Green smoothies, while consumed by thousands of individuals daily, are not in the mainstream of conversation these days. Of course, if you are part of the exploding health and fitness culture that has a world wide audience, you are most likely already familiar with the movement that embraces green smoothies and their legendary benefits.

The basic information is that green smoothies, like most smoothies, are beverages that are blended to combine fresh or frozen fruit and leafy greens like collard greens, spinach, mustard, and several other lesser known leafy edible greens. One must also add more common vegetables such as carrots and broccoli and even mushrooms, although not necessarily a green or a vegetable.

The idea of green smoothies is that they are filled to the brim with nutrients that work best when they are combined in the raw state. And when blended with other nutritional goodies, these smoothies are nothing less than habit forming. Any parent who has to beg or bribe their kids to eat their spinach and kale, will begin to understand how much of a difference a tasty mouthful of green smoothie can make.

Green smoothies have been found to be very economical and easy to make. Plus since they are fast and tasty and have a rather cool appearance, the challenge of making your family green smoothie fans is definitely simple, after the first blender full of the stuff green smoothies are made of.

Here's a quick recipe:

1. Start by making sure you have a heavy duty or commercial grade blender. This is not mandatory at first as any blender will do to get started. However, once you realize that everyone will want green smoothies every day, the wear and tear on a non-commercial blender will definitely shorten its life span.

2. Add kale, collard, mustard, turnip and spinach greens. Top these off with bananas or peaches or strawberries or cherries, or feel free to blend all of them into your smoothie. You won't want to, or need to add sugar or any sweetener so be sure to find your choice of naturally sweet fruits to add to the mix for the best tasting results.

3. Add enough fresh water up to the half way point in your blender. add ice cubes up to the top. Then close the lid and spin until the mix is completely blended. Check during the cycle for the smoothie consistency you prefer. Lots of us like them smooth and thick, however, others prefer thinner mixtures. Just be sure to check for your desired level of thickness.

4. Pour and enjoy and try not to smack your lips.

Many of us are not on diets nor do we plan to be, however, if you are interested in being both healthy and thinner, a green smoothie, that takes less than 5 minutes to blend, can help you drop weight and bad habits. Most individuals will drink a smoothie 2 or 3 times a day, which seems to be the optimum way to start.

The bottom line for potential green smoothie addicts is to jump into the habit at whatever level your interest. These are not only great looking drinks but they are loaded with the type of leafy greens that nature fills with antioxidants and vitamins. What a novel idea, enjoy a delicious drink and get a full feeling in the process because of the fiber. And you can end up 10 or so pounds lighter every 30 days.