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My favorite green smoothie recipe is really a tropical energy drink in disguise. With over 1,300 5-star reviews, it’s time for you to see why blending spinach into a smoothie is a tasty morning habit.
I know a green smoothie doesn’t sound (or look) very appealing at first sight, but it can be beyond delicious. I’ve blended this recipe in kindergarten classrooms (and the kids ask for seconds)! I’ve made it for my teenage daughter’s volleyball friends and they chug it down. I drink this green smoothie recipe almost every morning to boost my energy levels and nourish my body.
Table of contents
Benefits of a Green Smoothie
Drinking this green smoothie is what gave me the body and energy levels to do some incredible things in my late 30’s after having two kids. I’ve run 47 miles of the Grand Canyon, rode a motorcycle across Morocco in a 7-day race, hiked Angel’s Landing and created a backyard garden for my kids.
This simple green smoothie is great for beginners because it’s naturally sweetened with fruit (no added sugars) and loaded with greens and protein. Some of the benefits I’ve noticed when I drink a green smoothie every day are:
- More energy from the natural fruit sugars
- Don’t get sick (my immune system is strong thanks to all the nutrients)
- My digestive system is happy with all the fiber and hydration from a green smoothie
This daily habit has kept my kids healthy when we didn’t have health insurance, energized us in between school and sports and nourished us so we rarely get sick. And when we do, we can usually bounce back with some of my own natural remedies.
My kids started drinking green smoothies when they were 2 years old. Now, they’re teenagers and still drink them. Here’s some photos of them over the years (they have no clue I put these on here!).
When I created this green smoothie recipe, it changed my family’s life in more ways than I ever imagined. It was love at first sip for me, my two kids and 1 million others, who were intimidated by spinach (just like me!). Since them, I’ve published a best-selling green smoothie cookbook and shared my recipes live on The Doctors TV Show…twice!
Best Green Smoothie Ingredients
Everything you need to make a green smoothie is found in a garden, farmer’s market or the produce section of your grocery store. The closer we eat to nature, the better we feel. This smoothie recipe is a great way to start eating healthier foods. Here’s the ingredients we’ll be blending:
- Fresh spinach: Baby spinach is the most mild version to use in smoothies, and also the most easy to find. I suggest using organic spinach because it’s one of the Dirty Dozen. The right ratio of spinach to fruit makes it sweet, as well as helps you reap all the health benefits.
- Frozen pineapple: I buy frozen pineapple at Costco in bulk to make Frozen Smoothie Packs. If it’s on sale, I’ll cut up pineapple and freeze it myself.
- Frozen mango: You’ll find this next to the ice cream in the freezer section. I love how it’s already peeled and cut for you and ready to add to the blender. If fresh mango is on sale, you can always cut the mango and freeze yourself.
- Fresh banana: Bananas add a creaminess to smoothies that is hard to replicate. It’s magic!
- Water: The liquid base in the smoothie is water. Use filtered water to avoid any unnecessary chemicals or pollutants. I like using a Berkey Water Filter that I keep on my countertop.
Fresh VS frozen fruit
I prefer using frozen fruit because it chills down your smoothie without using ice, which can dull your blender blades overtime. I use fresh bananas in my smoothies because I like how creamy they make it.
How to Blend a Green Smoothie
The only equipment you need to make a green smoothie is a high-speed blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy drink you’ll want to make over and over. Once you have a blender, you can successfully make the best green smoothie recipe following the steps below.
Blend spinach with liquid base
Blend 1 cup of spinach (or another leafy greens of your choice) in a blender with 1 cup of liquid. Adding spinach to your smoothie boosts the phytonutrients and fiber, which then slows down the absorption of sugars into your body. Blend until all leafy chunks are gone.
Beginner Blending Tip
When you’re making your first few green smoothies, follow my Green Smoothie Formula to get the perfect blend. Don’t just throw spinach and kale in the blender. Chances are, it’ll taste nasty if you wing it right out of the gate.
Add frozen fruit to blender
Toss in frozen mango, pineapple and bananas in the blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. If you want your smoothie to be extra chilly or possibly even be a smoothie bowl, use more frozen fruit. You can freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas, grapes, pineapple or berries.
How to sweeten a smoothie
If the smoothie isn’t as sweet as you would like, add in some natural sweeteners like bananas, mango, oranges, honey or pitted dates.
