In my mind there are two categories of blenders to choose from: pro or economical. The pro blenders will allow you to grind up virtually anything you’d like to drink…including iPads or golf balls…

The economical will unfortunately regulate you to softer fruits and veggies.

Professional Blenders

Cash flow permitting, this category consists of two amazing blenders: Vitamix and BlendTec. I have tried both over the years and honestly, the differences are negligible. They both rock.

Vitamix ($399) - The “original” pro blender.

BlendTec ($399) - This blender looks cool. It’s super powerful. It’s popular and has more friends than you on social networking sites such as YouTube and Twitter.

I use a BlendTec simply because I think it looks better and they’ve persuaded me with their killer YouTube marketing campaign.

Economical Blenders

You have to start somewhere, right? Many of us can’t initially justify spending so much money on one of the pro models until we wrestle with trying to get a cheaper model to do our bidding. I know, I tried for years.

Oster ($59) – Looks nice and it’s rated the best in the sub $100 category.

I’ve tried many blenders over the years for my green smoothie needs and these 3 are not only my top blender choices but are widely recognized as the best among a variety of sources.

What blender do you use for your green drinks?

What is the difference between green drinks and green smoothies? Probably not a whole lot. In my mind they are one in the same; I use them interchangeably. However, if I were to get all semantic about it, I would classify green drinks as more of a green juice and green smoothies as more of a green shake.

Green Drinks

This is derived from what one would call “juicing”, and can contain all sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc (as long as there is at least one leafy green vegetable). The pulp is discarded and only the liquid juice is consumed.

Green Smoothies

This is the same as above except it is made by putting all the ingredients in a blender thereby retaining all the fibrous pulp.

Either one is incredibly healthy for you and should be a normal part of your diet. The pure juice is great for a quick pick-me-up or when you need a rush of nutrients. The smoothie is a great all-around meal replacement. I usually have a green smoothie (shake) for breakfast and a green drink (juice) after work. That way I can get all the vitamins, minerals, and fiber I need in the morning and have a quick jolt of energy in the evening before dinner. It helps me eat less too.

Which do you prefer, drinks or smoothies?

The Tools: Blender or Juicer?

If finances allow, I would buy both. For instance, even if you have a top of the line blender, carrots are just better off being juiced. And sometimes you just want a nice refreshing glass of apple juice without all the smoothie-ness. Plus, variety is the spice of life.

Which Blender?

If a Blendtec or Vitamix is out of your budget ($400) I recommend:

• Oster Classic Beehive Blender ($59)

This is the best in the sub $100 blender category — I used an Oster for years and it worked just fine.

Which Juicer?

The higher end Omega, Champion and Breville are all very nice, however they cost around $300. For everyday fruit and vegetable juicing at a very reasonable price I recommend:

• Breville 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain ($89)

Looks nice, works great and easy to clean.

Benefits of Juicing (no pulp)

1. Quick nutrition. The nutrients in freshly squeezed/pressed juice enter your bloodstream almost immediately after consumption since there is no fiber for your digestive organs to deal with.
2. Easy digestion. Because of the lack of fiber the digestive organs do very little work. This is ideal for people with shifty digestive tracts and is great for those looking to cleanse and heal.
3. Energy! Because of the quick nutrition absorption your body is instantly replenished and revitalized.
4. No bloating. After chugging a tall glass of juice you still feel light and it will not ruin your appetite. You’ll still be hungry 30 minutes later.
5. Variety. You can not blend everything. Ever try blending a carrot? It is rough.

Benefits of Blending (smoothies and shakes)

1. Harder to overdose on fruit sugar. It is really easy to juice 10 carrots, 3 apples, 3 oranges and drink it all down, multiple times a day. That is a lot of fructose and it can seriously increase your blood sugar and insulin levels, which can increase your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Not to mention getting you all tweaked out on sugar. Blending fruits and sweet vegetables retains the naturally occurring fiber in these plants which will help regulate the speed at which the natural sugars enter your blood stream.
2. Fiber, fiber, FIBER! Blending fruits and vegetables retains the fiber which acts like a broom to your digestive system. It cleans us out and keeps us regular.
3. Complete meal. Since the smoothie is packed full of fiber and nutrients (add an avocado or coconut for some good fats), you can have a glass or two as a meal and be completely satisfied for 2-3 hours.
4. Easy to clean. Cleaning a blender is loads faster than cleaning a juicer and you do not have to feel bad about tossing the pulp or feel obligated to make a loaf of carrot zucchini bread. Although that would be tasty.
5. Add goodies. Adding flax seed to a glass of juice just ruins the whole juicy-ness you got going on. But with a blended smoothie you can add all kinds of great stuff: nuts, seeds, protein powder, snickers…

So Which is Healthier?

They are basically the same. It all comes down to personal preference, what finances will allow, your particular bodily requirements, and what you want your crap to look like.

