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I believe that any time is a great time for a smoothie, especially when you’re trying to turn it into a meal replacement smoothie. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, post workout fuel, late night munchies, etc— you name it!
Our bodies have some vicious cravings (and also need) vitamins and minerals all day long. Leafy greens and fresh fruit in a blended smoothie always makes for a great option.
I use the meal replacement smoothie recipe below to power my day with whole foods and plant protein, and now you can, too!
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Yet at certain times of day, our body needs different things to thrive. Let’s take actual meals, like breakfast, lunch and dinner. These meals are super important— and can be easily swapped for a green smoothie. You just have to know the right way to do it, which we talk about below.
Health Benefits of a Meal Replacement Smoothies
A smoothie can be a meal replacement if using the correct ingredients. I drink meal replacement smoothies for breakfast or lunch most days. Sometimes it’s because I’m in a hurry and just want to down something asap. Other times it’s because I’m trying to slim down (usually after vacation). Swapping a meal with a smoothie can benefit you in these ways:
- You’ll be more energized thanks to all the fresh, raw ingredients
- They’re super quick to make and drink
- You’re hydrating your body
- Less bloating than usual when eating a meal
- It’ll help with weight loss
How to Turn a Smoothie into a Meal
The key to replacing meals with smoothies is including healthy fats AND proteins. Healthy fats and proteins are the way to go if you want to power up with a green smoothie meal replacement. This combo will keep you feeling full and give you the energy you need to cruise right through ’til your next snack or meal. Below are our favorite options for smoothie meal replacement boosters:
Pick a Plant-Based Protein
Plant-based proteins keep your body full and give you tons of energy. They also help repair your muscles, which is perfect for that post-workout buzz. Oh, kale to the yeah!
- Hemp hearts
- Chia seeds
- Homemade protein powder
- Rolled oats
- Tofu
Pick a Healthy Fat
Healthy fats protect your heart, keep your energy levels up, boost metabolism, and lower bad cholesterol levels. So please don’t skip the fats. They’re actually really, really good for you! And the ingredients below make your green smoothies extra creamy.
- Avocado
- Coconut oil or MCT oil
- Almond butter or other homemade nut butter
- Chia seeds (yep, here they are again! These babies are loaded with healthy fats and protein, making them a great everyday booster)
Examples of Meal Replacement Add-Ins
Smoothies can be the perfect fast food by adding healthy fats and plant-based protein. Use one of these meal replacement booster combos in your next green smoothie. The boosts are measured to work with all 250+ of our smoothie recipes.
- 2 tbs chia seeds + 2oz silken tofu
- 2 tbs hemp hearts + ¼ avocado
- 2 tbs plant-based protein powder + 1 tbs coconut oil
- 1 tbs almond butter + 2 tbs rolled oats
- 2 tbs chia seeds + 1 tbs coconut oil
Meal Replacement Smoothie FAQs
Any time is the right time for a smoothie! Personally, we love drinking ours in the morning for a great start to the day. But besides drinking a smoothie as breakfast, lots of rawkstars drink their smoothie for lunch or dinner, as an afternoon snack, or as a healthy dessert.
In case you’re planning on having your smoothie in the evening–most of our smoothies provide a great energy boost similar to a cup of coffee. So if you’re looking for a pre-bedtime green smoothie recipe, we’ve got you covered: Sleep Well Smoothie.
The MOST important thing when blending any meal replacement smoothie recipe is to include healthy fats AND proteins. This combo will keep you feeling full and give you the energy you need to cruise right through ’til your next meal or snack.
If you swap out a meal (or two) each day with a smoothie, there’s a good chance you’ll lose weight and also have more energy. This is due to the increased nutrition and decrease in overall calories. What’s even better than a smoothie is a green smoothie. When you add in leafy greens you’re adding fiber and phytonutrients… yet very few calories. My smoothies recipes are made with nutrient dense foods that curb cravings and keep you full longer.
I have a Plant-Based Cleanse that includes two smoothies a day, plus snacks and meals to help you lose weight, yet more importantly understand how to nourish your body so the weight falls off without ever feeling hungry.
15 More Meal Replacement Smoothie Recipes
Smoothies for Breakfast
- Vegan Smoothie Bowl
- Cinnamon Date Smoothie
- Chocolate Weight Loss Smoothie
- Vanilla Protein Shake
- Creamy Banana Smoothie
Smoothies for Lunch
Smoothies for Dinner
- Berry Protein Smoothie
- Blackberry Smoothie
- PCOS Pumpkin Smoothie
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Avocado Banana Smoothie
Don’t forget to rate + review this recipe once you’ve made it. I want to know how yours turned out as well as if it filled you up!
Meal Replacement Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale or spinach
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 1 cup blueberries frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp almond butter or raw almonds
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Blend kale and almond milk until smooth in a high speed blender.
- Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Use a frozen fruit to make smoothie cold
- Swap out almond milk for any non-dairy milk you prefer
- Homemade protein powder is what I use for my meal replacement smoothies
Blueberries and bananas are one of my favorite combinations. I customized this by using oat milk and hemp seeds to sub for almonds and almond milk. I added a bit more power greens and a little less blueberries. As always, I added some spices:turmeric,ginger,cardamom, and cinnamon. Just a dash really perks things up, but it’s still tasty without. Love adding oats to smoothies. It thickens them and makes them seem more filling.
This was delicious. However, I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 because I have a slight allergy to almonds. I’m ok with almond milk so I thought the raw almonds would have been ok since it was such a small amount and it was being pulverized in the blender, but it made my throat itch just a little. I wonder what nut I could replace it with next time.
Karyn, What about trying some walnuts? Seeds are also good. I’d recommend hemp or pumpkin seeds. Good luck.
Love it.
Swapped almonds for black walnuts & brazilian nuts. Didn’t have plan spinach, used mixed baby greens
I can’t have oats, so I used 2tbsp of flax/chia/hemp blend. This one is really yummy! Had to remind myself to slow down & not chug it all at once
Salud!
I didn’t realize chia seeds were also a replacement for protein. Got a little thick with these, added more water.
Tasty and kept me full. Pretty color too. =)
This was good. Blueberries are not one of my top favorite fruits and the 1/2 banana I used was huge, very ripe and frozen. At first the banana flavor was overwhelming but I let smoothie sit a couple of minutes and then it was fine.
Delicious. I could eat this everyday.
Good but hard for me call it a meal replacement
I gotta say, this was not my favorite. I made it exactly as the recipe said to. My 1/2 banana was frozen though; I think next time I’ll use a fresh banana. Not sweet enough for me, but maybe that’s saying I’ve been eating too many cookies for a late night snack lol! It was definitely thick, probably could’ve used more almond milk (or a fresh banana).
It’s lunchtime and I’m not hungry yet, so definitely works as a meal replacement!
Yummy!! I substituted hemp hearts for the rolled oats due to some dietary restrictions and it turned out great. Blue berries are one my favorite fruits so this is a winner.
I really enjoyed this drink. It had nice soft subtle flavors that melded perfectly together. I wouldn’t change a thing.
This was filling yet I didn’t like it as well as the other two. If I was to make it again I would only put 1/2 the amount of almond butter.
Definitely filled me up, super easy to make!
Enjoyed this smoothie – I used frozen blue berries and they certainly had a punch! Love when they come out creamy like ice cream or milk shake. Will certainly put this one in my rotation going forward.