Green Smoothie Recipe
I know some of you are perplexed by the picture of the blender above. Yes, that is spinach. Before you dismiss this as being gross, hear me out. Almost a year ago my friends Amy ( Amy’s Finer Things ) and Myra (My Blessed Life) told me about their green smoothies. I honestly thought they were out of their minds. The words gross, disgusting, WHY all came to mind.
One day, I decided to give them a try. I was hooked immediately. Evan even loves them, spinach and all. There are so many ways to make these smoothies, they are so easy, you cannot go wrong. This is a great way to use up leftover produce.
I don’t actually measure my ingredients, but here is a general ideal:
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup of Orange Juice (or any juice)
- 1 cup of frozen strawberries (I froze fresh picked Strawberries)
- 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries (I froze fresh blueberries)
- Heaping handful of spinach
Put all of the ingredients in your blender. Use the pulse or liquify until the smoothie is blended. We prefer ours a little “chunky”, you can make it smoother if you would like.
*Note – I freeze my fruit so that I don’t have to use ice in the smoothie. You can use frozen bananas if you like your smoothie a bit more creamy. You can use more fruit to make the smoothie sweeter.
Tip: Buy bananas that are on sale that are ripe. Peel them and freeze them for your smoothie.
It totally turns out green! We have used grapes, bananas, yogurt, watermelon and more.
Do you make smoothies? What do you put in your smoothies? You can also check out Myra’s Vlog here and Amy’s Recipe here.
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Green Smoothie
I don’t actually measure my ingredients, but here is a general ideal:
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup of Orange Juice (or any juice)
- 1 cup of frozen strawberries (I froze fresh picked Strawberries)
- 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries (I froze fresh blueberries)
- Heaping handful of spinach
Put all of the ingredients in your blender. Use the pulse or liquify until the smoothie is blended. We prefer ours a little “chunky”, you can make it smoother if you would like.
*Note – I freeze my fruit so that I don’t have to use ice in the smoothie. You can use frozen bananas if you like your smoothie a bit more creamy. You can use more fruit to make the smoothie sweeter.
Tip: Buy bananas that are on sale that are ripe. Peel them and freeze them for your smoothie.
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Sharon A. says
I hide spinach in our smoothies all the time… However I cover up the green with beet juice or puree. – the deep pink really looks pretty. And you only need a little bit. Just roast the beet and puree in blender. I also love using black raspberries to hide the color. Yogurt also smooths the texture out. I have found the Magic Bullet to really work like a dream – not to expensive, small enough to store in a drawer and fast.
Shannon says
Sharon.. thanks for these tips. My son thinks its funny to drink mud, but a nice pretty color would make it easier to convince everyone else :)
Lauren says
I love throwing spinach in smoothies! You really and truly can’t taste or smell it, and it’s such an easy way to get an extra serving of veggies quickly! I use a big old handful in mine.
Viki says
You can use any kind of greens (romaine lettuce, spinach, kale) and cover the taste with any kind of fruit (berries, oranges, pineapple). I’ve found that most any green smoothie tastes better with some kind of orange. A really good, yet simple green smoothie is about a cup of spinach with about 1/2 a pineapple. Yum. My kids eat (or should I say drink) them up. :)
Lydia says
Okay, so I’m almost persuaded. Almost. :)
Shannon says
he he try it once :)
beth says
love this! here’s my simple smoothie… it really is a treat!
1 frozen banana
about 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk
that’s it. I’m not kidding when I tell you it is JUST like ice cream. I don’t eat sugar, and this is a fabulous substitute! If I’m really going all out, I’ll add a packet of sugar free cocoa mix – yum! or a little bit of almond butter – or even both!!!
Shannon says
beth, I bet it is good!
Oanh says
That look like a salad dressing Shannon. I’ll give it a try, I’ve never made smoothie with veggie before.
Sharon says
This is the second time this week that I’ve heard of green smoothies. Guess we’ll have to give it a try. And I love the idea of giving them to your kiddos when they refuse to eat anything!
Dee says
I make smoothies with Frozen bananas, strawberries and blueberries or blackberries and use Almond milk. I then add a scoop of Juice Plus complete (www.jdbjuiceplus.com) in either Chocolate or Vanilla! Hmmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmm.
lynn@Maven of Savin' says
OK – I really need to try these out but I will admit, the first one will be tough to swallow.
dara says
Sometimes my 2 year old son gets in a mood and doesnt want to eat breakfast. I blend up yogurt, frozen strawberries and some banana. He always goes for a “shake”. I’ll have to try the “green” kind soon.
Shannon says
I make these all the time!! I sometimes use kale, although that is a little chunky. I also leave out the juice and just use water for myself, less calories and I don’t miss it at all! I have also purchased swiss chard and it is great! I think you can really add any green. I buy the reduced bananas at Giant and freeze them. I also sometimes buy the frozen organic spinach at Trader Joe’s as it is cheaper than fresh when in a pinch.
The thing that I always think is that I am eating my salad without fattening salad dressing, it is the easiest way to get your greens!
Deb says
Green smoothies are the best. I have them every day. Here are a few tips: Sweet fruits like bananas and pineapple cover the flavor of more “green” tasting things (like kale) very well. Berries are better with milder greens like spinach. A packet of stevia also helps makes a smoothie more palatable. Try adding spices. I put cinnamon, cardamon, ginger and a few mint leaves in every smoothie and it gives it a lot of flavor. Experiment with things you wouldn’t normally think of putting in a smoothie – cucumbers are actually quite good mixed with fruit and I often put a small slice of fennel bulb for a different kind of flavor. And like you said, frozen fruit makes it nice and frosty without watering it down with ice.
Shannon says
Deb, I have about 50 cucumbers growing in the garden! I will definitely try them!
Oanh says
Do I need to cook the kale first or put them in the smoothie raw?
Ann says
Oanh, I use raw kale.
I was skeptical of green smoothies at first, but it’s a new favorite in my household. We do 1 cup of kale (packed), 1 frozen banana, 1 apple, 2 cups water, and a couple sprigs of parsley.