Drinking Your Greens: Everything You Need to Know

Getting all of your required nutrients to build strong muscles and stay healthy can be difficult for some people. Greens, especially leafy greens, are an important part of any diet to complement a workout routine since they provide vital nutrients. Besides helping your skin look good, they also provide lots of energy and keep your heart healthy. 

Eating leafy greens can also take a lot of energy though. Digesting greens takes a lot of energy and that’s not taking into account the time it takes to chew greens. Drinking your greens makes it easier to fit them in your daily diet and for your body to digest. 

Drinking your greens doesn’t have to mean drinking a salad though. Drinking a green smoothie or juice can be delicious while getting your daily dose of leafy greens. All you will need to do is add a liquid source and some fruit. You can even toss in some sources of protein to make it more nutritionally dense.

Why Drink Your Greens?

Fitting in all of your greens in your daily diet can be difficult. Greens are great for making sure you get enough vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy and looking good, but they can be difficult to eat and digest. Not to mention, getting enough leafy greens can look like eating salads every day, and very few people like eating a daily salad. 

Drinking your greens makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients and get the most important parts from it. It is typically easier for your body to get nutrients from liquids and it takes less energy to digest liquid foods. 

By taking in your greens by drinking them, you will get the same nutrients without the salad taste. Drinking your greens can be a great way to get the nutrients you need without sacrificing taste. Making a delicious green drink usually only involves a few extra steps and then you’ll be able to enjoy your greens in new ways.   

Choosing Your Liquid

Liquids are an important part of any green juice or smoothie. They can help keep your green drink from tasting like a salad and your drink won’t lose any nutritional value. Some liquid options will even add more nutrient value to your drink.

The most common liquid to add when you drink your greens is coconut water or regular, filtered water. You can add any liquid that goes with the leafy greens of your choosing. Your options will depend on how thick you want your drink and your taste preferences. 

Your liquid choice doesn’t even have to be liquid, yogurt or greek yogurt is also a great choice to add to your green drink. Yogurt adds protein to your drink as well to help your drink be more nutritious. 

Adding Fruit

The fruit is an important part of adding delicious flavors to any juice or smoothie. When the base of the drink is leafy greens, it’s even more important to have fruity tastes. Fruit also has nutrients that will add to the health of your drink. 

Frozen fruit is a great choice for adding to a drink. Fruits like bananas, mangos, and peaches are great for taste and texture. They can be stored for a long time to be added in frozen when you’re making a green smoothie. 

Using in-season fruits and berries is also a great option. Not only can you grow your own if you want to, but it’s also a great way to support local markets and buy organic if you want to. It will also help add variety to your drinks by sticking with buying in-season. 

If the texture is your reason for avoiding drinking your greens, fruits are the best way to combat that. Adding fruit not only helps your green drink taste better, it also changes the texture to something more palatable. Avocados are an excellent option if you’re looking for a creaminess to your smoothie. 

Adding More Vegetables

Leafy greens are the base of your green drink concoction, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add more vegetables to your smoothie. Different veggies will add more nutrients that will help you look and feel your best while also changing the taste and texture of your drink. 

Vegetables high in water content, like cucumbers, are a great start. Many vegetables work well in smoothies and with fruits as well, such as carrots and beets. Many vegetables freeze well and can be stored for long periods.

Feel free to experiment with different vegetables. Each vegetable will add something new to your green drink and by trying new vegetable mixtures you’ll be able to find the best combinations to drink your greens. 

Other Additions

Depending on what you want your green drink to taste like and any other nutrients you want to add to your drink, many food options will add pizzazz to your drink. Adding them to your smoothie is a great way to get additional foods in your diet that are otherwise tricky to eat. 

Hemp seeds are one of the most nutritionally dense foods that you can add to your diet. It can be hard to fit into the average person’s diet though. By adding it to your smoothies you’ll be able to get the omegas and fatty acids that they provide.  

Chia and flax seeds are rich in fiber and protein and are a must-add for anyone looking to get more protein. They can be easily added to any drink for a different texture and to add more nutrients. If you want to build muscle adding these seeds while drinking your greens is a great way to get that additional protein.  

Adding ginger will not only add a bit of spice to your drink, it will also add more antioxidants and anti-inflammatories to your diet. It’s a simple way to add more health to your drink. Fresh ginger can be difficult to incorporate into most diets due to the difficulty of shaping it, but it is easy to add it to a drink. 

If you’re feeling experimental, adding nuts to your drink is also a great option. Nuts have protein and are good for your heart. This can really affect texture so you will want to add it in small doses.  

The list of additional options to add to your green drink is never-ending. No matter how your tastes run or what nutrients you’re looking to add to your drink you will be able to find something. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Drinking Your Greens

Is Drinking Your Greens Good for You? 

Drinking your greens provides the same amount of nutritional benefits that eating them does. It can also come with the additional benefit of having more nutrients than leafy greens alone can provide. 

Can You Drink Your Greens?

Drinking your greens is an excellent option for those looking to add more options to get the nutrients they need. It is healthy and tastes good. It also adds more variety to how to get your vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. 

Is it Better to Eat or Drink Your Greens?

Both options give your body the same amount of nutrients and will give you energy. When you eat your greens your body will need to expend more energy to digest the food. When your body gets it in liquid form it will not take as much energy to absorb the nutrients. Neither one is measurably better than the other option and it is a good idea to get your greens through both ways. 

When Should You Drink Your Greens?

Unlike many supplemental drinks, there is no optimal time to drink your greens. Just like there is not an optimal time to eat leafy greens. Whatever time works best for your needs and in your day. Many people enjoy drinking their greens in the mornings and others prefer it in the afternoon. 

A Final Word From Energetic Lifestyle

When staying healthy and eating a balanced diet, it is important to know different ways to get the nutrients that you need. This can come in the form of eating different foods and different ways to cook and prepare those foods. Drinking your greens can be an excellent way to get your nutrients since you won’t have to take the time to eat them. 

By drinking your greens you will also be able to quickly add other kinds of nutrients to your liquid meal. This can come in the form of the liquid base you choose, the fruits you add, and any other supplemental seeds you add. Drinking a green drink doesn’t have to look the same every day and it’s easy to add variety. 

Leafy greens are an important part of any diet, they help keep your skin clear and keep your heart healthy. So often getting these greens in can feel like limiting yourself to salads. Drinking your greens proves that there are several ways to get the nutrients you need. Staying healthy doesn’t have to look like one thing, drinking your greens proves that.