start to foam up and you are concerned, lift the pan right off the heat and let it settle down a bit before returning the pan to the heat to finish cooking.

3. Let the oats gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping along the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. At this point, judge how chewy or creamy you’d like your oatmeal. For softer, creamier oats, continue cooking for 5 to 10 additional minutes, stirring every few minutes until the oatmeal is as tender as you like. If the oatmeal becomes thicker than you’d like, splash in a little extra water or milk to thin it out to your desired consistency.

4. Remove the oatmeal from the heat and let sit a few minutes to finish thickening. Enjoy hot with any of your favorite toppings.

Recipe Credit: Erin Clarke

Ingredients
2 pieces Un-sprouted Bread (like Ezekiel’s) or Whole Wheat Bread with no HFCS added
1 medium Avocado
Red Pepper Flakes or favorite Hot Sauce

Instructions

A simple but filling meal or snack. This is a favorite of mine as my first solid meal. I toast 2 pieces of sesame Ezekiel Bread, put half of a sliced avocado on each piece of bread, sprinkle with Red Pepper Flakes or Hot Sauce ( I especially like green Tabasco on this ) and enjoy! When tomatoes are at their best, I slice one and pile it on too. It’s slippery and messy but oh so good.

Healthy eating does not have to mean extra time in the kitchen. Pick foods that you love and that are good for you and try combining them with other healthy foods. Who cares if they traditionally don’t go together? Do you think it tastes good? Was it easy to prepare? Then Ding! Ding! You have yourself a winner!

Ingredients
2 cups of purified water
1-2 Fuji Apples or any type you prefer ( I pick Fuji because they are firm and juicy)
1 Organic Pear
1 Banana
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Stalks of Organic Celery
Organic Baby Spinach
Organic Power Greens (or Protein Greens)
1 bunch of Parsley or Cilantro
1 cup Ice

Instructions

In the summer I often add Blueberries or Strawberries which will sweeten this a bit. I also like to add half a cucumber to change up the taste. Play around with what you personally like and subtract what you don’t. The main thing is that you are making a healthy drink that is giving your body nutrients in a very accessible way.

Try to use Organic Ingredients where you can to make this as clean as possible but if they are too expensive or you can’t find one, it’s far better to use non-organic than to not make this at all. After a large glass of water and of course a cup of coffee, this is the first thing I eat during the day. It is easy to digest because it has been pulverized by the blender but still provides a ton of fiber.

A note on blending: A high powered blender can make all the difference in how this tastes, especially if you are new to blending your veggies. It may turn some of you off to drink a chunky Green Drink – I know I like mine smooth and cold which is why I let my blender run through 2 cycles and why I add ice before the second blending.

One more thing: If you think you might like to blend broccoli then do so! I know a lot of people who put broccoli in their Green Drink and love it. Just make sure you like the taste of raw broccoli because the taste will come through. Blanching or lightly steaming the broccoli first will mellow out the taste.

Ok one last thing: ripe fruit is more alkaline ( a good thing! I’ll talk about alkaline vs. acidic in a future blog) plus ripe fruit is sweeter. So add those fruits that are soft, spotted and bordering on spoiling – they will make your Green Drink taste amazing!!!

*This recipe was borrowed from Kimberly Snider; clinical nutritionist and beauty expert.  Her book ,”The Beauty Detox Solution”, is a must read.