This glowing green smoothie has everything you need for beautiful skin, hair, and nails. (Photo: Kimberly Snyder)
Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder feels beauty is achieved from the inside out. With clients like Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, Rooney and Kate Mara, Dita Von Teese, and Channing Tatum, she says “outer beauty is a reflection of inner health.” Snyder is the founder of Glow Bio, an organic smoothie, juice and cleanse company based in Los Angeles, and author of two best-selling books. Her latest offering, “The Beauty Detox Power,” goes on sale today.
My Glowing Green Smoothie is most definitely the ultimate beauty smoothie. It’s something that I drink every day, and also something that I have all of my clients drink daily. When people ask me to choose one thing to incorporate into their diets to change their inner health and outer beauty, this it is—hands down. A serving of the GGS contains over three cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Blending the greens used in this recipe helps make the full spectrum of their nutrition readily available to the body. Nutrients are encased inside plant cells, and getting their benefits requires these cells’ walls to be ruptured. Greens need to be worked down to a creamy consistency, but most people simply don’t chew that much! Blending addresses this problem, helping your body absorb the maximum amount of nutrition from your greens.
I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce. Read on for directions on how to make the smoothie and all the awesome beauty benefits each ingredient provides.
Glowing Green Smoothie
Yield: about 60 ounces (16-24 ounces is one typical serving)
Ingredients:
2 cups very cold, filtered water
7 cups spinach or kale, chopped
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1½ cups chopped celery, about 2 stalks
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 pear, cored and chopped
1 banana
2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice
Directions:
Add water, spinach, and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed, mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.
Note: The reason I encourage blending the greens first is to ensure they have the most time to break down, as the fruit is made of simple sugars and water and doesn’t need to be blended as long.
Now, onto the beautifying ingredients within the smoothie!