Salads say "summer is here", and indeed, the forecast is for 70 degrees again today, and I am desiring a salad. But salads pose a high risk of causing a digestive tract blockage for me, so I made the next best thing - a green frothy drink. Previous summers, I have "juiced" raw green vegetables, which extracts the fiber from them, and the juices made peace with my digestive system quite easily. But making green smoothies with raw vegetables is a bit of a new experiment for me, and now available because I have a VitaMix. While the smoothie includes highly pulverized/pureed fiber, and meets my gastroenterologist's guideline for my food (if it can squeeze through a tube of toothpaste, it is safe for me to eat), it is not cooked, so I am curious to see if my system will tolerate it or not. While I know it won't create a digestive tract blockage, it may just race through my system. If you don't see anymore posts on this blog for smoothies with raw green vegetables, you'll know the answer to that question without my having to bore you with the gory details.
Sitting on the sunny deck sipping this nutrient-rich frothy drink nourished my joy today and gave me a much needed taste of summer.
2 cups chopped cucumber (1/2 of a very large cuke)
1 cup loosely packed fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup water
lemon juice to taste
Preparation: This is where the VitaMix really works wonders to sufficiently pulverize the vegetables so I don't need to worry about a possible digestive tract obstruction. Put the cucumber, spinach, water, and lemon juice in the mighty VitaMix and process until it is frothy. Sip in the sunshine, with clean, green gladness.
Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1Serving Size: 1 3/4 cup
Calories: 53
Total Fat: 0
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 32 mg
Total Carbs: 12 g
Dietary Fiber: 3
Protein: 3 g