The idea for this green smoothie comes from the amazing Sarma of oneluckyduck.com. I recently purchased her book Living Raw Food
and am loving it. While some of the recipes can be complex, she has many that can be made in minutes.
This Ginger Cilantro Shake is a hybrid of her Cilantro-Pineapple Shake and her Bangkok Baby. Here is my version, a nice healthy green drink for Saint Patrick’s day.
Ginger Cilantro Shake
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 cucumber, cut into pieces, no need to peel
- 1 lime, juiced
- ½ finger length ginger, no need to peel
- 5 pieces littlepineapple
Instructions
- In a vitamix, combine cilantro, cucumber, lime juice (and a little water if needed to help blend)
- Blend in ginger and pineapple until smooth
- Pour into a big glass
- Sip slowly like wine, to help with digestion
Equipment
I recently read a great article in Fast Company about the Ten Most Inspiring People in Sustainable Food. Of course, the usual suspects such as the fabulous Michael Pollan were in it; however, they also mentioned some very unusual and fascinating people and ideas in this article including a proposed plan for vertical farming in cities created by a professor at Columbia University named Dickson Despommier.
Here’s a big shout out to Professor Despommier –wish you had been at Columbia when I was a student there many moons ago!
After looking further into vertical farms I found another inspiring bit –a site called windowfarms.org in New York City. This is an amazing idea!
Happy green day to all of you for Saint Patrick’s!
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Sandy says
Regarding your comments about copyrights and recipes. When I did research for my website, I learned that recipes cannot be copyrighted, but the directions can. So if one changes the directions, nothing can be done. It’s also very hard to prove “ownership” of a recipe.
Sandy
Chantal says
Thanks for posting that youtube video! You have no idea how often I imagine stuff like that when I walk through cities :) If only!
kelly says
I have been alternating for the past week between this smoothie and the greena colada. I like both equally. Thank you Elana. You have the knack for finding and creating the best ‘green’ drinks. I especially love being able to get all of the fresh cilantro into a glass and to have it taste so refreshing is absolutely wonderful.
katie h says
Just made the green smoothie and am drinking it right now. It is a big step for me considering I used to really not like cilantro. I wanted to like it and have slowly learned to like it by eating small quantities periodically. The smoothie is quite good! May add more pineapple next time b/c I can’t taste it. (Though the cilantro I bought is especially potent so that may mask the subtle flavor of the pineapple.) Thanks for the recipe, Elana! – Loved Maria’s comment above, too!!
Maria says
After seeing the picture of the green shake from your website, my four year old asked to make it. I had all the ingredients on hand, so why not? It was delicious! He drank three glasses full! So much better than green beer!
Valen says
yay for green smoothies! It is such an easy way to get so much nutrition!
anna says
cool smoothie and I love the youtube video too! I want to live there!!
Alta says
I love cilantro, but I’ve never tried it in a smoothie. Sounds refreshing with the cucumber and lime. I wonder…half an avocado might bump the fat in the smoothie and make it more of a meal…might have to try both ways!
Beverly Becker says
I feel healthier just reading the recipe. I’m a cilantro-addict so I can’t wait to try it and others. thanks for 2 shots of fresh air: one to drink, one to think (about) with vertical farming. Hmmm. Food and drink for thought and health.
Noel9i says
This sounds like a great recipe, thanks for posting. I started with green smoothies 2 years ago; it’s been a great way to crank up my veggie intake, however, have two notes of advice:
1) According to Teresa Holler (see below), cilantro is one of the most powerful natural detox substances. I recall her saying, make sure your elimination system is good, as some detox agents will dislodge bad stuff like lead out of parts of your body so you need to make sure it gets out of your system (excellent digestion), otherwise it’ll float around and get to your blood stream (backfire effect). Obviously having tons of fiber in shakes like this, will be a great help in itself. This warning is specially important for a couple preparing for conception, pregnant or breastfeeding women.
2) I did about 5 months of frequent green smoothies (which are packed with proteins) 2 years ago per Green for Life (Boutenko). I had frequent colds; smoothies might have trigger detoxing, but I noticed that I didn’t necessarily felt stronger. Late last year, my alternative medicine doctor warned about the fact that protein doesn’t get absorb by the body without the presence of fat in that meal, and in turn can deplete the body of vitamins as increase of bowel elimination happens. That made sense to me in a hind sight. The solution I found?: throw in a squirt of olive (~1 TSP)or other healthy oil into your smoothie and that will help solve the down side of green smoothies.
Teresa: Great researcher on proven environment items harming our health and how to take immediate and simple action. First book: Holler for your Health, STOP TREATING! START PREVENTING!
sarah @ syrupandhoney says
For fat, another idea that sounds tasty to me would be to add coconut oil or coconut milk. Thanks for the information…I tend to not worry about the science of things when I’m eating a varied diet, but when I get on a kick (like green smoothies), I like to make sure they’re balanced in and off themselves.