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Step aside salad. You’re no longer the only way to get dark leafy greens into my diet. I’m sharing a leafy green list of greatness with you as well as how to use greens in a smoothie like the best green smoothie (or salad or soup or anything) as well as why it’s good to rotate your greens and try something like a kale banana smoothie every so often. Ready, set, go green!
Table of Contents
What are Leafy Greens?
Leafy greens are super important for a healthy diet. They’re nutrient-dense, green veggies that provide tons of vitamins and minerals. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, a daily serving of leafy greens can lead to slower age-related cognitive decline.
Greens can be found as the tops of other plants (here’s looking at you, carrot tops and beet greens), or as plants in their own right. They come in all shapes, sizes, textures, shades and seasons. They aren’t even all in the same plant family.
If your taste buds have ever balked at something dark green and leafy, never fear! I’ve got some great new options for you to blend.
The Ultimate Dark Leafy Greens List
I often talk about rotating your greens. This is because greens come from all different plant families, each offering different health benefits. Yet if spinach is your jam, no worries! Your body will tell you when it’s time for a leafy green change-up. Read on to learn about some different types of greens, as well as my favorite options in each family.
Crucifers
Kale
Having a health issue? Kale can help with that. Seriously, kale is at the top of the superfood chain. With 684% of the recommended daily value of vitamin K, 206% of the RDV of vitamin A and 134% of the RDV of vitamin C, this dark leafy green packs a health punch. Kale has the highest level of antioxidants when consumed raw, yet does retain some health benefits when cooked. Try kale in this simple kale smoothie.
Collard
Like their other cruciferous family members, collard greens are great cancer fighters. They are also pretty good at helping your body digest foods properly with all the fiber inside. They are most popular steamed, but adding them raw to your smoothies will provide greater health benefits. Try some alkaline recipes to experiment with collards.
Cabbage
Cabbage is yet another example of a cruciferous cancer-fighting leafy green. This veggie can actually be purple, red, white or green, but is definitely still considered a leafy green. I love using cabbage as a plant-based taco shell, blended in a cabbage smoothie or roasted cabbage with light seasoning. Loaded with fiber, folate, vitamin B6 and antioxidants which help fight inflammation.
Bok Choy
This unique green vegetable is typically grown and harvested in China. Full of vitamins A and C, bok choy ranks high for nutrient density as well. All parts of the plant can be used: shredded in a salad, my vegetarian ramen, cooked in soup or blended in a smoothie.
Arugula
More than just a garnish, this leafy green has a peppery taste and a full nutrient profile. One cup contains 27.7% of the RDV of vitamin K. It has a stronger flavor than other cruciferous greens on my list, yet is fun in lemon arugula salad or strawberry arugula salad, homemade arugula pesto, or as a pizza topping on my incredibly delicious plant-based pizza recipe.
Amaranth
Spinach
It’s hard to beat spinach when talking about nutrient-packed greens. Just one leaf contains a sampling of more than 20 different nutrients. The list of benefits is nearly as long as the number of nutrients:
- cancer-fighting
- blood pressure lowering
- bone strengthening
- cardiovascular helping
- brain boosting
- skin smoothing
- vision improving
- inflammation reducing
- energy increasing
Beet Greens
I recommend branching out and trying beet greens for your next smoothie! They include a wide variety of nutrients, and can easily be substituted in any recipe with spinach, kale or chard. Our friends at Epicurious will kick-start your love for dark leafy beet greens with some of their favorite recipes.
Chard
Looking to put a pep in your leafy green step? Chard is a colorful, dark leaf known for its ability to regulate the body’s blood sugar. Translation? If diabetes or maintaining blood sugar levels is a concern, add this veggie to your regular rotation. Perfect for the afternoon smoothie pick-me-up!
Asteraceae
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce is good for the heart and low in calories. The vitamin C and beta-carotene content help to lower cholesterol and prevent build-up on artery walls, which reduces the risk of a heart attack.
Not a fan of lettuce salads? Then use romaine as a food wrap like I do in these Thai lettuce wraps or blend it into this gazpacho soup recipe.
Apiaceae
Carrot Tops
Who knew those frilly greens on the tops of carrots could come in handy? #NoFoodWaste. Filled with chlorophyll, which can fight against tumor growth and acts as a cleansing agent, carrot tops are the perfect addition to smoothies like this carrot top smoothie.
