Productivity Booster: Green Smoothies

My life has changed recently – I’ve started including at least 1 green smoothie in my daily diet.  Not only do they provide far healthier meals than what I’d probably eat otherwise, but these nutrient-dense, easy-to-make, meals provide a steady flow of sustainable energy for hours, and they taste great!
If you’re interested in giving one a try, here’s an easy recipe:

• 1/3 of a cucumber
  
• 1 carrot
  
• 3 generous leaves of kale
  
• 1 cup coconut water, w/pulp
  
• 1/4 cup water or milk
  
• One handful of almonds1/8th cup of almonds
  
• 3 half slices of pineapple
  
• 1 cup sliced pear with juice
  
• 1-2 servings of fat free cream cheese

Cream cheese, coconut water, almonds, water, kale, carrots, pear, and pineapple.

Start out by slicing up the ingredients into chunks suitable for a blender, and blend for 60 seconds.  That should be enough to break everything down into a nicely textured smoothie.  Note that the recipe above yields about 32 ounces; scale back ingredients if a smaller yield is desired.


Chopped for the blender, and the final yield.

When you try one of these, you’ll be surprised at how great they taste.  The fruit provides enough sweet flavor to cancel out any bitterness from heavy greens like kale, collards, etc.  But, be careful to avoid excess fruit, as they up the sugar and carb values in your smoothie.

Cleanup afterward is a breeze.  Just rinse out your blender, fill it half full w/warm water and soap, and blend for about 5 seconds.  Rinse it out again, and your done!

The steady, sustainable energy you get from one of these is incredible.  I can’t remember the last time I adopted such a positive change in my diet.  Give one a try and let us know what you think!

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About the Author

Marco Zarate is a passionate web developer and owner of Solution Factor, a small consultancy based in Austin, TX.  Through his 7 year tenure as a full time web developer, and 4 years as a passionate consultant, he's delivered software solutions for companies ranging from small start-ups to some of the Fortune 500.  He's also the author of TimePanel, a fast, simple time tracking and invoicing tool for freelancers and consultants.