Well, hello there! Are you wondering why anyone would be excited to drink something as green as this? We hear ya— we have been right where you are. Really.
Well, now that we have become green smoothie addicts— we feel responsible for helping you see the good in all this green. Green smoothies can be very simple and very yummy (yes, green can be yummy!).
The Beginner’s Luck Smoothie is a great starter smoothie. It’s full of iron, potassium and vitamins galore— and tastes like a tropical treat from all the island fruit. So head to the store and give this smoothie a try. We have a feeling you will be pleasently surprised.
Cheers to your health!
Jadah + Jen
Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 cups spinach, fresh (tightly packed)
2 cups water
1 cup mango
1 cup pineapple
2 bananas
TIP #1: Remember to get the smoothest smoothie and to avoid leafy chunks, blend your greens and liquid first, then add the remaining fruits. Cheers!
TIP #2: Use at least one frozen fruit to make the green smoothie cold.
TIP #3: If you aren’t a big fan of bananas, feel free to substitue for another fruit. You can even freeze the bananas first to reduce the flavor and also add some extra chill to your smoothie.
Shopping List (Makes two servings for 5 days)
Fresh spinach: 2 bags, 10-16 oz bag
10 Bananas
Mango: 2 frozen 24 oz bags
Pineapple: 2 frozen 16 oz bags
As much as I was enjoying drinking my green smoothies and they are great! I think I’m going to have to stop drinking them because they cause me a severe stomach ache that lasts about 1-1 1/2 hours after I drink it. I’ve been drinking them for about two weeks now around 16 ozs but no more than that. But it’s almost every single time and it’s not getting any better. I guess my stomach is just too sensitive to it.
I’ll just have to eat fruits in the morning and then maybe have a spinach salad for lunch.
This can be a common symptom if your body is not used to drinking or eating lots of fiber. Green smoothies are high in fiber which is great for digestion, but the high fiber can shock your body. Make sure you drink lots of water to help flush things out. I hope this helps
We don’t want your body to be angry with you!
I’m try the green smoothies for the first time on tomorrow. My only question is I see that all smoothies require water. Can I use bottle water or what.
You can use bottled water, tap water, filtered water, coconut water, etc.
Well, the Green Smooothie was delicious the next day too! I even got my dad to drink it!! He loves it. I can’t believe you can’t taste the spinach. I think I’ll try strawberries next!! Thanks!
I finally got the chance to drink my first green smoothie. It was good, but I expected a better tasting one. I didn’t have the mango, so I added an orange, an extra banana and some blueberries too (just to make it more purple). Did I use too much fruit? Should I be varying the types of fruit I put into a green smoothie? And how often? Or should I use the same ingredients?
Hi Lori! Not sure if you used too much fruit–it depends on how much you used of each fruit
Personally, we think that you can use too many types of fruits in a smoothie and the taste will not be as good. We try to stick to combinations that we know are yummy and that we love, but are also good for our health. Varying fruits is a good idea, because you want to give your body access to a variety of nutrients. Different fruits have different nutrients that your body craves. You can check out our recipe page for inspiration:
http://simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes
Hi, I was reading some comments on when you should drink the green smoothies and I know you said you would make one for breakfast or in place of a snack..now if i were to make the smoothie as a snack am I still using the same amount of fruit veggies? I normally drink the smoothies to replace a meal.
Hi Marsha! The best answer we can give is that it is totally up to you how much you make and when you drink it. If you are used to replacing meals with a full smoothie, then maybe you would only want half of a smoothie for a snack. We also encourage eating a small helping of almonds or a hard boiled egg as a snack
Hello I’m starting this beginners smoothie today and just wanted to know is this all I’m suppose to be drinking through out the day or do I replace it with a meal
Hi Samara So glad you found us! We usually do a one of two things: 1) Drinking a green smoothie for breakfast, or 2) Drinking a green smoothie as a snack. You can feel free to substitute your lunch or dinner with a green smoothie, too
I don’t know why, but everyday I drink my green smoothie my stomach hurts later in the day. But I LOVE my green smoothies and will continue to drink them. They actually do make me feel better! I figure maybe it’s my system getting use to all the nutrients and such that’s causing it. Because I know I have eaten all the ingredients individually and never had a problem. If I could afford to, I would drink them twice a day, that’s how much I love them!
Hi Kimberly! We have heard this from many people, and it usually happens toward the beginning of the green smoothie experience. How many ounces are you drinking? If you are drinking a lot more than 16 OZ at one time then that may be a reason why your stomach hurts. Otherwise, we have found that it is usually the increased nutrients–especially fiber in the green smoothies!
I’ve got a simple Hamilton Beach Blender that we paid twenty something for and it works great!