If you really want to boost your next smoothie, toss in the carrot and its top.
How Often Should You Rotate Greens?
Most of the smoothie and meal recipes I create use kale or spinach. That’s because these are the most easily found and affordable leafy greens available at the grocery store. Plus, they are in different leafy green families, so it makes rotating my greens easy-peasy.
Alkaloid Build Up
Why is it important to rotate through this leafy green list? All greens have small amounts of toxins. If you only consume greens from one family, your body may start to experience alkaloid build up. This is very rare and easy to avoid. Just try a different leafy green every once in a while.
I recommend rotating your greens once a week. This way, your body doesn’t get too much of a good thing in one leafy green family, and you get the chance to reward your body with new nutrients from a different green family.
Basically, by rotating greens on a regular basis, you avoid building up the toxins from one green. And, this gives you a reason to try that new fun green you’re always eyeing at the farmer’s market.
While our green smoothies are super easy to swap out one green for another, I’ve also got a meal planner full of plant-based recipes. Rawk the Year makes finding new recipes a breeze, and helps you incorporate the whole rainbow into your week. This meal planner also equips you with the kitchen skills to change up your veggies with ease!
Freezing Your Leafy Greens
Ever wonder how to use up all that beautiful produce you just bought, before it starts to wilt? Even though I make green smoothies daily, I still find that my greens never stay fresh as long as I need.
To lengthen the shelf life of those leafy greens and make rotating your greens as easy as opening your freezer, I came up with a way to freeze your greens. This way, you can have your greens and eat them too! Since I typically buy spinach and kale at Costco, I found that freezing them in ice cube trays and then storing them in freezer containers is the perfect solution to maximizing the freshness.
Bonus: Frozen greens can help keep that smoothie cool.
Leafy Greens FAQs
You’ve probably heard of spinach, kale and lettuce, but leafy greens also include carrot tops, beet greens, swiss chard, arugula and more! They can grow all on their own, or be found on the tops of other plants (like broccoli, beets and carrots).
All leafy greens are incredibly nutritious and great to mix into your diet. Kale and spinach are probably the most nutrient-dense, yet you need a variety of greens (and other fruits and vegetables) for the best health. Don’t be afraid to give a new one a try next time you’re at the store. You might be surprised by mustard greens, bok choy and more!
Greens don’t just take place in salads or garnishes for burgers. You can use them in green smoothies, all kinds of pesto, filling for stuffed mushrooms or potatoes. Pretty much anything you want! Next time you are grocery shopping, grab a new-to-you leafy green and get adventurous with how you prepare it.
The Ultimate Green Smoothie App
Our amazing app, Daily Blends Smoothie app., has hundreds of recipes ready for you to work your way through the leafy greens list! You can sort by the ingredients you have on hand or the type of smoothie you want to try. It’s a great app to try a new recipe and catalog your favorites.
What are your favorite leafy greens? Drop a comment below and let me know if this list has inspired you to try a new ingredient, or if you’ve got a new green for me to try!
So I found, at walmart of all places, a wonderful bag mix of greens that are young spinach and baby kale. Absolutely delicious in smoothies. I love to eat kale lightly steamed, but find it a bit coarse in smoothies. My question is this: Is there any nutritional difference between the ‘baby’ greens and the mature greens?
PS: This morning’s picture perfect smoothie was the baby mix, mango, peach, and lime juice. Gorgeous bright green and delicious!
Hi Cindy,
Great question! Baby greens have a milder taste, but contain similar nutritional values to their more mature self. Using baby kale is a great option if you’re finding your smoothie coarse when blendin’ with kale. Try it, and let us know what you think!
Cheers 🙂
Am in love with green smoothies. Not making them too sweet, since that triggers my wanting more sweets. I have been adding Matcha to all my drinks and it is a real boost to energy with no side effects, such as being hyper. Drinking Matcha tea is excellent too.
Hi Carol,
Thank you so much for reaching out, we’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us!
Cheers 🙂
Could you recommend a good brand of Matcha?
Hi Marjorie,
We love reaching for DoMatcha and Republic of Tea. There are many other great green teas out there to choose from, so choose what’s best for you!
What is your take on parsley?
Hi Cheryl,
We love parsley! Parsley specifically targets any build-up in your kidneys, liver, + bladder and helps to flush it out of the body. Not only is parsley great for detoxing, this herb has a distinct flavor that can liven up any green smoothie!
