A Truly Delicious Green Smoothie

This green smoothie is truly delicious – I promise, you’ll actually look forward to eating it and your body will thank you for it! This green smoothie is packed with spinach and even cucumber, but balanced with the two things bitter greens need most: fat and sugar. Bananas, pineapple, apple, and mango add vital sweetness and tons of nutrition, and a little avocado adds a vibrant green color as well as healthy fats.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Baby spinach – I prefer baby spinach for its mild taste and that it usually comes pre-washed at the store. You can use other greens or a mix – mature spinach, kale or baby kale, or even lettuce, if you like.
  • If using kale, be sure to check out this guide on how to prep kale, including how to tame its bitterness a bit.
• Cucumber – just a few slices, you can omit if you like. No peeling needed. It adds nutrition and a refreshing, cool taste.
• Apple – I used fuji for its sweetness. Any will work, and a red peel won’t affect the color at all.
• Frozen pineapple and mango – or any combination of yellow fruits, which won’t muddy down the color of the green smoothie. Frozen is great because it makes for a cold smoothie without having to add ice. The cold also helps make any lingering bitter taste a little less so. Fresh or canned pineapple or fresh mango can also be used (here’s how to peel a mango easily!).
  • Red fruits aren’t too bad in a green smoothie. Stay away from blues, which will give the smoothie an unappetizing brownish concrete color.
• Bananas – two of them, preferably very ripe, will add a lot of natural sweetness to the green smoothie. Frozen or fresh is fine.
• Avocado – you can use fresh or you can usually find frozen chunks with the other frozen fruit in your grocery store. Fat is essential in my opinion – you can use whole milk yogurt, a nut butter, or even a little coconut oil to achieve a similar bitter-balancing effect.
• Water – I like water as the base for green smoothies but you can use a plant-based milk or whole milk if you like (which will also add some fat and protein to the smoothie), or juice (pineapple juice is great in this, especially if you are using canned pineapple, just toss the juice in!).

How to make a Green Smoothie

1. Add all your ingredients to your blender.
2. Pour water in.
3. Start the blender on low until all the ingredients are blended up. Tamp down as needed or pause to scrape down the sides of the blender.
4. Blend on high until the smoothie is very smooth (about 30 seconds).
5. Pour into glasses and serve!

Equipment Recommendations

I love my Vitamix blender. It’s quite pricey, but very powerful. The version I have (Ascent series) has an automated setting, including one for smoothies, so you can turn it on and it goes automatically.

A more budget-friendly option is a Ninja Blender. Really, any blender will work for this smoothie- just let it go for a little longer for an ultra-smooth texture!

I also love serving my smoothies in stemless wine glasses with reusable bamboo straws (which look beautiful and are eco friendly and not super annoying like paper straws!).

Other healthy fruit and veggie breakfast ideas

• Banana Pudding Smoothie Bowl
• Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding
• Spinach and Cheddar Microwave Quiche in a Mug
• Crustless Spinach, Tomato, and Feta Quiche
• Olive Oil Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Feta

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