How To Make Green Powders

If you have an abundance of green vegetables from the garden or farmers market, there are a few things you could do with them if you are not able to eat them all in time before they go bad. One thing you can do is make green powders at home.

Follow our step-by-step guide to making your own greens powder from scratch so you can start enjoying the nutritional benefits that green vegetables have to offer.

How To Make Your Own Green Powder 

Step 1

Start by getting the greens you would like to include in your green powder. The possibilities are endless. Some examples are kale, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens or even broccoli. 

Step 2

Make sure your greens are cleaned well. Even if the greens are grown in your own garden, it’s still important to wash them.

Running the greens under cold tap water should do the trick. Go through individual leaves to clean off any other dirt or debris on the greens, and pick out any that might look particularly wilted or not great to eat.

This study suggests that blanching may help preserve beta-carotene content in broccoli and carrots before processing them into powder form.

Tip: Blanching your greens in boiling water before the next may help preserve vitamins and assure there is no bacteria on the greens. (Source)

It can help stabilize the texture, preventing any odors or undesirable flavors. (Source)

Step 3

Remove any tough parts of the greens, such as the hard, middle park of kale so you are just left with the leaves. It is probably a good idea to remove large broccoli stems and just use the broccoli florets as well.

Step 4

Next step is to make sure the greens are dried well. Leave them to dry for a bit then pat them down well with a paper towel.

Tying the greens with some cooking twine and hanging them upside down (if you have the space) before drying them off yourself might save some time and paper towels.

Step 5

Dehydrate your greens. There are a few different ways to do this.

If you are new to making greens powder, you might not have a dehydrator sitting around at home. If you do, great! If not you can dehydrate your greens in the oven.

If you have a dehydrator, set the temperature 110 to 140 degrees fahrenheit. Different users have different opinions on this.

Some say that 110 degrees helps preserve more vitamins and minerals, while others suggest 140 degrees fahrenheit is just fine. It appears giving 110 degrees a try first wouldn’t be a bad idea. If using an oven, it is suggested to preheat the oven to 140 degrees. (Source)(Source)

Step 6

Arrange the greens, evenly spaced, on your dehydrator racks or cookie sheets if dehydrating in the oven. Make sure they aren’t overlapping to assure all the vegetables dehydrate properly.

Step 7

The time that it takes to dehydrate vegetables is going to depend on the temperature of your oven or dehydrator along with which vegetables you are dehydrating.

If your oven or dehydrator is set at a lower temperature, they might need a bit longer. Greens could take anywhere between 2-7 hours, while beets, for example, could take 10-12 hours. (Source)

Doing a quick online search based on the vegetables you are using can give you a better idea on optimal time to spend dehydrating greens.

Step 8

Once the greens are dehydrated, it is time to make the powder! Place the completely dried greens in a blender or food processor, and blend until into a fine, bright green powder.

Step 9

Lastly, it’s best to store the powder in the refrigerator in an air-tight jar or container. If unable to store in the refrigerator, store in a cool, dark place. The green powder could possibly spoil faster if kept in warm, sunny areas.

Using them within three months is suggested, as long term storage around 12 months could compromise the beta-carotene and thiamine content of some vegetables. (Source)

Step 10

Now it’s time to get creative in using your green powder.

You can add green powders to smoothies, scrambled eggs, or pasta sauces for an added boost of vitamins and minerals!

Purchasing A Green Powder vs Making Your Own 

Don’t want to make your own dried greens powder?

That’s fine too!

It might be fun to DIY it, but oftentimes we might not have the time, equipment or resources needed to do something like this effectively.  

Purchasing a greens powder like Supergreen Tonik can provide harder-to-source ingredients that consumers could not get in a DIY super green powder.

Also, you can see the amount of milligrams that the product provides and the exact amount of vitamins and minerals as well.

For example, adaptogens like rhodiola and ashwagandha are ingredients often in green powders that can help support the stress response and provide energy. 

Purchasing a green powder can save time and money, as it often takes half of a day, if not more, to prepare your green powder.

Conclusion

Making your own super green powder can be fun to try something new in the kitchen and use up those extra vegetables before they go bad. It is always fun and satisfying when a new, healthy recipe works well!

However, buying a green powder can save time, does not require purchasing equipment, and provide the same benefits.

Based on your health goals, the added, hard-to-source ingredients in green powders can provide added benefits that a DIY greens powder could not provide.

Always talk to your physician before adding supplements like green powders to your diet, as some ingredients may interact with pharmaceutical medications or may not be suitable for specific medical conditions.