Just tried my first green smoothie with this recipe and I LOVE IT!
substituted pineapple for strawberry’s and tastes great!
Yes, I could take out either the banana or the pineapple. On Fitness Pal one Beginner’s Green Smoothie shows like 27 grams of sugar while another Generic Green Smoothie says only 19 grams, so it depends on which green smoothie you choose. Not sure which one is correct, so I just chose the latter one instead. It has less sugar, less fat and less calories.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these calories are definitely not empty calories. They are packed with nutrients that do so many good things for your body! Hope this helps
Had the wind sucked out of my sails. When using Fitness Pal to log my calories & etc., unfortunately, just the smoothie alone makes me go over my sugar intake for the day. Not good. The sugar intake for the day is 27 and the Green Smoothie alone has 42 grams of sugar. And the calories are kinda high for a smoothie 226 how can this be good for you???
Hi Kimberly. Sorry the sugar levels are high for you— but feel free to use the measurements as a starting point and tweak so it can work for your daily need. For example, cut back on the fruits (maybe remove the bananas) and you will easily reduce your grams of sugar.
Also, please note that these smoothies make two servings.
I just have a basic Hamilton Beach blender about $20-$25 and it works just fine. I imagine you could replace any of the fruits or add fruits with whatever fruit you love. I’m just on my second day. I’ve been replacing my lunch with the smoothie. I figure I’ll switch it up between breakfast and lunch.
Sorry for all the questions. Can I use frozen blueberries in the green smoothie?? What do I take out?? Or can I just add to the mixture?
Don’t apologize
You can definitely add frozen blueberries. Our recipes serve as inspiration for you to go on and blend bigger and better things!
Thanks!! I would rather it look purply-blue than green
Thanks a million for the suggestion. How powerful does the blender have to be?!?! I’m afraid I’ll have to purchase a heavy duty one to reap the benefits.
You definitely don’t need to purchase heavy duty! Some of the more affordable blenders we like are:
Ninja Professional
KitchenAid Artisan Blender
NutriBullet or Magic Bullet
Oster 12-Speed
Great! I have the Oster!
My Oster 14-speed works really well. I also have a Hamilton Beach juicer that I use to juice veggies that I like to add in to my smoothies such as cucumber, carrots or fruits like apples and pears. Yum!
hello i have just started this challenge and so far so good, its soo good
i was just wondering as am still in school is there any way i could take it to schol as in if i put it in a flask will it still be cold and taste okay and how long will be it be okay for, what do you recommeded i do if i want to drink it at school
Hi Asiyah! Its so great to hear that you are eating healthy at a young age
We usually put our blended smoothies in a mason jar with an air tight lid, and we put them in a refrigerator. They should keep for about 1-2 days like that. If you don’t have access to a fridge then you can put an icepack in your lunch bag, and it will keep your smoothie cool. Hope this helps! Rawk on!
I used water today and it actually tasted pretty good. I put less banana but it still tasted mostly like bananas. I tasted the banana, mango & spinach but not the pineapple, so going to add more pineapple next time. Not sure about the OJ since it tastes good with water. Not sure how OJ and Spinach would taste together. lol
I’m going to start the green smoothie! Wish me “beginner’s luck”. I may have missed reading all of the earlier posts, so sorry if it’s a stupid question (it’s been a long week!). When should I be drinking the green smoothie and how often?
Hi Lori! So happy that you are starting
We have loved how green smoothies have improved our health. We usually either drink one for breakfast or as a snack later on instead of potato chips or something less healthy. We suggest starting there! Some people after a little bit get crazy and substitute it as a meal.
I bought all the ingredients so going to try it beginning tomorrow morning. I have some fresh squeezed OJ I thought about putting that in instead of water.
Kimberly! Fresh squeezed is always a phrase we love to hear
Go for it and see how it tastes!
Hello again ladies! Thanks for the suggestion in using bananas instead of mango. I LOVE bananas. Is there anything besides the water that I can substitue for the coconut water?
Hi Lori! What about green tea, or a combination of water and natural fruit juice? Check out this article:
http://simplegreensmoothies.com/liquid-base
Thank you for tip #1 – how to get the greens smooth in a regular blender!! I actually found your website because of your vitamix giveaway because I was tired of chunky greens in my smoothies. But I just tried the technique of blending the greens with the liquid first–worked like a charm! Now I don’t need a vitamix
Thanks!
Oh, the answer to my question. Thanks Grace!
and…where do i get a canning jar lid and straw like that?! the smoothies must taste better out of them.
Check out this page
http://astore.amazon.com/simplegreensmoothies-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=3
This is my first ever green smoothie. I added 1/2 cup strawberries instead of 1/2 cup of mango. It was very good. The fruits masked the flavor of the spinach. Loved it!
