BOOK REVIEW: GREEN SMOOTHIES by FERN GREEN

Okay, so I'm kind of obsessed with Fern Green's Green Smoothies.

It starts with detailed, but easy to read, information about equipment and the benefits of different "super greens."  Then she talks about her 7-day detox plan  Now, this is not that idiotic, craziness of water, cayenne and lemon....who thinks that sounds healthy.  Instead, it's a good mix of smoothies and juices, with the occasional tonic or shot.....ginger, for example, not alcoholic, obviously.  A ten ounce juice for breakfast, followed by a 24 ounce smoothie to sip throughout the day as your mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner.

This book is chock full of pictures.  I love that.  The recipes are a little vague, using terms like a handful or a sprig.  I tried a few recipes, and that vagueness is not a big deal.  The recipes were all really good.  The Cinnamon-Date Digestive has a head of romaine lettuce!  And it's still really good, who would've thought!

The only thing I wished the author did was to include a list of what to buy for the 7 day detox.  But that's okay, I made one for you!  I mostly think it's accurate.  I did have our new kitten walking across my keyboard, so I think some unintentional editing happened. 

2 springs basil
4 springs mint
3 handfuls spinach
1 cucumber
3 1/2 lemons
1/2 lime
4 thumbs of ginger
3 red apples
2 bok choy
2 handfuls strawberries
2 small and 1 large bunch of red grapes
2 banana
1 1/2 heads of broccoli
a small bunch of green grapes
1/4 green cabbage
3 handfuls of kale
5 oranges
21 tsp agave nectar
2/3 cup coconut water
4 handfuls arugula
a small bunch of cilantro
1 jalapeno
either 3/4 small watermelon or 1/4 large watermelon
1 romaine lettuce
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 head radicchio
a handful of dandelion greens
2 tsp dried goji berries
1 mango
1 tangerine
3 celery stalks
1 butter lettuce
2 handfuls wheat grass
1 avocado
2 small bunch of parsley
2 sprigs of dill
5 oz almonds
2 TB coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 beets
1 TBS of aloe vera juice
1 red leaf lettuce
2 kiwi
1 small bunch of dandelion greens
1/4 cantaloupe
2 handfuls of blueberries
1 TBS chia seeds

I was all pumped and ready to do the detox, but I realized a lot of the recipes were for fruits and vegetables that were not in season.  I'm going to keep trying random recipes in the book  When the weather warms up, and I have access to fresh strawberries and mangoes, I'll do the detox and let you know how it went.

WOULD I BUY IT:  Absolutely.  I really like how it's laid out.  I was surprised by the originality of the recipes  If you have a juicer and a blender....I just got a fancy one and I love it....then this is definitely a book worth buying.

I received a free copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.  There was no obligation to give a positive review, and if you read my blog, you know I'm a tell-it-like it is kind of girl.  I mean what I say and say what I mean, that holds true for my review.