For those of you who haven't joined the green smoothie craze (YET) and are confusing my concoction on the left for a pistachio or mint chocolate chip milkshake, you are mistaken. This my friends, is packed with Popeye's favorite, spinach! A green smoothie is the latest health "trend" in which vegetables such as spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, or carrots are blended with other ingredients to create a nutritious yet delicious drink that doesn't even taste like the green stuff! (if you make it right, believe me, I've had a few flop recipes where it tasted like I was drinking straight up Earth....)
I know, it sounds disgusting, BUT IT'S NOT. This is coming from a girl who would gag at having to eat lettuce a few years ago....and here I am sucking down this green stuff like it's going out of style. Below you will find a "base" recipe which I created and can truly be tweaked to meet YOUR taste buds or dietary restrictions. Keep checking back because I will be posting some of my favorite types of green smoothies on here within the next week: Cocoa Raspberry, Paradise packed with Antioxidants, and the Purple Drank.
I know, it sounds disgusting, BUT IT'S NOT. This is coming from a girl who would gag at having to eat lettuce a few years ago....and here I am sucking down this green stuff like it's going out of style. Below you will find a "base" recipe which I created and can truly be tweaked to meet YOUR taste buds or dietary restrictions. Keep checking back because I will be posting some of my favorite types of green smoothies on here within the next week: Cocoa Raspberry, Paradise packed with Antioxidants, and the Purple Drank.
Basic Green Smoothie
2 handfuls of fresh spinach (can use Kale, but it has more of a taste than spinach does)
4-6 Icecubes (I tend to use more)
FRUIT AS YOUR SWEETENER - you can use one kind or mix and match : blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, peach, magngo, banana, orange, apple, cantaloupe - base this on your liking,
this fruit part is very important, if you skimp on this part of the recipe, you will more than likely be able to taste the spinach, and instead will feel like you are drinking salad, which is not the kind of smoothie I like..
1 cup water (or you can use milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc. or do half and half)
1 tablespoon of vanilla greek yogurt (or non dairy yogurt, lucky for me I can tolerate greek yogurt)
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND PUT IN BLENDER, BLEND FOR 2-3 MINUTES OR UNTIL VEGGIE(S) IS ALL CHOPPED UP
Tips/Notes
- the spinach will be visible and still have little 'flecks' of it in your smoothie, think of it as sprinkles ;]
- fruit can be frozen which will thicken up the smoothie or you can use fresh!
- certain fruits work better at masking the 'green' taste
- bananas mask the taste of the spinach AND thicken the smoothie up
- you can increase protein intake by adding a vanilla flavored protein powder, or whatever flavor you have
- GET CREATIVE - everyone has different tastes, what I like (a PB&J Green smoothie) you may find gross, so use this as a loose guide to help kick start your own green smoothie addiction, it's a great way to incorporate more veggies into your diet!
4-6 Icecubes (I tend to use more)
FRUIT AS YOUR SWEETENER - you can use one kind or mix and match : blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, peach, magngo, banana, orange, apple, cantaloupe - base this on your liking,
this fruit part is very important, if you skimp on this part of the recipe, you will more than likely be able to taste the spinach, and instead will feel like you are drinking salad, which is not the kind of smoothie I like..
1 cup water (or you can use milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc. or do half and half)
1 tablespoon of vanilla greek yogurt (or non dairy yogurt, lucky for me I can tolerate greek yogurt)
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND PUT IN BLENDER, BLEND FOR 2-3 MINUTES OR UNTIL VEGGIE(S) IS ALL CHOPPED UP
Tips/Notes
- the spinach will be visible and still have little 'flecks' of it in your smoothie, think of it as sprinkles ;]
- fruit can be frozen which will thicken up the smoothie or you can use fresh!
- certain fruits work better at masking the 'green' taste
- bananas mask the taste of the spinach AND thicken the smoothie up
- you can increase protein intake by adding a vanilla flavored protein powder, or whatever flavor you have
- GET CREATIVE - everyone has different tastes, what I like (a PB&J Green smoothie) you may find gross, so use this as a loose guide to help kick start your own green smoothie addiction, it's a great way to incorporate more veggies into your diet!
