Boost your smoothies with this DIY dehydrated super greens powder

It’s a powerhouse of nutrients in a jar.

If you struggle to eat enough leafy greens daily, then a supplemental super greens powder could be the nutritional boost you need. The process is very easy, and you are left with a product that is shelf stable for months. You’ll free up your fridge and get the benefits of out-of-season greens, all year round. Best of all, you’ll feel great about up-cycling your surplus garden greens and vegetable off-cuts. 

All you need is the Breeze Food Dehydrator and a high-speed blender. At the end, the greens will come out with the same nutritional value, just minus the moisture. It’s basically a concentrated form of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

The green things you can dehydrate are endless. We don’t follow a strict blend formula however; you can experiment with ratios. Some vegetables are stronger than others. Our green powder has a combination of spinach, kale, broccoli and celery. As a guide here are some greens to consider:

Beet greens, celery ends and leaves, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower leaves, carrot tops, kale stems and leaves, broccoli leaves and stems, spinach, edible weeds. You can also include herbs such as parsley, coriander or mint, the pulp from green juices or green apple peel. Basically - if it’s green and it’s edible you can use it. 

What might look like a huge bunch of greens will in fact dehydrate and blend to a small quantity of powder. This batch of green smoothie powder required two full 6 tray sessions in the Breeze food dehydrator. Store your dehydrated leaves in an airtight container until you have enough to blend.   

One cup of packed fresh greens equals approximately one tablespoon of powdered greens.

A teaspoon or two won’t really affect the flavour of your smoothie but it’ll turn it green and that’s exactly what you want.

INGREDIENTS

Edible Greens

METHOD 

1.   Remove any unwanted stems, spoilage, dirt etc
2.   Wash everything.
3.   Thoroughly dry the greens. This step is crucial. The less water you have on your produce the faster they will dry in your dehydrator. Spread on a clean towel and pat dry or spin in a salad spinner.
4.   Cut the leaves from the stalks and stems. The stems on some greens (such as kale) are often thick and fibrous and hold more moisture than leaves and require different drying times.

5.   Slice the fibrous ends into uniformly sized small segments.
6.   When everything is chopped you can lay the produce on the Breeze food dehydrator trays. Small pieces may be best placed on silicon sheet liners.
7.   Leaves may be left whole. It’s okay if leafy greens overlap and touch on the trays. Leaves shrink up to a quarter of their size when dehydrated, so there is lots of room for movement. Just don’t stack them on top of each other.
8.   Use a separate tray for each produce so you can remove it from the dehydrator if it’s done. Leaves will dry between 4-8 hours however more fibrous produce may take up to 10 hours.

9.   Set the dehydrator to 65°C and the time to 6 -8 hours. Reset the time to 2-hour intervals until all the produce is dry and brittle. When leaves and stems crumble when crushing, your greens are done.
10.  Transfer all the dehydrated produce into an airtight container and leave in cool storage until you are ready to turn it to a powder for smoothies OR fill your Vibe Blender jug three-quarters full with dried greens.
11.  Blend on ‘nut’ mode until you have a fine powder.
12.  Transfer the powder to an airtight jar. Properly dried and stored green powder will stay fresh for months.
13.  Add 1-2 teaspoons to your smoothies.

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