Scoop in the superfoods
Once the smoothie is nice and creamy, you can add in superfoods. Chia seeds, hemp hearts and flax seed are all great choices. You can turn any smoothie recipe into a meal replacement by adding a serving of homemade protein powder to any smoothie recipe.
Blend smoothie on high speed
In order to break down the cell walls of the plants, you need to blend on high speed. You shouldn’t have any leafy chunks in your smoothie if your blender is powerful enough.
Drink green smoothie immediately
To get the maximum amount of nutrients from a smoothie, drink it immediately after blending it. The longer your smoothie is exposed to oxygen, the more it breaks down and the nutrients deteriorate. This is called oxidation. To minimize this, you can store your smoothe in the fridge with an air-tight lid for up to 48 hours, yet I think it tastes best if consumed within 4 hours after blending.
Green Smoothie Recipe Variations
It’s easy to swap ingredients based on what you have on hand. If you’d like more green smoothie recipes, check out these popular ones below:
- My son is obsessed with this mango orange smoothie recipe.
- Try this tropical pina colada smoothie to head to the beach asap.
- Want to boost your metabolism? Then this is a great fat burning green smoothie recipe.
- This kale smoothie will surprise even your taste buds.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup mango frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Measure: Tightly pack spinach in a measuring cup.
- Add: Put spinach to blender with water. Blend together until all chunks are gone. (Should resemble green water when blended well).
- Toss: Pineapple, mango and banana to blender. I like to use frozen pineapple and mangos to chill the smoothie down and save time cutting and prepping. It’s a win-win!
- Blend: It all together until smooth and creamy. Depending on your blender, this could take as little as 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.
- Pour: Into a glass and serve immediately.
- Store: In the fridge with a lid until ready to drink.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Not a fan of bananas? Swap it for 1/4 avocado, additional 1/2 cup mango or 1/2 cup peaches.
- You can use 1 cup pineapple if you’re out of mango.
- Frozen fruit is recommended to chill the smoothie (and save time cutting and washing).
Nutrition
Common Questions
You won’t be able to taste the spinach if you use the proper ratio of fruit to spinach. This green smoothie tastes like a mango pineapple smoothie with a hint of banana flavor.
Green smoothies are the healthiest fast food out there. Blending spinach and fruit into a smoothie is a great way to boost your immune system, increase fiber intake, and boost your energy levels. A kale or spinach smoothie has incredible health benefits with additional phytonutrients. What we eat can truly transform our bodies and our lives in powerful ways.
Most smoothies you buy or find online are made with just fruit and fruit juice. This makes them crazy high in sugar, which can cause inflammation and consuming excess calories. A green smoothie, on the other hand, is made with fruit, vegan milks and leafy greens, typically spinach or kale. They’re loaded with iron, potassium, fiber and vitamins galore. If you’re not sure which leafy greens to use in your smoothie, check out my Ultimate Leafy Greens Guide for Smoothies.
Any blender will work, yet to get the creamiest green smoothie you’ll need a high speed blender. Check out my Best Blenders for Smoothies guide, where I reviewed countless blenders to find the best ones for green smoothies. The key is to get rid of leafy chunks, blend quickly and provide tons of value for the price. Hint: not all of them cost $400.
For busy weeks, you can create Frozen Smoothie Packs that you prep on the weekend and enjoy all week, or month. It’ll only take you 5 minutes every morning to have a green smoothie ready to go. You can also blend your smoothie the night before and store it in your fridge until ready to drink.
Thank you Simple Green Smoothies for replying to my earlier post about not receiving the shopping list…..
..I did just find the shopping list in my spam file…..I had already gone shopping earlier today and find that I already have or had gotten everything your list had on it. except pears and raspberries this before seeing your list……….I also made my first green smoothie yesterday….spinach, carrot, mango, blueberries, 1/’2 scoop rice protein powder and almond milk drank 1/2 yesterday, finished it this morning.
Look forward to officially starting the challenge on Jan. 1st.
Glad you got the list and had most of the ingredients! Can’t wait for tomorrow 🙂
I did my first green smoothie yesterday. My Nutribullet could not handle a full recipe so I had quite the production my first time. It turned out great though – I just had a mess to clean up 🙂 I have now separated the recipe and bagged up the ingredients and put them in the freezer for the rest of this week. I am going to use this as my meal replacement for breakfast and just whip it up for my ride into work. I did the Almond Joy today and it is so tasty. I am glad I came across this site.
