Looking to add more greens to your diet in the easiest way possible? Try a green smoothie! I’m way more apt to drink my greens than eat them so I created this green smoothie recipe to help add some additional nutrients into my diet.
I’ve been drinking a form of green smoothie for years now but have yet to be consistent on any of them. They often are tedious to make so I would rarely get all of the ingredients out, blend them all together and do the clean up.
These, however, make 3 smoothies at once so I often times make them on Sunday night to have for the week! I don’t drink a green smoothie every day so this will typically last me until Thursday or Friday. On occasion I make a new batch halfway through the week if I need to.
I got the base of this smoothie from Jenna Dewan’s Gracefully You book. I was at a bookstore with a friend, cracked open her book and spied the recipe! She has a few different things that she does with hers but that’s one reason I love these – you can honestly make them a number of different ways and it’ll all have a similar effect!
Without further ado, here’s my green smoothie recipe!
Green Smoothie Recipe
- 1.5 – 2 cups water
- 2 handfuls spinach(or any leafy green romaine, etc)
- 2 handfuls kale (or any leafy green romaine, etc)
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 apple
- 1 pear
- 1 banana
- Juice from one lemon
- ⅓ bunch parsley
- ⅓ bunch cilantro
- 1 scoop peanut butter
- handful of almonds
All you need to do is put them all in a blender (I use a Vitamix) and mix them all up! I keep mine in mason jars in the fridge until I’m ready to drink them.
Recipe Notes
Here are a few tips:
1. Liquid doesn’t need to be water
Your water can be substituted with juice, almond milk or any other liquid you want. Don’t overthink this one. If you want it a bit sweeter if you’re just getting in to green smoothies, use something like apple juice! If this is a meal replacement and you want additional calcium and protein, use milk (or almond milk).
I typically stick with water since this is an additional part of my food intake and I usually don’t have juice on hand! The easier it is for me to do the more likely I am to do it.
2. Blend the liquid and leafy greens together first
I hate having to “chew” my smoothies or getting a mouthful of chunks. I’ve learned to put whatever liquid I’m using along with the leafy greens (and sometimes the celery too since it adds to the liquid) and blend it up.
Let this blend while you prep the other ingredients (coring the apple and pear, etc.). Once it all looks like liquid, start adding in the rest!
3. Switch up your greens
As noted above, you don’t have to use kale and spinach! You also don’t have to use multiple kinds. If you grab a giant container of spinach from Costco, just use spinach! Your smoothie also doesn’t need to be exactly the same each time you make it.
4. Same with your fruit
If you aren’t a big fan of apples or pears, try a different fruit! The nice thing about apples and pears are it adds more liquid to the smoothie so you use less water. And berries do add more sugar so it’s something to be aware of.
5. Add peanut butter and almonds
Many green smoothies don’t call for things like this. I always add some sort of ingredient with a healthy fat (peanut butter, avocado, etc) to help your body absorb the nutrients. I also think it helps it taste better!
These things will also add more protein! When I make smoothies for my kids I always add in some sort of nut butter because it increases the chances that they’ll actually drink it.
6. Use a frozen banana
If you plan on drinking your smoothie immediately, use a frozen banana! It will help make the drink colder without having to use a ton of ice cubes.
7. Drink it cold
Honestly the only way I can drink these are when they’ve been in the fridge for a while. I make these the night before I want to drink them so they’re nice and cold. It helps make them palatable! 😉
I hope this green smoothies recipe helps motivate you to start adding in a few green smothies to your diet now and then! When you make a bigger batch like this it’s so much easier to grab them and drink them throughout the week and I know you’ll see the benefits of the nutrients as you continue to drink them.
If you’re looking for other ways to get healthy, check out my Peloton treadmill review or my Peloton bike review.
As always, thanks for reading!
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