Smoothies!

We couldn't have a discussion about Raw Foods without mentioning the Green Smoothie. As a staple breakfast food at our house, the boys love them. We get our fiber, protein and a hearty serving of fruits and vegetables to start our day. Green Smoothies can be made with any combination of fruits and greens, but this is our standard. Don't let the green color stop you - they're seriously amazing.

1/8 cup hemp seeds OR ground flax seeds
1 or 2 bananas
1 large pear (chop it in fourths and throw it in - no need to remove the seeds)
2 to 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach (or other greens like collard greens or kale - stems too!)
2 to 3 clementines

Put all ingredients in the blender and process on the highest speed. Then:

Fill the blender with about 6 ice cubes (cold smoothies just taste better) and whatever other fruit you can fit. Sometimes I'll throw in another handful of spinach, too. We use frozen blueberries, strawberries, and mangoes (although technically not raw because they're usually flash boiled before freezing, but these fruits tend to spoil more quickly so we prefer the frozen version), or fresh pineapple, apples, or more bananas. Get creative! One full blender makes three breakfast-sized smoothies.

Tip: Unless you're fortunate enough to own one of my most coveted possessions - the VitaMix blender - it's a good idea to put the softer fruits and greens at the bottom of the blender. It just mixes better this way.