I tried to get on the green smoothie bandwagon a while ago. Problem was: I just didn’t like the taste. So I couldn’t get into it.
Then, when I joined my boot camp last summer, our instructor encouraged me to try it again. I tweaked a few things, and I LOVE green smoothies now! I drink one every morning.
If you’re just getting started with green smoothies, this recipe’s perfect for you. It’s simple, only four ingredients, and you don’t taste the spinach at all.
Blueberry velvet green smoothie
2 large handfuls of spinach (I love kale too!)
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 cup (eyeball it) cold filtered water
Blend the spinach and cold filtered water in the blender FIRST! (Super important step I never knew about before. It mixes up the spinach so there aren’t flakes in your smoothie. Huge difference!) Add remaining ingredients and blend. Add more cold filtered water if needed.
(Side note: if you have a Vitamix like me, you’re actually supposed to put the greens in last, per the manual. So I actually put the ingredients in the Vitamix in this order: protein powder
It’s so delicious! Cold, sweet, vanilla-y and creamy! I used to always think that I needed milk or yogurt to make my smoothies taste good, but that’s sooooo not the case. Even though water is the only liquid, the bananas add a creaminess, without the need for adding dairy. And the delicious taste comes from the protein powder.
The key benefit to drinking green smoothies is getting all those greens WITHOUT having to add fat. I love spinach by itself, but I usually sauté it in coconut or olive oil for a hot savory dish, or top it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a salad. With a smoothie, I don’t have to coat the spinach, kale or collards with fat in order to get all of their amazing benefits into my body.
If you like, you can also introduce add-ins for added energy boost. I’m not a huge fan of add-ins, but it’s probably because I usually have a kid hanging from my hip as I make this and throwing the main ingredients in the blender one-handed is enough for me. But, I have added chia seeds, hemp seeds, 1/4 an avocado or goji berries. My favorite add-in is 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
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