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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
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
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.
- Add a scoop of homemade protein powder to boost it with 16g plant-based protein.
This smoothie is the bomb dot com. What a delicious mix of goodness. It’s creamy, not too sweet, thick and luscious. I’ve made it a few times and it’s on my go-to for weekly meal replacement. Hail to the smoothies on Jen’s blog! I celebrate this one!
Woo hoo!! Love to hear how much you love this one, Grace!
Oh wow what a wake-me-up this was! Absolutely delicious I skipped the oats and protein powder, but added chia seeds, milk thistle oil, dandelion tincture and magnesium ascorbate for health reasons. I don’t usually like cold drinks, preferring close to room temperature, but the frozen Blueberries really made this. I’m so looking forward to trying more recipes now in a bid to get back my clear skin and cure my NAFLD. Thanks for sharing your beautiful concoctions with the world
Great swaps, Safia! So glad you decided to give it a try, I hope you’ll give some others a try too!
How many millilitres does this make? I want to make this for my packed lunch and I plan to buy some mason jars to take it in but want to make sure the serving will fit
Hi Anna! This makes about a 16 oz. serving size.
This was the best one yet. At first, because I came home from grocery shopping, and going to the doc, then blood work at the hospital, and dropping off meds at a store other side of town, I was just ready to eat the blueberries because I am extremely exhausted. Mind you I did this all in 7-12 degree weather. I couldn’t do it. I had to make the smoothie even though it meant washing the blender afterward. Oh man, I am I so glad I did it. That smoothies was so good and smooth and just melted the stress away. I feel so much better and ready for the rest of the day. It’s not always this crazy, only these last two day. I have to tell you that smoothie was just what the doctor ordered. I am keeping this recipe too. #challenge day 2
Yeahh!! Way to rawk, even when you weren’t really feeling it!
Hi,
I made this smoothie today and it was great! I was wondering though how you measure in cups? Ive had to guess everything and it turned out ok but I would like to be more accurate. I’m in the UK and we use grams for pretty much everything using a scale!
Thanks!
Hi Kia! Here in the US, cups are a standard measurement for recipes. A cup is 8 oz which (according to google, so don’t quote me!) is about 250 grams.
A cup is a measurement of volume rather than weight, so it’s hard to do straight-across conversions. You might have some luck googling each ingredient (e.g. how much does a cup of blueberries weigh) to find an approximate measurement in grams, or if you have any liquid measuring cups you can use those to measure out about 240ml of an ingredient to get 1 cup.
I quite enjoyed this smoothie. I had it to replace my lunch.
So glad you liked this one, Ange! I use it to replace my lunch often too!
I got hulled hemp seeds to as well as the other ingredients to make the protein powder , is this ok , or do I need hemp powder or something ?
Hi Sheila! You can use the hulled hemp seeds, yet you’ll need to do the extra step of making sure they’re ground well.
Healthy and so delicious. This is now my go-to smoothie!
Hi Karen! This one is perfect for a meal replacement, filling and tasty! So glad you loved it too!
In order for it to be a replacement meal do I have to add protein powder?
Hi Bella! I’d highly recommend it! Just so you know you’re getting enough protein etc. when you are replacing a meal with a smoothie!