The Best Green Smoothies On The Planet

 

By Tracy Russell

Let’s start off with the disclaimer: I was allowed to download a copy of the book for free from Netgalley, in return for a review. Normally, I just review books on my Amazon accounts, but I felt this definitely required reviewing on FATGIRLslim. The images used were sent to me by Lindsay Marshall at BenBella Books, for use in the review. (Thanks, Lindsay!)

The Book: Introduction

I’m probably a little late to the green smoothie revolution, because my blender/smoothie maker basically burned up last summer and never recovered. (Read: I threw it out when it broke.) I only recently bought a replacement, and thought that I should probably look into getting a book on actual smoothie recipes, instead of just throwing a few fruits – and by a few fruits, I mean “a handful of frozen raspberries” – into a blender with a banana, a lot of ice cream, and enough milk to make it liquid-ish.

I found the book, as I mentioned above, on Netgalley, and was thrilled when BenBella Books approved my request to view, and I was even more thrilled when I found out that the book is not merely a recipe book, but a how-to – and more importantly, a why-to.

Chapter-by-Chapter

Not including the Foreword, Introduction, Notes, Index, Recipe Index and About The Author sections, there are Twelve Chapters in total.

Part One: Introduction To Green Smoothies

Part one is the how-to and the why-to of the book: not only how how to make smoothies, but why – the fact that you can easily get more than your 5-a-day in one smoothie, for example.

But chapter-by-chapter, we have:

• Chapter One: Why Green Smoothies?
• Chapter Two: How To Make The Perfect Green Smoothie
• Chapter Three: The Best Green Smoothie Ingredients

Included in these chapters is also how to save your smoothie if it all goes wrong, which is something that I found exceptionally helpful. Especially as I’m wont to simply throw a lot of stuff into the one blender and have at. But it’s good to understand a little bit of the flavour science behind it all, too.

Part Two: Green Smoothie Recipes

There are nine different chapters in part two, separating all of the recipes into different types of smoothies, which is extremely helpful if you’re looking specifically for smoothies to help with weight loss, or smoothies to help detox, or smoothies to help boost your immune system, etc. It’s not just a giant list of smoothies – the fact that they’re all sorted out like that, I think, makes a huge difference.

Again, chapter-by-chapter, we have:

• Chapter Four: Detox and Cleansing Green Smoothies
• Chapter Five: Weight Loss Green Smoothies
• Chapter Six: Antioxidant Green Smoothies
• Chapter Seven: Fitness And Energy Green Smoothies
• Chapter Eight: Immune-boosting Green Smoothies
• Chapter Nine: Calcium-Rich Green Smoothies
• Chapter Ten: Heart-Healthy Green Smoothies
• Chapter Eleven: Iron-Rich Green Smoothies
• Chapter Twelve: Mood-Enhancing Green Smoothies

The Book: Conclusion

There are an amazing 150 recipes in this book, as the subtitle tells us, which, for the asking paperback price would be excellent enough on its own. Given that you then get the added three chapters of how and why added on (and the extras of introductions, notes, recipe index with all of the ingredients listed so that you go, “okay, I have coconut milk and I need to use it by tomorrow. What should I make?” you can just look up coconut milk, and Bob’s your uncle) this book is an amazing resource for the starter, median, or more advanced smoothie maker. With ingredients used from kale, cucumber, and dandelion to aloe, cherimoya and CHOCOLATE (although not all in the same place!) there’s something for everyone, no matter what kind of weight loss, detox or smoothie program you’re looking for.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what those delicious-looking smoothies on the front cover are? I’ve got you covered.

Pear-Tangerine Green Smoothie

Can be found in Chapter 9: Calcium Rich Green Smoothies

 

 

 

 

Pineapple-Citrus Green Smoothie

Can be found in Chapter 9: Calcium Rich Green Smoothies

 

 

 

 

Very Berry Green Smoothie

Can be found in Chapter 6: Antioxidant Green Smoothies

 

 

 

 

Coconut-Goji Berry Green Smoothie

Can be found in Chapter 9: Calcium Rich Green Smoothies

 

 

 

 

Overall

I think that this is, basically, one of the best recipe books I’ve ever seen. It’s got a great layout, it’s got a great number of recipes, and it’s got great food flavour science to back it up. At 257 pages (for the Netgalley PDF version; other versions may vary) it’s definitely worth it. Although my Netgalley version doesn’t have photos of the smoothies inside, I cannot speak for other versions, such as the printed version.

It is, however, a book that I will shortly be going to Amazon to purchase my own copy of.

I’m that impressed with it.

★★★★★/★★★★★

Availability

Available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. For anywhere else, please search online!

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