Learn more about blendin’ + detoxing with herbs here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/fresh-herbs
How about watercress? Is it the same as arugula?
Hi Liz,
Watercress’ peppery flavor makes it the perfect substitute for arugula!
Cheers 🙂
I bought organic broccoli leaf from my local Costco and tried that in a few of your smoothie recipes in place of spinach. It was super good! It helped make them a little sweeter, and from what I understand, it’s a great green superfood. 🙂
Hi Robin,
That’s great to hear! We love blendin’ with broccoli + broccoli leaf, and love that it’s high in calcium! Thank you so much for sharing!
Have you tried watercress in your green smoothies? It’s rather bitter, similar I think to arugula. Any specific recipes you might recommend to incorporate watercress into my rotation?
Hi Kirsten,
Watercress has a very distinct flavor. The flavor is a little peppery and spicy. So we would recommend only using a small amount at one time. Switching up a recipe + using one cup of watercress, with another cup of a leafy green you enjoy (spinach is a great compliment) is a perfect way to add watercress to your green smoothies.
Watercress would make a great addition to our Beginner’s Luck recipe…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/best-green-smoothie
Have you tried edible chrysanthemum leaves? It’s deliciously mild. I pick mine up from the local Asian Market.
Hi Sue,
I personally haven’t tried them, but will definitely need to look into them! Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Amanda, Simple Green Smoothies
A newbie here. Need recipes
Hi Tom,
Welcome! Check out Beginner’s Luck, it’s one of our favorite recipes, and perfect if you’re new to green smoothies!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/best-green-smoothie
Looking for a book? All of our material is available on our website or through downloadable PDFs available for purchase. This fall we’re coming out with our first book!! 🙂 We can’t wait to share it with our SGS community, so keep an eye out for it!
Let us know what you think of Beginner’s Luck! And reach out with any questions, we’re always here!!
“The China Study Cookbook” and “Forks over Knives”
hi!
I just wanted to know if broccoli was considered as a leafy green..? Thank youuu!
Hi Margaux,
It is! And it’s a great source of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, + folate.
would I cook it? and if so, how? thanks!
Hi Claire,
We love adding raw broccoli to our smoothies, it offers a great fresh taste (and a healthy dose of calcium)! If you notice your blender having trouble breaking down the broccoli stalks you can always steam + cool the broccoli prior to blending. 🙂
Hi! I just signed up for a summer CSA and was wondering what I could throw into a smoothie. Any advice about turnip greens and radish tops/greens? It would be such a waste to toss them out.
ive used radish greens before! great. taste is hidden like spinach.
Great info!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I’ve been rotating spinach and kale for months. It’s good to know what other greens i can use and the benefits of each one!!!
Hi Gina,
Thanks for your note! Keep us updated on what new leafy greens you add to your smoothies!
Cheers! 🙂
Hi….I used to drink smoothie a week ago….it contains 3 to 4 types of leafy vegetables which are available in summer in india…I never blend any fruit to it..and add 1 lemon juice and pinch of salt…is it good option for green smoothie or not…
Hi Asho,
Blending several varieties of leafy greens + lemon juice sounds so simple + delicious! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for the great explanation of the various greens for smoothies. Have you tried a (thumb size) piece of ginger or turmeric root or a dash of fresh lemon juice in your smoothie? If not please try and see if you like it. Thanks.
Good health and happy greens to you.
Joseph,
We love adding turmeric, ginger, + lemon to our smoothies! We love the boost to our immune system that all three give!
Here’s one of our favorite smoothies that contains all three…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/honey-turmeric-smoothie
How about cactus?
Hi Jessi,
Hmm…I’ve never blended with cactus before! If you try it, please let us know, we’d love to hear how it worked for you!
Cheers 🙂
I currently live in Europe and really enjoy lambs lettuce (called mâche or rapunzel in some other places?) as an alternative to spinach. Hopefully when I return to the US I can find a source because this is a really good green, very mild, and loaded with nutrients.
Hi Don,
You’re in luck! Many Whole Foods Markets carry mache, either on its own or in mixes.
I’ve been going to the store and picking up the salad mix that has spinach, kale and Swiss chard in it. How will that affect alkaloid build up? Should I just buy it separately?
Hi Ilene,
You just want to ensure you’re getting a good mix of leafy greens, and not relying on one specific type!