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Get Your Green on with Blended Salads
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Posted by Janet Harriett on Mar.12, 2010
©iStockphoto.com - LilliDay
If you’ve tried green smoothies, consider taking the green content up a notch with a blended salad. While green smoothies are more fruit than greens, a blended salad is primarily greens, combined with other vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower and enough water to facilitate blending. Depending on the vegetables and the amount of added water, a blended salad may have a consistency anywhere between babyfood and a creamy soup. For the smoothest consistency with the least added water, blend the additional vegetables into a puree before adding the greens to the blender.
Blended salads have many of the same health benefits as green smoothies. In fact, with more greens and less naturally sweet fruit in them, blended salads may be even better for those watching their sugar intake from naturally occurring sources and additives. A small amount of healthy fat aids in the absorption of vitamins and minerals from the greens, so many blended salads include avocado or a small amount of cold-pressed olive or flax oil. Here are a few of our favorite blended salad recipes.
Green Flag Blended Salad
Blended salads aren’t always the most aesthetically pleasing dishes. Blending carrots, beets or tomatoes with leafy greens has about the same chromatic effect as when your child mixes the orange and green paints during arts and crafts time, and is not the best way to start off on blended salads. This recipe uses only green and pale vegetables, to avoid the odd colors that can come with some blended salads, making it a great recipe to use introducing your friends and family to blended salads. It also only uses basic salad vegetables and seasonings, so it doesn’t jolt tastebuds with un-salad-like flavor.
- Green leaf lettuce
- 1 cucumber
- 1 stalk celery, cut in chunks
- 1 teaspoon each extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar
Creamy Guac Blended Salad
Avocado emulsifies blended salads, giving them a creamy consistency. This blended salad is reminiscent of guacamole, without the unhealthy fried corn chips!
- Baby spinach
- Avocado, peeled
- Tomato
- Onion
- Garlic
- Hot pepper
Raw Bloody Mary Blended Salad
- Tomato
- Parsley
- Celery
- Red bell pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
Article By: Janet Harriett
Profile: Janet Harriett, Green Diva Mom's fomer editor, has been a writer and editor for print and online media, specializing in education and environmental issues since 1999. She lives on 2 acres in central Ohio with her husband, a 275-square-foot backyard garden and a home orchard growing 25 varieties of fruit. Janet holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing.
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March 12th, 2010 on 7:12 pm
All sounds awesome!!! YAY for green smoothies!!!
XOXO,
Kristen
April 8th, 2010 on 10:17 pm
I just keep a host of different vegetable and nuts/seeds to throw in the mix.. Flavor doesn’t matter- getting a diversity of foods to reap a wide range of benefits does! I find no matter how horrible my concoction, if I throw a beet in there, everything tastes like delicious beet no matter what.. and if you don’t like beets: no pain, no gain!!