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I’d like to share an apple celery smoothie recipe that’s surprisingly delicious. My favorite part of this smoothie is the fennel, a tasty herb that reminds me of black licorice. I also love that it’s low in sugar and insanely energizing as well.
My love for Good & Plenty candy led me down a plant-powered path to find a great smoothie recipe with a black licorice flavor. This recipe checks all the boxes: fun new ingredients, fresh flavor, low in sugar and refreshing to the core.
In fact, I love this recipe so much that I’ve included it in our new meal planner called Rawk the Year. Rawk the Year features over 400 recipes, weekly meal plans, personalized shopping lists, access to all of our cleanses and more. Try it free for 14 days and see what you think!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for an Apple Celery Smoothie
This refreshing beverage has a rockstar list of ingredients all designed to bring you the most nutrition possible:
- Spinach: Leafy greens like spinach contain fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium and more. There is so much goodness in these mild green leaves!
- Water: This is the simplest liquid to add to smoothies since it is sugar-free and has no weird additives.
- Fennel bulb: Fresh fennel contains potassium, magnesium and calcium. Plus, its unique taste is a lovely addition to this smoothie.
- Celery: Don’t let its simplicity fool you, celery has a host of health benefits including 12 antioxidants, a useful digestive aid, anti-inflammatory properties and is a low glycemic vegetable.
- Green apple: apples naturally contain vitamin C, fiber and anti-inflammatory properties. I chose a green apple for this recipe is it contains *slightly* less natural sugar than red.
- Ginger root: Fresh ginger is an ancient medicinal remedy due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Add just a bit (it’s potent!) to any smoothie you want.
- Lemon: Fresh lemons are high in vitamin C, a heart-healthy nutrient.
Low Sugar Produce
If you’ve ever gone on the hunt for a great low-carb/low-sugar green smoothie, look no further. A fruit or veggie is considered a low glycemic option (low in sugar) if one serving has a glycemic index score of less than 55.
Check out the glycemic index of the ingredients in this apple celery smoothie recipe:
- 1 cup spinach: less than 1
- ¼ fennel bulb: 16
- 1 celery stalk: 15
- 1 green apple: 38
- ¼ inch fresh ginger: 15
- juice from 1 lemon: 20
My blood sugar’s doing a happy dance knowing this celery smoothie won’t raise it! This recipe can be a great afternoon pick-me-up, or even a refreshing evening treat to stabilize the body’s blood sugar for the night.
How to Make a Celery Smoothie
I find the best-tasting green smoothies are blended in two steps. While you could dump all the ingredients into the blender and hope for the best, blending them in two batches produces the smoothest result without any chunks.
- Start by blending the spinach, water and lemon together. You’ll know it’s done when it looks like juice. Feel free to stop and scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend again until smooth. Depending on the type of blender you have, grating the ginger and dicing the apple and fennel might help you get a smoother result.
This smoothie is less creamy than others since it is full of watery ingredients. If you want a creamier smoothie, add 1/2 banana or 1/4 avocado. You can also use unsweetened coconut milk instead of water for a creamier finish.
Celery Smoothie FAQs
They can be! I like smoothies over juices since they don’t eliminate the fiber, which your body craves and needs to process the natural sugar in these beverages. My celery smoothie recipe is loaded with vitamin C, potassium, fiber and vitamin A to give you a great jump-start to your day.
My smoothie is super flavorful with the fennel and fresh ginger in it. It tastes refreshing and will help wake you up in the best way.
Focus on whole food ingredients that are lower in natural sugar and high in fiber. You can make a variety of healthy smoothies with healthy ingredients that all taste different! There is no one right way to make one. I like this celery smoothie since it has a variety of fruits and vegetables along with fresh ginger for a whole host of healthy benefits.
More Low Sugar Options
If you’re looking for ways to decrease your sugar consumption, I’ve got you covered below! Here are a few of my other low-sugar smoothie favorites that work great as smoothies for diabetics:
- Cherry Açai Smoothie: I love the balance of flavors in this berry-filled smoothie recipe.
- Raspberry Smoothie: Guests won’t even know this is a green smoothie, it’s pretty enough for dessert!
- Alkaline Smoothie: This is a great smoothie for stabilizing blood sugar and getting a variety of produce.
- Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie: Sip away inflammation and feel better all over.
- Red Velvet Smoothie: These don’t have to “taste healthy” in order to be healthy! Enjoy a delightfully energizing beverage with real ingredients.
Does this smoothie recipe excite you or scare you? Leave a comment and rating below letting me know if this is a make or pass for you. I’d love to know!
Apple Celery Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach fresh
- 1 cup water
- ¼ fennel bulb cored and roughly chopped*
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 green apple cored
- 1 tsp ginger root peeled
- 1 lemon peeled
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Blend spinach, water and lemon together until juice-like consistency is reached.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Equipment
Notes
- Only use the white part of the fennel bulb. The green stalk and sprigs may be used as a garnish.
- Keep as much white pith on the lemon as you can for more nutrients.
- Use at least one frozen ingredient for a refreshingly cool smoothie.
- Swap the spinach for the leafy greens of your choice.
- Swap the water with one cup of unsweetened coconut water for a natural electrolyte boost.
- Add one serving of homemade protein powder to provide ten more grams of protein, turning this smoothie into a meal replacement.
So refreshing added carrots
I bet carrots were a great addition to this one, Alroy!
Can any of these ingredients be put into a juicer instead of a blender
Hi Donna! You could definitely try to put it in a juicer yet it would come out more like juice than a smoothie.
Its very refreshing
Hey Lee! You are right! This one is super refreshing, perfect for summer!
I am truly impressed by the information that I’m reading regarding making healthier smoothies. I can’t wait to try the homemade protein powder. I do have a question? Is there any way to add flavor to the homemade protein powder, like cocoa powder? I ask because my brother and I are currently finishing up a 2pk protein powder set that I purchased online, and he loves the caramel flavor. Or is it just a matter of what I add to the smoothie itself and not so much flavoring the protein powder, I hope this question makes sense
Hi Diasheka! Thanks so much for the kind feedback! You are correct, it’s more of a matter of the smoothie itself than the protein powder. I wouldn’t recommend drinking it on it’s own with water, but mixed in a smoothie you can’t taste it at all!
I like the hydration aspect of this recipe but I HATE licorice so the fennel is a no for me personally…not sure what to replace it with though…cucumber maybe? Would love some input.
Hi HJ! I know fennel is definitely not everyone’s favorite. You could definitely try cucumber or even leave the fennel out and add in a little more celery!