Tony Horton and his P90X workout program is top dog right now. Probably the most popular workout program of all time…or soon to be. Why? Because it works and it doesn’t bullshit you with “Only 10 minutes a day!” lies. It tells you the what, when, how and why of getting super fit and guides you along the way. As a typical up-sell with the actual program videos they offer a Results and Recovery Formula that is recommended after every workout.

Now, the recovery drink itself is pretty much what you would expect: protein, vitamins, amino acids, supplemented with creatine and full of sugar (fructose). However it is actually tasty. Dare I say, delicious; it tastes like an Orange Julius.

Long story short, you can significantly increase the healthy properties of your recovery drink by adding some fresh greens. I recommend using one of these green powerhouses: kale, wheatgrass, watercress or even some lamb’s quarters weed if you can find some.

Super Ridiculous Pure Energy P90X Recovery Drink Recipe

• 2 scoops P90X Results and Recovery Formula
• 2-4 oz. of wheatgrass
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup ice

Blend it up and sip it slowly. Do not chug it. Let the nutrients take effect. Enjoy and be careful, this drink may cause you to do doubles or even triples.

Most of my green drinks, shakes and smoothies call for at least one banana. Otherwise they tend to be too watery and the flavor mirrors that. Adding banana will bring those flavors together, enhancing them and at the same time it will slightly sweeten and thicken the drink.

Bananas, as you know, come in four colors depending on how long you have let them rot rest in the fruit bowl: green, yellow, brown and black.

Brown bananas are pungent and are great for puddings, shakes and smoothies where banana is the main ingredient. Black bananas are dead and are wonderful for trash cans; they love them. Green bananas have a strong raw plant-like flavor and are perfect for leaving in trees. Yellow, is what you want; as little brown spots as possible with slight hints of green. This gives the banana a subtle and pure flavor which is what you want when using it to thicken, sweeten and bring out the flavors of the other ingredients in your green drink. Also, this is when the banana is at its most alkaline.

I usually buy a boatload of green bananas and as they turn yellow, I peel and freeze half of them in a Ziploc freezer bag. The other half get dunked in some kind melted organic dark chocolate and then rolled in chopped almonds and maybe even some fresh grated coconut.

It would be wrong not to mention one the best banana recipes in the entire world in a post all about them. Be warned, it is definitely not healthy. If you ever have the pleasure of visiting New York you must try the Banana Pudding at Magnolia Bakery. If you can’t however, there is still good news; I found a recipe online that is so close to the original even die-hard fans probably can’t tell the difference.

Welcome to Healthy Green Drink. We are jam-packed with usable information and delicious recipes. Drinks, shakes, smoothies, teas, extracts, fluids, nectar, sauces, serums, syrups… whatever name you want to give it, if it is green and you can drink it we are interested. Our main focus is alkalizing drinks, nutrient dense smoothies and the myths and/or truths surrounding them. And our recipes, they kick some major ass.

New recipes and informational articles will be posted about every other day so check back often. In the mean time browse around; try something different, learn something new, or leave a comment on a post and drop some knowledge. This is a labor of love so I hope you enjoy.

Maintain alkalizing PH levels, lose weight, fight fatigue and be healthy!
- Jason Manheim

We eat healthy because we want to feel healthy — fantasies of living longer should not trump the importance of living stronger. Although there have been numerous studies outlining the therapeutic effects of diet on diseases like cancer, heart disease and immune disorders, we cannot let that obscure our motivation — the simple fact that eating good, feels good.

Eating healthy is not always easy or even practical — work, school, kids, a social life, etc. — so finding a way to provide your body with a significant amount of nutrition from a minuscule amount of effort, is ideal.

Adding a healthy green drink, shake or smoothie to your diet is a quick, easy and affordable way to maintain a healthy, mostly alkalizing diet, that will rid you of dis–ease, allow you to lose weight, and unburden your life of that awful debilitating plague that is the mid–morning, afternoon and evening nap. After all, food is energy.

Getting Greener

The oxygen–carrying ability of green foods is extremely vital for the cell functions of muscles, organs and brain health, the digestion of foods for nutrients, and the prevention of fungal growth in intestinal passages that can produce a condition of candida.

The green color of green foods comes from the phytochemical chlorophyll, which has been shown to have beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, immune response, cancer prevention, bacteria that cause disease, bad breath and internal odors.

Green Foods

• enhance the digestive process
• increase absorption of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients
• boost energy levels
• eliminate toxins such as heavy metals, which can weaken our tissues and lead to disease over time
• reduce high blood pressure
• lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol
• support cellular metabolism
• neutralize excess acidity
• create an alkaline environment in the blood
• create better looking skin, hair and nails
• delay the natural effects of aging
• inhibits bacteria that cause disease, bad breath and internal odors
• accelerates wound healing and improves our immune system
• help reduce pain in fibromyalgia
• help heal and reduce pain in ulcerative colitis
• prevention of the growth of tumors
• reduce macular degeneration and cataract development
• help reduce allergies
• help to neutralize excess acidity that leads to acid reflux

Greens can be mixed with water, juices, or blended into a shake with fresh fruit like bananas and berries. You can even mix it with protein powder for a complete meal replacement.