Sounds like a great plan, Susan!
Hi, I signed up over a month ago and again today and no shopping list. I see responses to other questions but no response to whe anyone will get a shopping list. I am going shopping today. Also I am one person, should I be making enough for two smoothies or cutting your recipes in half. They seem very high in calories so to drink two a day ia a lot.
Hi Alison!
If you are drinking one smoothie a day, then cut the recipes in half. If you haven’t received your shopping list, then contact us through the link below so we can get it to you:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
What do you mean by tightly packed when referring to spinach ..I don’t understand it . Expound more please. Mercelyne .
Hi Mercelyne,
It means we measure it in a measuring cup, pack the spinach into it, and then dump it unto our blender pitcher. Hope this helps!
I signed up for the 30 day challenge on 12/26/13 received verification but haven’t received the shopping list…..is there some way to access the list.
Beverly,
Contact us through the link below so we can help you out 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
I just signed up for the 30 day challenge starting this week. Hen will I receive my grocery list? I received an initial email but there was no link to “confirm” my participation in the challenge. I just want to make sure I receive the emails so I can participate!
Lindsay,
Contact us with the link below so we can help you out:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
I just signed up for the 30 day challenge. I’ve never had a green smoothie before. I guess I didn’t read the recipe and got kale instead of spinach. Will that make a difference?
Hi Jen!
You can definitely use kale instead of spinach! Pretty much any leafy green can be substituted for another. The only thing about kale is that you may want to blend it with the liquid first for a bit before adding fruits. It is a bit tougher to blend than spinach 🙂
When can i expect the shopping list for the January challenge?
Hello! I am so excited to have stumbled across this page. I just had bariatric surgery, so I was searching for a Smoothie “home” to call my own. I got my Blendtec and I am ready to tackle a healthier 2014. Question – since I do have the Blendtec, can I use ice? Would I substitute any of the water? Or just add ice to the recipe above? Also – what about protein powders? I was thinking of the Isopure (no flavor) and just add a scoop to your recipes. Is that ok? Thank you so much for this AWESOME website <3
Hi Luma!
Not too sure about Isopure—don’t have any experience with it. If you like it and trust it then go for it 🙂 We don’t mind adding a bit of protein here and there. You can add ice if you’d like, too. We prefer to freeze some of our fruits to keep them from going bad, and just adding those for a chill. If you use ice, then you may want to reduce the amount of liquid you use in the recipe. Hope this helps!
You will love it
Chia seeds: How much water do I soak them in and for how long?
You can soak 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in 6 tablespoons of water for 5-10 minutes.
Hi
Me and my wife are on green smoothies already, we use what is available. Frozen vegitables is a good source and provide the coldness. I also love to plant some vegitables but only the ones that grow like weeds.
Jen myself being a “spiritual man” I would love to meet your husband if possible. I am in Namibia so it is only the Atlantic deviding us.
If you are using a vita mix you can let it blend for 5 mins on high speed to make a warm soup blend. If you don’t have you could warm it slightly but not past about 112 degrees. Good luck. Stay with it and you will be rewarded
Ok, so its cold, I’m in Victoria, BC, can you ladies also come up with a warm green smoothie? Most of my fruits and ingredients are cold from the fridge, but at this time of year I just can’t fathom a cold drink of any kind. Well, except beer, but that becomes room temp. 😉
Love the paper straws! I’m too nervous to get a glass straw for fear of dropping it in the sink. My husband insists on the fat straws from McD’s, and well they are perfect for smoothies!
We love the stainless steel straws too! Just make sure to get a straw cleaner so you get all the green gunk out. 🙂
As far as warm, try making a green smoothie with all room temperature fruits that you normally store on the counter. I also like to use a little knitted sleeve on my mason jars, so the glass is not cold on my hands during the winter.
I do a protein shake once a day, and in that shake I use a powder called ” Dynamic Greens. It is a proprietary blend of organic super fruits and vegetables. My question is ” Which in your opinion is better, the organic powder or the fresh greens and fruit.”
thank you
Larry Anderson
Fresh is always best! But if you can’t get access (maybe you’re on the road), you can explore other options. Just listen to your body.
You may be able to buy mango, blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple “frozen” at GFC, Sams club, Tesco, Cosco, or BJ’s
HI, I can’t get fresh pineapple or mango at the moment, so what can I use to replace them, thanks.
You can use frozen pineapple and mango (which is actually what we use all the time).