You can use a variety of products\nfrom the garden, in fact it is possible to make it entirely from the garden, if\nyou are motivated in that direction and have lots of imagination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fruit juice<\/strong>: If you are going for a sweeter green drink,\nyou can use fairly sweet fruit juice (I often get the inexpensive juice\ncocktails). Fresh juice is nutritionally superior to pasteurized juice, but the\nlatter is more convenient and cheaper. The ideal would be to use fresh juice\nfrom the garden, but of course that isn\u2019t always available. You could also use\ncarrot juice if you want to grow everything yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green leaves:<\/strong> You can use any\nedible leaf, either wild or from the garden. I just go for a walk and pick what\nis available (if it\u2019s not from your garden you must clean it thoroughly). If\nyou have to go some distance to gather then you will probably want to pick\nenough leaves in one go for several drinks, they will keep in the fridge in a\nplastic bag for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I most commonly use leaves include\nAmaranth, Comfrey (some people warn against using this plant because it\ncontains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids), Chicory (bitter), Chickweed, Dandelion\n(bitter), Dock, Kale (and other mild Brassicas), Lambs Quarters, Mallows, Miners\nLettuce, Storksbill, Violet and Strawberry leaf. I also grow a few leaves\nespecially for these drinks, include Gotu Kola, Echinacea (small amounts only)\nand Ashwaganda. Some of these leaves contain minor toxins (oxalic acid,\nsaponins, etc) so I prefer to gather a variety of leaves when possible and only\na couple of each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are going for a more savory\ndrink, you might add Parsley, Celery, Lovage, Green Onion, Sage and other highly\nflavored leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seed sprouts<\/strong> Alfalfa, Clover,\nSunflower are all convenient, relatively mild tasting and add a lot of\nnutrients and fiber. They are particularly useful in winter when there may not\nbe a lot of green leaves available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fruit:<\/strong> I often add a banana for\nits sweetening and thickening properties. I might also add Blueberry,\nRaspberry, Strawberry, Blackcurrant, Peaches, or whatever is available. I also\nadd some of the miscellaneous berries from around the garden or foraged from\nthe wild, Aronia, Viburnum, Amelanchier, Goji berry, Elderberries, Rose Hips\n(flesh only) This is a good way to use some of the berries that don\u2019t taste\nthat great but contain special nutrients. You might want to freeze a surplus of\nberries in the summer for making drinks in the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweetener: <\/strong>Using one of these\nenables you to add more bitter ingredients. A banana works best, but raisins\nand Stevia can also be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeds:<\/strong> These add protein and\nminerals to the drink. Blending them helps to make them more digestible. I most\noften use Sunflower seeds, but have also used Pumpkin, Sesame, Evening\nPrimrose, Flax and Walnuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savory flavoring: <\/strong>If you are going for a savory soup, you can\nuse miso, buoillion, soy sauce or even onion soup mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other ingredients <\/strong>These may be\nadded for their unique nutritional properties and could include Kelp powder, brewers\nyeast, bee pollen, lecithin, Spirulina, dried barley greens, vitamin C powder (makes\nit quite tart) and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t have a specific recipe for a\ngreen drink, because it varies every time according to what\u2019s available. I just\ncruise around the garden picking a leaf here and there. As the combination of\ningredients changes through the year you will always be experimenting to some\ndegree. If you are going for a tasty drink, don\u2019t overwhelm the flavor with too\nmany bitter leaves (obviously this depends upon your palate.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making the drink is pretty simple and\nonly takes a few minutes. Basically you just put everything in the blender and\npuree it until smooth. I start by putting the seeds and\/or nuts in the blender\nwith a small amount of hot water or fruit juice, and blend them to a smooth\npuree. I then add more hot water \/ fruit juice and the green leaves and blend\nuntil smooth. Finally add the Banana and the rest of the ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are going to make green drinks daily, you will need a\ngood supply of weeds, greens, fruits and seeds. Depending upon where you live\nthat may mean a walk around the neighborhood to gather the greens (be careful\nwhere you gather in urban areas) or it may mean growing them yourself (or more\noften a combination of the two). The perennial weeds Dandelion, Dock, Comfrey,\nChicory are particularly useful because they keep growing right through the\nsummer. If you have a large vegetable garden then you will already be growing\nmany useful weeds, the trick is to keep them productive. You can also grow\nplants for their seeds (Sunflower takes some processing, Evening Primrose and\nFlax are easier). Seed sprouts are a good addition in winter, when other greens\nmay be scarce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caution: Whenever you eat anything you face hazards and\ncertainly collecting and eating wild plants is not without its dangers.\nForemost of course is picking a poisonous plant by mistake. However even edible\nwild plants (and cultivated ones) can contain toxins, such as oxalic acid and\nsaponins. If you aren\u2019t prepared to deal with these hazards, then stick to\nusing only cultivated plants (or buy your food supplements).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Green-drinks.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Green-drinks-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPreparing the drink<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Obtaining the plants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n