Need help creating smoothies out of what grocery's I have

[LoveBeforeAllElse]

I have been vegan for about a month and I have decided to go raw and start having green smoothies as of yesterday.
I am a 21 year old male and my appetite knows no limit! I am trying to eat right at what my body needs as of right now because of cost. I would like to have this food last me as long as possible. If there is anything you guys see that I am leaving out in my diet, (besides the small amount of nuts I am also be eating) I'd love to hear your advise. I have done a lot of research on going raw but I definitely need some more knowledge.

The main problem I am having is trying to find recipes for smoothies out of the ingredients that I have. I went to both local grocery stores (I live in a small secluded town) and tried to get the ingredients that I saw most commonly in green smoothie recipes online. But after getting home I couldn't seem to find any recipes out of the ingredients that I have . I tried to alter a recipe slightly and OMG was that a mistake. So I figured I would ask for some advice from some of you more knowledgeable people out there!! Here's the list of what I have left. If you can think of anything that I should go and buy to balance out a smoothie regiment let me know! I've just gotta try to not spend too much!

10-12 stalks of celery
1 head of red cabbage
1 cucumber
1 bell pepper
1 1/2 bundles of parsley
2 bundles of cilantro (don't know how good of an idea that was)
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1 gaja apple
2 green apples
2 golden apples
1 banana
1/2 pack of strawberries
1 large grapefruit
1 small ruby red grapefruit
2 avocados
3 navel oranges
4 lemons
7 limes

Any help would be much appreciated.
Love, Peace and Truth

[Clueless Git]

Hi LBAE

Just started on the green smoothies myself as it happens. Blurdy Amazing! Had been suffering fatique for years and they had me bouncing off the walls (as it were) on the very first day

Not got enough experience to offer any real good recipes as of yet. Googling 'green smoothies' brings up more sites with recipes and related info than you can shake a Duallit Blender at though!

[GreenSmoothieGirl]

Hi!

I do lots of green smoothies! As long as you are healthy and you don't have diabetes, I would recommend getting more bananas. Bananas will make your smoothies the right consistency. I usually use 2 bananas in my smoothies. I used to only use one and sometimes I didn't at all, I feared gaining weight from eating too many, but it didn't happen. You can get them very ripe, sometimes the really ripe ones are on sale. You can peel them all and put them in a container and freeze them. If you do have a condition and are watching your sugar, then I recommend getting more avocados and using those in place of bananas or getting bananas that are less ripe.

Also, make sure fruits and vegetables are organic. I buy everything organic, except occasionally a few items that are on the list of the "clean 15"

Here is a link to my site for some recipes. http://healthybodynow.net/smoothie-recipes/

I hope this helps!

Good luck!

[Rachael_Renee]

You have some great ingredients for raw soups in there! Do you have a juicer? Lots of fun juicing stuff too

As for smoothies, you are going to want more bananas for texture, as GreenSmoothieGirl recommended. Apples are an awesome addition, and try sticking with soft leafy greens for your smoothies such as romaine and spinach. I would grab a couple bunches of bananas and a couple of heads of romaine to add to your list there then do something like:

2-3 bananas and an apple or two -OR- handful of strawberries and a handful or two of lettuce. If you expect to fill up until lunch you'll want to throw some of your other ingredients together for a morning salad (red cabbage, carrots, celery, squeeze of orange and lime juice...) or your will want to use more like 4-5 bananas as your base to get the calories in.

Hope this helps a little! the simpler and easier, the better

[Andy_T]

I also like to add many bananas, because they add sweetness to the smoothie.

My experience is that in the beginning, many find smoothies that are not sweet enough too demanding. So I normally try to add some sweet fruits, and bananas come very handy there. I also like to buy pineapples, peel them and dice them and then deep-freeze them in portion bags so that I can add some cold fruit to my smoothies.

Sometimes you can also "cheat" by adding fruit juice, but I would recommend to stay with fresh fruit.

Out of your list, I miss spinach, kale, salad or some other serious leafy green stuff. That gives much of the consistence for me. I'm lazy - I also buy that stuff deep-frozen and just toss it in the blender in the morning.

Best regards,
Andy

PS: Cilantro can be totally awesome in a smoothie, btw. As can be radish greens, carrot greens, and stinging nettles, if you happen to have a garden.

[Robinwomb]

Like others, I use bananas for the thickener aspect and some of the softer greens in my smoothies such as spinach and lettuce, but I also use collards and kale for the calcium profile. Do you have a high speed blender or just a regular? If you have a high speed one, and are looking for higher calorie smoothies, you can add raw nuts and seeds also, though I realize they are more expensive. The avocado also works well for a nice thick smoothie with fruits and leafy greens. I will sometimes freeze some of my fruit first and/or use ice in my smoothies to make them thicker and more satisfying. Dates will also make a smoothie sweeter without having to add sugar. I grew my own stevia plant last year, and grew my own mint leaves to add to smoothies this year. The cilantro and parsley can easily be added to a smoothie. Celery added to a smoothie makes if crisper and refreshing.
I have experimented with my own combinations, and found that oranges and bananas blended together with just a little ice water added is to die for! Fresh lemon and banana also works very well for a treat. Carrots, dates, fresh ginger, ice water, and a leafy green such as spinach are a nice combo also. Sometimes I use fresh thai coconut (the white meat part and/or the fresh coconut water inside) in smoothies. Coconut is incredibly nutrient rich, especially the water inside which is loaded with electrolytes. I know coconut is a bit more expensive but you can make it last a while or just buy it every once in a while. Dates will also last a while as you only need a few at a time in a smoothie.

I like the raw soups too on occasion. I think there are some raw carrot soup recipes and red pepper raw soups floating around on the internet if you do a search for them. Cucumber goes in raw gazpacho if you can get some fresh tomatoes too.