The Difference with Going Green

• This smoothie looks completely different from your bright orange, red or banana-colored smoothie, with its promise of fun fructose. The color comes from greens such as parsley, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, celery, arugula, sprouts, cilantro and romaine. Because they are less sweet and contain hefty amounts of fiber, they steady blood-sugar levels, reduce cravings and can even replace meals, notes chef Kristen Suzanne in “Raw Awakening.” They may also dampen food cravings, thus acting as an appetite suppressant, she writes.

Baby Steps

• Obviously, one way to adjust to bitterness is to start slowly in your transition to green smoothies. Begin with more fruit and fewer greens. Gradually add more and more greens to your smoothie blends. Start with the mild-flavored greens: spinach, kale, collards and chard. And blend in baby greens rather than mature greens. You can end up with a 50-50 blend of greens to fruits.

The Big Offsetters

• Blender manufacturer Vitamix advises pineapple, orange and strawberries to combat bitter greens. Bananas seem to add sweetness and also neutralize bitterness. You can add flavorings as well, including vanilla bean, vanilla extract, cacao or agave. Flavored protein or whey products can mask bitterness, too. Add these flavorings and reblend your smoothie, the company advises.

Ranking the Greens

• The greens you’ll have to work hardest with, because they are the most bitter, are turnip, dandelion and mustard greens, notes Robyn Openshaw-Pay in “The Green Smoothies Diet.” Next on the list is broccoli rabe. Non-bitter greens include beets, bok choy, kale, lettuces and spinach. In addition, check that you don’t have any white membrane from citrus fruits in your smoothie, which can also increase bitterness.