One of my favorite go-to breakfasts and snacks are green smoothies. They are delicious, easy to make, and help you get your greens in, which are the number one missing food in the American diet. If you’ve never made one, don’t be intimidated by the color. I promise you will grow to love them as much as I do.
Green smoothies can range from simple with just a few ingredients to very complicated, with lots of added herbs and superfoods. If you are just starting out, this is my basic green smoothie recipe. It is sure to be a hit with kids big and small!
Basic Green Smoothie aka The Hulk Smoothie
1. 8 oz (or more depending on how thin/thick you like your smoothies) of liquid. You can choose from water, green juice, coconut water, hemp milk,rice milk, or almond milk. For kids, I usually do half organic orange juice and almond milk. Go for low to no sugar added in your nut/seed milks!
2. Two handful of clean, organic spinach, ends cut off. You can always do different greens, but spinach is, in my opinion, the easiest gateway green into the world of green smoothies. Very mild on the palate.
3. Ice (optional)
4. 1 to 1 1/2 cups of frozen organic mango chunks (you can change the fruit here, but mango is a great “starter” fruit and it keeps the smoothie green).
5. Additional sweetener to taste, if needed. Choose from all natural stevia, xylitol, or raw honey. NO artificial sweeteners or processed sugars.
6. Blend your liquid, ice, and greens first.
7. Once blended, add your fruit and blend again until smooth.
8. Add additional sweetener if needed. Blend again.
9. Pour and enjoy!
There are a million and one ways to make and enjoy a green smoothie. These days I add a lot more to mine, like spirulina and liquid chlorophyll, but the basic green smoothie I outlined for you is great to start with and build from. In just a few minutes, you will have not only had a good hearty serving of fruit but also over a cup of greens, which are highly detoxifying for the body.
Speaking of detox, I mentioned earlier this week that I have an upcoming detox workshop this month and next month, I am kicking-off my detox teleseries “Summer Stunner Detox Program”. If you want to learn more about green smoothies and detox, this would be perfect for you! Stay tuned as the details unfold!
Now tell me…are you ready to blend up some greens? Are you a green smoothie lover? Let me know your thoughts!
I had two questions Anita.
1) If mangos are not available (organic or otherwise) at your local grocery or farmers market what is your 2nd choice…especially to keep the smoothie green?
2) Can we use agave as the sweetener?
Hey Drew! Lucky for us, peaches and apricots (and very soon, nectarines) are in season and keep that beautiful green color in our smoothies!
As for agave, there are health gurus who are pro and con on the subject. I don’t really use it anymore, except on rare occasion. I usually use stevia or xylitol. But feel free to experiment.
Why stevia? It seems that one week I read a report from the Agave camp and then the following I read from the Stevia camp. What’s a guy to do?
My basic stance is I have grown stevia…never processsed my own agave.
While it is true that both are either loved or hated, my research has pointed to more negatives with agave with how it is processed (Some folks say the processing process is not much different than creating high fructose corn syrup). As for stevia, raw/green stevia is the best and purest form to buy. But as my headliner says, be your own guru. If you have found from your own research that agave is cool with you, I say go for it.
Juice from half a lemon (and a little rind if you like) is good as it offsets any bitterness from the greens.
So true, Rob.
ditch the sweeteners. frozen pineapple with the mango works wonders on sweetening up the smoothie. i also throw in some bee pollen and hemp oil
@otisore, not always. Those who are trying to watch their sugars need to limit the amount of very sweet fruits they include (like mango and pineapple). This is my starter smoothie, but I like to graduate my clients on to less high glycemic fruits over time. 🙂
I love frozen bananas in my smoothies. I like to add kale, swiss chard and spinach too. I haven’t ventured off and included collard greens or anything like that though, but it is on my list to try…when I work up the nerve.
Let me know if you come up with any new yummy combinations 🙂
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