Hi Jadah and Jen,
Is there a fruit that I can substitute for the mango?
Hi Lori!
What about papaya? Banana? Avocado, maybe? Those are all things we like in smoothies that make them smooth and tasty
Just made this smoothie today! Great recipe for a simple and delicious green smoothie!
I’m about to start drinking green smoothies
I got a cheap blender, but hey – it’s better than nothing, right?
My question is : Can I use less fruit (and maybe even more vegetables) so that it’s not so packed with sugar? I’m doing Insanity and trying to stay fit, and I don’t want to eat that many fruit.
Will it still be edible, or will it taste like cr*p ?
Hi Szymon! This is a great question. You can absolutely use more veggies than fruits! It all depends on which veggies you use as to whether it tastes good or not, but there are lots of people that do veggie smoothies. If you find some good recipes then send ‘em our way!
DO I drink this all day once a day or what please explain trying to lose some ponds and eat healthier
Hi Nellie! Thanks for your question
We recommend drinking one smoothie a day. You can drink it for breakfast or as a snack. Some people are a little ambitious and replace their lunch or dinner with their smoothie, and some people even drink two green smoothies a day. It is up to you and what your body/lifestyle can handle. Hope this helps!
Do you have to use fresh spinach? I love the whole leaf frozen kind by Trader Joe’s.
Hi Alicia! We like to say that fresh is best, but many times we take our fresh leafy greens and freeze them to store them for longer. So, the whole leaf frozen spinach bags should work
Hello, I have a 5 months old baby going on 6 and I am still breast feeding and really want to loose weight, do you think i could do this and would cause no harm?
Hi Tobi! We think that drinking these smoothies shouldn’t cause harm–breastfeeding or not. They are all filled with normal, natural fruits/veggies, and healthy liquids. If you use them as breakfast and have an active lifestyle, while eating healthy for other meals then you have a good chance of losing some weight. Some people drink green smoothies as a full meal replacement, and they also talk about weight loss. Hope this helps!
Thanks very much. Will start tomorrow and keep you updated.
just tried this. it was so delicious!!!
I am with child right now, and i was wondering will this be okay to drink becaue my co worker told me she is losing weight from drinking it and I want to drink it for the energy booster
Hi! Is your co-worker doing this as a meal replacement? We suggest NOT drinking this as a meal replacement if you are expecting. You could drink it with your breakfast in the morning, as a mid-day snack… or anything else! Hope this helps
Better late than never… I’m starting the 30 day challenge tomorrow!
Having one of these right now. First green smoothie ever so it’s abit odd for me, at least the texture anyway. Need a much better blender to get it nice and smooth I think. Certainly enjoying the taste.
Started on April 2nd…even though I was doing smoothies on my own, joining simplegreensmoothies has helped a whole lot more. I feel more energized, I’m not as tired & sluggish as before, the drinks are tasty & I lost a few lbs in one week. I’m very pleased & introduced family & friends to the site! Can’t thank u enough
So glad to hear, Dana
Loved this smoothie..my husband & I are doing this together…just getting started this week. Because I start work very early, and I retire early, it is better for me to have my smoothie in the evening. That way there is no heavy eating before bedtime. Can’t wait to try the other recipes!
What a great idea to have it for dinner to work with your routine— love the way you are thinking it through Shadiyah!
what is the potein, carbs, fat, and fiber content per cup on these smoothies could someone
plz smail me with that info
Beginners luck smoothie take an sub 1 banana for 1 peach. I was on the beach in Mexico! Yummy!
I am allergic to coconut is there anything else I could sub for it?
It don’t call for coconut.
Will you be posting one every day for the next 30 days?
We post pictures of the smoothies that WE are making each day on our facebook/instagram, but these are not meant to be the smoothies that YOU make each day. You can make any smoothie you want, and you can even make up your own!
I’m allergic to bananas what kind I sub it for>
I made mine with Carrots in it and the leave tops. Thats what it called for on the other list. Is that okay?
I tried the beginner’s luck smoothie yesterday and absolutely loved it. Even my little ones wanted seconds.
We love hearing this! Thanks for sharing Melba.
Do you add hemp protein to any shake?
Yes we do. Hemp is one of our favorite boosters, yet for some people the texture change is a hard pill to swallow (me included). I typically add hemp protein to my smoothies that have almond milk in them— it seems to help with the texture.
I’ve recently started having smoothies for breakfast and love green smoothies! I’ve experimented with a few and find that using coconut milk for part of the liquid adds a nice subtle sweetness, creaminess, and tropical flavor. Plus, it’s a way of getting some good fats without dairy.
I absolutely love the Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie. I’ve been drinking one every morning for the past couple of weeks and I’m hyped about the April challenge. Thank you for this seamless transition into healthier eating.