The other day, I was in the kitchen preparing the ingredients for my afternoon smoothie.

My niece dropped by (she is 15 years old), and when she saw that I am putting in the smoothie green leafs (kale, lettuce, mint, spinach) she made a face.

I told her (lovingly) that it isn't nice to make a face at someone else's food, and she answered why don't I just put all these veggies in a salad.

Do you? I asked her.

I have a salad for dinner, but there is only a certain amount of veggies that I can eat in my salad, and this way, via drinking a healthy smoothie, I get to add more fruit and vegetables into my daily nutrition.

She thought about it for a second, nodded and smiled.

The message went through 🙂

Smoothies are a great way to increase fresh (and preferably organic) fruit and vegetables into our daily nutrition routine and increase the intake of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants in our bodies in an easy way.

And, in the summer we can add ice and it is a great refreshing drink.

For my smoothie, I use:

1. At least half vegetables. Cucumber, green leaves: spinach, lettuce, kale etc… I like to add mint or basil (the herbs that I grow on my balcony) etc..

2. Fruit – banana, mango, berries, avocado etc…

3. Liquid – I like to use green tea as my liquid for the smoothie (that way I get my antioxidants as well), or you can use vegan 'milk', such as good quality almond milk or coconut water, or plain water.

4. Extra boost – sometimes I add frozen spirulina (or powder), wheatgrass, goji berries, almond butter or any other extra boost that I feel I need at that moment.

Radical Remission survivors did LOTS of different things when it came to their diets, many of them very specific (e.g., vegan, ketogenic, etc.), but the overall sweeping trends were that they all greatly reduced (or sometimes even eliminated): meat,  wheat (meaning gluten or refined grains), sweets (refined sugars), and dairy products.

They replaced these things with vegetables and fruit, with at least 50% of each meal or snack being comprised of vegetables or fruits, which is exactly what this smoothie is.

I also love to have vegetable juice, which I will tell you about next time 💚