There’s nothing like a green smoothie. Right? You see these people walking around with their green drinks and you wonder how they do it. Or, why they would do it. Then you think about all of those YouTube videos of babies rejecting all things green. Green food usually equals “yuck”! I recently tried a sample of some green potion at a local green drink shop. It was a green shot of some sort and I kicked it back in one swallow only to discover that it was disgusting. I thought to myself, “People spend $6 for 50ml of this stuff?”. I declined the promotional 6 pack they were offering and walked off in search of water to wash down the “yuck” that lingered in my mouth.
If only green smoothies tasted great. Drum roll please.
Truth be told, I make green smoothies all the time. My secret is to pair mild leafy greens with something sweet that I like. You might be wondering what kind of sweets you can add to a green smoothie while on the lectin-free program. There are plenty of options, but this smoothie uses my favorite fruit as the sweet element. Yes, fruit! Even better, it’s a Plant Paradox compliant fruit! Actually, I was so happy to discover early on that my favorite fruit is a resistant starch. More drum rolling please! Before we talk about my favorite fruit and the green smoothie recipe, here’s a quick word about resistant starches.
What are resistant starches?
The Canadian Society of Intestinal Research defines resistant starches as:
“Common staple foods such as potatoes, rice, corn, and wheat are composed mainly of starch, a type of complex carbohydrate. When digested, carbohydrates quickly break down into sugar, which the body uses right away for short-term energy. Too much of these carbohydrates in our diet can have negative health effects, such as weight gain or poor glycemic control, both of which contribute to such chronic conditions as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Resistant starches are carbohydrates that do not break down into sugar and are not absorbed by the small intestine. Similar to insoluble fibre, they pass through most of the digestive system unchanged, usually fermenting in the colon. By decreasing the pH level in the colon and assisting the body in increasing its production of short-chain fatty acids,1 resistant starches help to create an environment in which beneficial bacteria thrive.” https://badgut.org/information-centre/health-nutrition/resistant-starch/
Resistant starches are good for my gut buddies and therefore good for me!
And now for my favorite fruit – Ta dah!
Persimmons!
Persimmons are a fruit that have been growing in Asia for over a thousand years. This fruit, which is technically speaking a berry, is often eaten fresh (raw), cooked or even dried. Around this time of year will find persimmons at local grocery stores and Asian grocery stores.
You may have already seen them and wondered what they were and how they tasted. Before I tell you how they taste, let’s talk about how they look. Persimmons can be shaped like a small, stubby or squat tomato (Fuyu variety) or like an acorn shaped medium sized nectarine (Hachiya variety). Both are various shades of orange. Their look is important because one (the acorn shaped Hachiya) is very astringent, while the other (the tomato shaped Fuyu) is non-astringent. This is an important distinction to make because while they both contain tannins that can make them more or less astringent, the Hachiya variety has a very high level of tannins and is extremely tart and unpalatable until it is overly ripe. If you make the unfortunate mistake of eating one before it is overly ripe, it will leave your tongue with an unpleasant and weird feeling that you won’t soon forget. The other non-astringent variety will most-likely be in its edible state by the time you buy them and will taste delicious.
Fuyu persimmons look like the persimmons below. They are sweet in taste and don’t contain much tannins. I would highly recommend trying this variety.
The picture below depicts the highly astringent Hachiya variety. If you accidentally eat one of these before they are very ripe, I suspect that you will want to go out and buy a tongue brush.
The Fuyu variety tastes like an applango, a cross between a crispy sweet apple and a firm ripe mango. FYI, I just invented that word – “applango”. Seriously though, persimmons have the texture of a hard sweet mango mixed with the texture of a crisp apple.
What are some of the benefits of eating persimmons?
• They are an excellent source of powerful antioxidants
• They may benefit heart health
• They help reduce inflammation
• They are rich in fibre (contain more fibre than apples)
• They support healthy vision
Fuyu persimmons are so delicious that you will wonder where they’ve been all of your life. The very best part is that they are Plant Paradox compliant. Persimmons ‘fruits’ are resistant starches and therefore, you can eat them guilt-free!
This smoothie is so easy to make.
My go-to smoothie system is to blend 2 cups of leafy greens (spinach, kale, etc.), with 2 cups of liquid (coconut beverage, almond milk, etc.) and 2 cubs of resistant starches (persimmon, cooked sweet potato, etc.). It’s that simple! I have a feeling that you will be trotting around town with your green smoothie in hand in the near future. Enjoy!
3 INGREDIENT GREEN SMOOTHIE
EASY 3 INGREDIENT GREEN SMOOTHIE. BLEND 2 CUPS OF LIQUID, 2 CUPS OF LEAFY GREENS AND 2 CUPS OF PERSIMMONS. VOILÀ!
Ingredients
- 2 CUPS OF CHOPPED SPINACH OR BABY SPINACH
- 2 CUPS OF UNSWEETENED COCONUT BEVERAGE
- 2 CUPS OF CHOPPED PERSIMMON
Directions
- Step 1 Blend the spinach and coconut beverage until smooth.
- Step 2 Add the persimmon and blend again.
