Green Smoothies with Kombucha

Kombucha brings natural fermentation and a characteristic sweet-sour taste to your smoothie. Combined with fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens, it creates diverse drinks with different vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Here we show you three simple recipes for green kombucha smoothies.

Smoothies, now on everyone's lips, can be the perfect breakfast, optimal snack, or a quick lunch – a delicious treat for any time of day or simply an added boost of micronutrients to your regular meals.

What makes green smoothies so special?

The essential and most important part of a green smoothie is the green leaves. Green plants provide various vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals depending on the variety. There's a lot of evidence that green plants have always been a staple food for humans.

Our diet has changed significantly over time. With a smoothie, you can easily combine different types of fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens, bringing variety to your diet. The nutrients contained depend on the ingredients used.

What's inside a Green Smoothie?

Vital Vitamins

A smoothie combines various plant-based ingredients and thus their different nutrients.

More Minerals Than You Might Think

Depending on the variety, green leaves provide minerals such as calcium and magnesium, among others.

Precious Trace Elements

Depending on the selection, leafy vegetables, fruits, seeds, and other ingredients provide various trace elements such as iron, zinc, and selenium, as well as minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

High-Quality Amino Acids

In addition to carbohydrates and fiber, plant-based ingredients also provide varying amounts of protein and amino acids. How much of these are in the finished smoothie depends on the ingredients used.

Antioxidants and Phytochemicals

Leaves, fruits, and fruit seeds contain different phytochemicals. Which ones are present depends on the specific fruit and vegetable selection in your smoothie.

The Mysterious Superstar Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is the natural green plant pigment and is responsible for the intense color of leafy vegetables and wild herbs.

Fiber from Fruits, Vegetables, and Leafy Greens

Fiber is a natural component of plant-based foods and is part of a varied diet. Green leaves, fruits, and vegetables provide different soluble and insoluble fibers depending on the selection. Together with kombucha, this creates a fresh smoothie that combines plant-based ingredients with the special taste of a fermented tea drink.

Green Roots

Keep it simple

Try different combinations and regularly switch up fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens. This creates various flavors and also brings more diversity in plants and nutrients to your smoothies.

The Basic Smoothie should always contain the following ingredients – ideally all organic:

• Fruits, e.g., apple, banana, pear, mango, berries
• 1 slice of lemon or lime
• Ginger
• Leafy greens or green vegetables, e.g., spinach, leafy salads, kale, celery, nettle
• Liquid, e.g., filtered tap water, mineral water, kombucha, freshly squeezed juice

Possible extras: Nuts, seeds, and spices like hemp seeds, nut butter, turmeric, or cinnamon. For your smoothies, only use ingredients that are clearly suitable for consumption as food.

Tip: Feel free to use frozen fruit or frozen leafy greens like young spinach. Frozen fruit and vegetables are a practical alternative and can be stored for a long time.

Green Kombucha Smoothies – 3 Recipes

Green Basic Booch

Ingredients for approx. 1 liter

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 to 2 apples, depending on size
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 slice of lemon, approx. 2 cm thick, leave the seeds in
• Ginger to taste
• Mint to taste
• 1/2 L kombucha, homemade or Kombucha Original

Here's how to make it

1. Peel the banana, break roughly into pieces.
2. Remove the stem from the apple. The core and seeds will be used. Cut the apple into pieces.
3. Cut the peel off the lemon slice. You can add a little bit of it to the smoothie for seasoning. Tip: Leave the white pith around the lemon on. It contains various phytochemicals.
4. Put all ingredients into the blender
5. Blend all ingredients until they are as finely pureed as possible.
6. Pour into a nice glass, decorate as needed, and enjoy your smoothie.

Tip: Please ensure that the smoothie does not get too hot from prolonged blending.

Berry Booch

Berry Smoothie Recipe with Flowers

Ingredients for approx. 0.5 liters

• 1 to 2 handfuls of edible flowers, e.g., daisies, dandelions, pansies, dead-nettle, forget-me-nots, cuckoo flower, wild roses
• 2 bananas
• 200 to 300 g fresh berries: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
• 1 pinch of ground vanilla
• 200 to 300 ml of your favorite kombucha, depending on how creamy you like your smoothie

Here's how to make it

1. Clean ingredients, peel or remove pulp if necessary.
2. Cut to blender-friendly size.
3. Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
4. Enjoy wholeheartedly.

Honeybreeze Booch

Honeydew Melon Smoothie with Lemon Balm

Ingredients for approx. 650 ml

• 5 stalks of chard
• 2 sprigs of lemon balm
• ½ honeydew melon
• ½ avocado
• 1 banana
• 200 to 300 ml of your favorite kombucha

Here's how to make it

1. Clean ingredients and cut to blender-friendly size.
2. Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh.
3. Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
4. Enjoy your honeydew melon smoothie.

Tip: Depending on your blender model, I recommend pouring the kombucha into a glass beforehand and stirring out the carbonation to avoid unnecessary pressure buildup in the appliance while blending.

FAQ

Which blender do I need for a Green Smoothie?

It's best to get advice on that. Recommended brands are: Vitamix, Nutribullet, Bianco di Puro, Wartmann Mixer

Buy a smoothie or make it yourself?

Ready-made smoothies vary significantly by manufacturer in ingredients, processing, taste, and composition. When you make it yourself, you can decide which fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens go into your smoothie and customize the taste and consistency.

For store-bought smoothies, it's worth checking the ingredient list and nutritional information, as fruit content, sugar content, processing, and other ingredients can differ from product to product.

Conclusion: When making it yourself, you decide which ingredients go into your smoothie and can flexibly adjust taste and composition.

What should NOT be in a Green Smoothie?

For a light green smoothie, we recommend keeping the ingredient list simple and combining according to personal taste:

• Unripe fruits – these are not only bad for the body but can also truly ruin the smoothie's taste.
• Added sugars or sugar substitutes, in any form, including honey, fruit syrups, maple syrup. If your Green Smoothie isn't sweet enough, simply use very ripe fruits, such as brown bananas, sweet mangoes, or Medjool dates.
• Dairy products, such as yogurt, quark, or milk, change the taste, consistency, and nutrient composition of the smoothie. Whether you use them is primarily a matter of personal preference.
• Juices – Commercial fruit juices and vegetable juices are highly heated to allow for long storage times. Juices such as apple juice, tomato juice, orange juice, vegetable juice, and multivitamin juice.
• Plant-based milk / vegan milk, such as rice milk, soy milk, oat milk, and almond milk, etc.
• Oils, nuts, or seeds change the taste, consistency, and nutrient composition of the smoothie. If you're looking for variety, you can prepare your smoothie as a bowl and complement it with chopped fruits, granola, berries, herbs, and chia or hemp seeds.

Sources:

• deine-ernaehrung.de Ulrike Eder
• Book: Grüne Smoothies – Die gesunde Mini-Mahlzeit aus dem Mixer,
  Dr. Med. Christian Guth / Burkhard Hickisch, GU
• gruenesmoothies.de

Good luck with the preparation and good health!