Citrusy Green Smoothie

I was a pretty early adopter of the green smoothie, but I burned out on them a while back. I was really excited about trying the Citrusy Green Smoothie on page 20 of the new book Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables: Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and More

, though. It looked different from any green smoothie I’ve had before…

I’ve now made this smoothie a few times and I really love it: the fresh orange juice and the pineapple combine with the greens to make a very delicious drink. The other thing I like about this smoothie is that it has some coconut oil in it. If you are going to drink green smoothies, I always advise adding some fat because fat helps your body to assimilate the calcium in the greens. Coconut oil is a good source of healthy fat, and makes a tasty addition here.

Though I haven’t yet had a chance to make more of the recipes from Brassicas, I am very much looking forward to doing so.

Author Laura B. Russell does a really nice job of focusing on both the nutritional benefits of these veggies and the cooking methods that allow them to shine. There are chapters on Kale, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage, Broccoli, Leafy Brassicas, Asian Brassicas, and Root Brassicas and Kohlrabi; the photographs by Sang An are really beautiful.

Also of note: the book addresses the potential downside of consuming too many brassicas raw (there is a concern that doing so can interfere with thyroid function). The upshot (which I discuss in my book

, as well): don’t eat loads of uncooked brassicas. This means it’s best not to go overboard with the green smoothies, especially if you have a thyroid problem (honestly: I don’t think it’s a good plan to go overboard with any food, no matter how healthy it’s supposed to be!). There’s nothing to worry about as far as cooked brassicas go, though. So eat those cooked greens, etc. to your heart’s delight.

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