Food Hero Tuesday: TFT Japan Food Team

Note from the Editor: Every Tuesday, TFT HK will bring you a post or article from/about one of our local or global food heroes. These are people who inspire us, and whose visions align with the values that TFT espouses and promotes. This week's post is from a member of the Table for Two Japan Food Team, Shoko Iijima, who comments upon the rising popularity of green smoothies in Japan. TFT Japan Food Team, we at TFT HK salute you!

Shoko's green smoothie. See below for the recipe!

Title: "Go Green in the Cold Glass: green smoothies gradually become popular in Japan"

Author: Shoko Iijima, TFT Food Team


It is always nice to have a well-chilled glass of smoothie, especially in the summer. There are many types, made of a one or more seasonal fruits, and sometimes vegetables.

Recently, in Japan, so-called "green smoothies" are gaining popularity, especially among young, health-conscious women. The rise in demand for these veggie-packed drinks is largely due to the release and translation of Victoria Boutenko’s Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health. Boutenko, and her holistic health approach, was first introduced in the book Raw Family, a work by the author and her family wrote together, on raw food and the healing power of healthy eating.

TFT member Tomoko recently attended a “green smoothie seminar”, held by Rakuten's Recipe Party and shared the following recipes:

(Each recipe makes roughly 1 liter)

Beginner's Smoothie

 1 ripe banana

 1/2 cut pineapple

 1 kiwi

 1/4 bunch of spinach

 1 cup of water

The next one is a rather an interesting blend, because it contains the Japanese herb, green perilla (Aojiso or Ohba in Japanese): 

Watermelon Smoothie 

 1/6 watermelon

 2 plums
 10 leaves of green perilla (viridis)

Preparation is very simple, Cut the above ingredients into an appropriate size for your blender . Mix well, adding water as needed, until smoothly liquidized.

According to Tomoko, the watermelon version is quite fresh and good. The basics of green smoothies are as follows: 1) use at least one kind of green leave vegetable and a few fruits 2) do not mix more than 4 or 5 kinds of fruits and vegetables, because each has different enzymes, the combination of which may make the smoothies less easily digestible. 

I myself am not a devoted raw foodie, but adoption of this style of eating at least some of the time can help anyone and everyone eat more fruits and vegetables each day. If you are more interested, please check out the original link: http://www.rawfamily.com/

Here is my first original green smoothie recipe, created with the leftovers in my fridge:

Half bunch of Japanese Mustard Leaf (Komatsuna)

2 kiwis

1 banana

water as needed

This thick beverage falls between food and drink, and is perfect as a light morning meal.

Thank you for reading!

Shoko Iijima