GRAPE ARUGULA MINT SMOOTHIE

I have at least one 32 oz. green smoothie a day - breakfast or dinner. Sometimes I have one at breakfast and one at dinner - a green smoothie with fruit and a savoury smoothie/raw soup with vegetables.

When grapes are in season, this is one I have pretty much everyday for breakfast or dinner. When grapes are in season, I have them everyday at breakfast, as a snack, or at dinner. But not at all three meals - because that would be a bit of a bore.

As I've mentioned before, the key to getting a good chunkless smoothie in a regular blender - the kind of blender that doesn't have a truck motor and doesn't cost as much as a truck - is to layer correctly in the blender: solid fruits or vegetables at the bottom, light leafy things on the top, just enough water to make a smooth puree, then add more leaves and water. The lemon, salt, and other powdered spices can go in whenever. Don't be afraid to let the blender run on High for a good 2-3 minutes to make everything smooth and well blended.

Grape Arugula Mint Smoothie

Makes: approximately 32 oz./2 pints/4 "regular" 8 oz. glasses

- 2 cups red grapes

- 4 cups arugula or greens of your choice

- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 1/2 in. piece fresh ginger cut into a couple of pieces (~2 tsp grated or minced)

- 1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt, or any other good quality salt with trace minerals

- 3-4 cups water, or more, depending on how thin you like your smoothies

1. Blend the grapes, 2 cups arugula/greens, ginger, mint leaves, lemon, salt, and 1 cup water until you have a smooth puree.

2. Add the remaining greens and 1 cup water and blend until it's all smooth. You may need to let the blender run for a couple of minutes while everything is evenly blended.

3. If it's too thick to drink, add the remaining 1 cup of water and blend. Adding too much water will dilute the flavour so taste before adding more water. Besides, you don't want a watery thin smoothie anyway so be judicious with water beyond 3 cups...