Do you ever find it challenging to eat all of your recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables each day? Sometimes I do. And, I admit it. I’m a little late to the game on this one. For years I’ve been hearing people talk about adding greens like kale or spinach to their morning smoothies, saying, “You don’t even know it’s in there.” Well, I didn’t buy it. Until, I tried it. Now, greens are a regular feature in my morning smoothies.
Here are a few of my favourite blends...
Spinach Smoothie With Avocado and Apple
What You Need:
1 1/2 cups apple juice
2 cups chopped spinach or kale
1 apple—unpeeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped
What To Do:
Blend the apple juice, spinach, apple, and avocado in a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute, adding water to reach the desired consistency.
Kale Smoothie With Pineapple and Banana
What You Need:
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups chopped kale or spinach
1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple (about 1/4 medium pineapple)
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/2 cup water
What To Do:
Blend the coconut milk, water, the kale, pineapple, and banana in a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute, adding water to reach the desired consistency.
Green Smoothie Mash Up
What You Need:
1 cup fresh or frozen berries
2 cups chopped kale or spinach
1 ripe banana, chopped
1 orange, chopped
1 cup coconut water
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
What To Do:
Blend the coconut water, the kale, orange, berries, almonds, and banana in a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute, adding more coconut water to reach the desired consistency.
My Go To, Standard, Tried and Tested Green Smoothie
What You Need:
1 cup fresh or frozen berries
2 cups chopped kale
1 frozen banana, chopped (peeled before frozen)
1 tablespoon aloe vera juice
1 tablespoon liquid chlorophyll
1 cup coconut water
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon mixed nuts
What To Do:
Blend the coconut water, chlorophyll, aloe vera, the kale, berries, chia seeds, nuts, and banana until smooth, about 1 minute, adding more coconut water to reach the desired consistency.
Pomegranate Citrus Crush
What You Need:
2 cups spinach, fresh
1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 banana
What To Do:
Blend the water, orange juice, the spinach, pomegranate seeds, and banana until smooth, about 1 minute, adding more water to reach the desired consistency. If you have two fresh oranges, feel free to add them to blender rather than the orange juice.
Green Chocolate Covered Cherry
What You Need:
2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
2 cups cherries, pitted
2 bananas
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cacao powder
What To Do:
Blend spinach, almond milk, cherries, cinnamon, cacao powder, and bananas until smooth, about 1 minute, adding more milk to reach the desired consistency.
** Bonus tips **
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make the green smoothie cold. Or lots of ice cubes.
- If you make a batch of smoothie, it’ll keep for a couple of days in the fridge – just make sure you cover it. This’ll save you time on mornings where you were supposed to be at work when you were just crawling out of bed. I pop mine in glass mason jars and make sure I have a pretty straw to go with.
- Depending on the strength and power of your blender (aka the green smoothie's bff) ...for easy blending, place the liquid in the blender first, then the greens. Fruit and other vegetables should go in last.
Enjoy!
