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The very first green smoothie recipe I ever tried was this one, the Very Berry Smoothie– and it changed my life. At that time, my husband and I were financially struggling as he transitioned to a new job as a pastor.
We had no health insurance and our kids were at that age when all they did was pass colds back and forth (and they almost always turned into an ear infection). This berry smoothie recipe gave us the immunity boost we needed to stay healthy, as well as caused us to fall in love with green smoothies.
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Berry Smoothie Recipe for Immune Boost
For the past 8 years, I’ve sipped green smoothies with my family, and used real, whole food to keep us healthy. We also use natural remedies to heal our body. We haven’t needed any prescriptions (or over the counter meds) since starting green smoothies, so that’s proof enough for me that real food heals!
Specifically, this berry smoothie’s got over 100% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. It also boasts 8 grams of fiber, which keeps the body regular. Fiber is often overlooked, yet getting enough fiber daily can combat Type II Diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease. That makes it an important ingredient in my opinion!
Blend a Quality Smoothie EVERY Time
Follow these steps to a perfectly blended smoothie, no matter the blender! First, make sure you start with a mix of fresh + frozen ingredients. I recommend at least 1 frozen fruit in each smoothie, so that it is nicely chilled.
I also follow the 1 1/2 + 1 + 1 rule: 1 1/2 cups of fruit, 1 cup of leafy greens, and 1 cup of liquid in every smoothie. Finally, if you are blending with a non-high powered blender, then make sure to blend your liquid + leafy greens first. This will minimize the leafy chunks at the end, and also help your blender break down the ingredients better.
Note: this berry smoothie recipe has a little less water in it, because oranges act as a liquid and a fruit, they’re so juicy!
How to measure leafy greens
I often get the question, “How do you measure leafy greens?!” It’s a great question, yet the answer varies depending on the person. If you are new to green smoothies, I recommend a lightly packed 1 cup serving of spinach. If you’re a #greensmoothiequeen, then stuff those greens in as much as you can!
Seriously though, if you need to start with 2 spinach leaves and work your way to more, then that’s great. I know that you’ll be adding more greens to each smoothie in no time, just like I did! These days, I just grab a few *big* handfuls of spinach for my smoothie, and skip the measuring cup.
Ingredient Swaps
Green smoothies are super versatile, so don’t be afraid to make these recipes fit your pantry, as well as your tastebuds. I like the strawberry/blueberry combo in this berry smoothie, yet choose the berries you like best. Cherries + raspberries are also a great combo.
If you need to cut down on the sugar, swap the banana with 1/2 cup cauliflower, or 1/2 avocado. That way your smoothie stays creamy and your blood sugar stays happy. If fresh oranges aren’t easy to find, you can sub in 1/2 cup 100% orange juice, just make sure it’s the kind with lots of pulp!
More Berry Smoothies
Berries are easy to add to smoothies, so I’ve got a whole list of recipes for you berry lovers to try:
- Strawberry mango smoothie
- Cranberry smoothie
- Blueberry smoothie
- Elderberry smoothie
- Cherry açaí smoothie
- Blackberry smoothie
What berry combos are your fav? Leave a comment and let me know! Let’s keep that antioxidant love going.
Citrus Berry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 orange
- ⅓ cup strawberries frozen
- ⅓ cup blueberries frozen
- ½ banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Blend spinach, water & orange until smooth.
- Add fruit and blend again.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- You can swap the orange for 1/2 cup of orange juice with lots of pulp. Remember— fiber is our friend!
- Use at least 1 frozen fruit for a refreshingly cool smoothie.
- Swap in any leafy green you want.
The Orange makes it really fresh tasting.
Not a fan of this one. I think It was too much orange and not enough other fruit. Will try again but cut back on the orange.
This smoothie was good but I was overzealous with the greens and ended up with a greener smoothie than expected.
It’s has simple ingredients and it’s easy to prep.
Can’t go wrong with this smoothie! Loving this challenge so far.
Loving the challenge.
This one is a keeper! Whole family loved it.
My posts don’t seem to be saving to the blog so I’ll try this again…Great smoothie! You’d never know there was spinach in it. Added some parsley and flax meal for an extra boost. Delicious! Will make again for sure!
Actually I really like this one! The citrus is a great addition.
Not bad. I enjoyed this much more than I expected too. I’m giving it 4 stars because when prepping my fruit in advance I opted to also freeze my orange, thus 1/3 liquid didn’t blend well until I added more to the mix. In the past anything with added citrus does not sit well with me and I don’t enjoy the pulp in my smoothie, freezing helped that. Cheers
Love this smoothie. I had to use a handful of frozen mango in place of the orange and also had to add a little more water.
This was so good, I was really nervous to add that much orange in and it be over powering. This is so good I’m going to be making this shake again for sure
This recipe was good, but if you’re pre-freezing the fruits, more liquid is required to get it fully blended. I added orange juice and water and it blended better. Good flavor!
Oh my! This is delicious! I used 1/2 cup avocado and a date in place of the banana because of an allergy. I love the orange flavor!
This smoothie was just ok. It tasted like a fancy orange juice, so maybe I used too many clementines? I also somewhat taste the avocado, which is weird, since when I substitute it for banana in the other recipes I haven’t tasted it. Overall, this was simple to make and tasted alright.
This recipe is amazing!! I love the extra berry flavor! Bring on Day 5!
I substituted kale from my garden. It was a little strong, but once I got used to the taste, I liked it.