Refreshing Green Smoothie
This simple green smoothie is creamy, refreshing and packed with protein and healthy greens. Great way to get more greens in. You can make up your own green smoothie recipe and find the combination of ingredients you like best.
I love juicing, especially during the warmer months. It gives me a boost of energy and helps me to get all my servings of vegetables in. But I also love making green SMOOTHIES and enjoying having them as a part of my daily summer routine. I remember the first time I made one and it was so much better than I thought it would be, creamy, refreshing, and did NOT taste a bit like the two whole cups of spinach I threw in. You can make up your own green smoothie recipe and find the combination of ingredients you like best.
Smoothies vs Juicing
There are so many great benefits to juicing, the pure vitamin power of the vegetables get delivered to your stomach and bloodstream immediately. You can drink way more vegetables than you would ever eat in one day. But the criticism of juicing is the lack of fiber for your stomach to work on. You get all the great nutrients in the liquid, but all the fiber is discarded. Also, too many fruits in a juice can spike your blood sugar which is not what you want, especially when juicing as part of a cleanse.
With a smoothie, the entire fruit and vegetable goes in the blender. Now you are taking in all the fiber from the peeled orange, and not just the juice. I felt full for a long time after drinking my smoothie and enjoyed every sip. This recipe makes two servings, so I drank half in the morning and then put the rest in a mason jar with a lid and saved it for the afternoon.
How to Create a Balanced Smoothie that wont crash your blood sugar
Make sure to add protein - almond butter, peanut butter, hemp seeds or protein powder, these will help you stay fuller longer and avoid a blood sugar crash later
Add in vegetables - spinach has a mild flavor that you won’t taste, you can try romaine lettuce, celery, kale, these add in more nutrients
Use fruit other than just banana - bananas are pretty high on the glycemic index, so use a small amount and add in other fruit like mango, berries, pineapple, and even apples!
Citrus can go in whole minus the peel - all of that fiber in your oranges makes a more dense smoothie and is good for your gut. Remove the peel and any seeds and then throw the whole fruit in
Green Smoothie Recipe
Makes 2 Servings
2 large handfuls spinach
3 romaine leaves
½ banana
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
½ cup coconut water
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened, or any milk of your choice
½ orange, peeled
5 – 10 ice cubes
Put everything in the blender in the order of the list above and blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite glass or jar and enjoy!
Smoothie Variations To Try:
IMMUNITY SMOOTHIE:
¼ peeled lemon, 1 peeled orange, ½ cup pineapple, 1 inch peeled ginger, 1 cup milk, 4 brazil nuts, 10 ice cubes, 1 teaspoon powdered turmeric
MATCHA TEA MINT SMOOTHIE:
6 mint leaves, 3 teaspoon matcha tea powder, ¼ banana, 5 ice cubes, 1 ½ cup nut milk, 2 dates, ¼ avocado
Enjoy!
Printer-Friendly Recipe
Refreshing Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 large handfuls spinach
- 3 romaine leaves
- ½ banana
- 2 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
- ½ cup coconut water
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened, or any milk of your choice
- 1 orange, peeled
- 5 – 10 ice cubes
- ¼ peeled lemon
- 1 peeled orange
- ½ cup pineapple chunks
- 1 inch peeled ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 brazil nuts
- 1 cup milk
- 10 ice cubes
- 2 mint leaves
- 3 teaspoon matcha tea powder
- ¼ banana
- ¼ avocado
- 2 dates
- 1½ cup nut milk
- 5 ice cubes
Instructions
- Put everything in the blender in the order of the list above and blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite glass or jar and enjoy!
