Since sharing these smoothie bowl recipes, I’ve gotten lots of questions about green smoothies. In fact, my sister called not too long ago and told me one of my nieces (I have 7 of them) has a teacher that drinks a green smoothie in class every morning and she wanted to know how to make one for herself. Before I go on, can I just say hooray for green-smoothie drinking teachers everywhere! Kids are always watching and while they may rebel against their parents some (all) of the time, I’m so SO grateful for teachers and ALL positive role models out there modeling kindness, good behavior and good habits!
Ok back to green smoothie-ville: Please PLEASE don’t be afraid of them! Don’t be afraid to make them and experiment with ingredients. I’m going to give you some general rules of thumb that I hope will make green smoothie creation less intimidating. Here we go!
Smoothie Components
Liquid Base: The liquid can be pretty much anything you want: Any kind of milk (almond, cashew, etc.) green tea, purified water, and coconut water are all popular.
Greens: Choose your fave green leafy or mix up a bunch. You can buy bagged assortments (I just bought baby spinach, baby kale and baby chard).
Booster: This is totally optional but to be honest, I don’t make a smoothie without one. The booster I use most is protein powder. A smoothie that packs a protein punch helps me reach my protein goal for the day and jump starts the recovery process after a tough run or workout.
Fruits/Veggies: All fruits and veggies are fair game but I will warn you: If you want your smoothie to LOOK GREEN, don’t use things like berries or beets because what do you get when you mix red and green? Yes, brown. So for a green smoothie that looks attractively green, choose things like banana, pineapple, mango, citrus, avocado. Get my drift? Good. Also be warned that veggies like beets, carrots and broccoli can be tough on your blender and your digestion. Often these items are better off juiced. Just splash a little of their juice in your smoothie.
Add-Ins: This is the fun part and sky’s the limit. I love chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, nut butter, dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, coconut, Truly if you can dream it, you can add it.
In this smoothie, mango and pineapple are blended in and the kids had fun decorating the top with back & white chia seeds, coconut and pineapple bits.
Smoothie Tips
Mix your liquid, greens and booster (if using) in a blender first, before adding the fruit/veggies. This assures you the greens will blend really well so you won’t come across any chunks.
Instead of adding ice cubes to make a smoothie cold/thick/frothy, simply cut your fruit/veggies into chunks and freeze (or buy them already frozen).
Smoothie Guidelines
Truly you do NOT need a recipe to make a smoothie. Just keep in mind these very easy and basic proportions and you’re good to go.
- 1 Cup Liquid Base
- 2 Cups Greens
- 1 Cup Frozen Fruit
- 1 Scoop Booster
- Add-Ins: Add as desired, typically 1T each
My daughters, a couple of my nieces and I spent an afternoon in the smoothie test kitchen. There was a whole lotta blending going on . This mango-pineapple concoction emerged the winner. The girls were especially fond of its emerald green hue and flavors that summoned the tropics. I can’t argue with that! Pineapple contains anti-inflammatory enzymes that are great for recovery. I may have added a little turmeric to mine as well. Here’s how we made it:
| Mango-Pineapple Green Smoothie | | Print |
- 1C Milk of your choice (I used cashew)
- 2C Fresh Greens
- 1 Scoop Protein Powder
- ½C Frozen Pineapple Chunks
- ½C Frozen Mango Chunks
- Chia seeds, Shredded Coconut, Pineapple bits for garnish
- Whiz up milk, greens and Vitality Blend in a blender until smooth.
- Add frozen fruit. Blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture in a glass or bowl.
- Garnish as desired.
- Enjoy!
Are you a green smoothie lover? Do you follow a recipe or just wing it? Fave ingredient?
You know I”m all about the smoothies! I love that you had a smoothie lab.
What kind of blender do you use?
Great info! Smoothies are so easy and I love that you don’t need a recipe. Many times my smoothies end up purple or brownish but Im ok with that…I know the good stuff is in there and they still taste good!
Your smoothie bowl looks so appetizing. Mine would never come out that way. I guess that it explains why mine always come out brown. I never thought of that. I will have to try to make it with those ingredients you suggested.
Okay…I’m saving this and pinning it. I am NOT into smoothies (and the green color kind of makes me want to hurl LOL), but I’m feeling the peer pressure and am about to cave…..maybe you will make me a believer 😉
I can remember the day when “attractively green” would not have been used to describe a smoothie, but it’s great that we’ve discovered how yummy these nutrition powerhouses can be. I don’t have them often, but my favorite after-spinning smoothie is bright green and made with spinach, mango and avocado. Yum!
I have gotten into such a rut with my smoothies. Avocado?? Never considered adding it in. I need to show this to the 11-year-old as well. She’s just venturing into making her own smoothies and methinks she’s convinced sweet yogurt sweet fruit blend drink is the way to go 🙂
I usually make a green smoothie eevery morning, but never a smoothie bowl. These look so yummy and pretty!! 🙂
My favorite green to add to smoothies is always spinach, but sometimes I’ll switch it up with swiss chard or baby kale.
I go back & forth with the smoothies. In general I prefer to chew my food, but I also realize the health benefit of a smoothie now & again. I have a Vitamix, and even though it’s old, it’s pretty tough.
I love cherry/chocolate and banana with most anything (and yes, always go with frozen fruit!).
I tend to follow recipes. I’m not a great recipe maker, and I love following a recipe for some reason.
Love the bright color of this bowl! Yes you are right just about anything can go into the smoothies yum
Love this! I’m a fan of green smoothies! So easy to make! And yes hooray for teachers that drink green smoothies, so right that they are role models!!
That is a beautiful green smoothie- I think I need to add more fresh greens to mine to get that color- I will try it! I never follow a recipe I just wing it but I always have a banana in it 🙂 Your food stylists did a great job!
OOH! This looks delicious! I love the way you arranged the pineapple on the top! So cute. Also, my smoothies are always chunky. 🙁 It makes me disappointed because I would LOVE to love smoothies, but I’m turned off by the texture. Maybe I need a better blender?
I just started making them after finally buying a blender back in January and was a bit afraid of them at first too. The thought of liquified spinach wasn’t too appealing. But I’m a fan now. My shake is a lot like your basic recipe above – almond milk, spinach, banana, protein powder, and flax seed. Sometimes I’ll add in yogurt too but it’s not really necessary. For people with “texture” issues the flax seed might be a bit much but I like having the added fiber.
Do you know PoPo gave me a nice juicer for Christmas a couple of years ago and I’ve never used it? I suspect it would work wonders for smoothies. And yes, I have a perfectly respectable blender too. I’m going to have to jump on the smoothie bandwagon. Yours is so darn pretty! Thanks for laying out the basics for me and for linking too!
This smoothie looks amazing… yuuuum!!!
You’re convincing me to try a smoothie with this recipe. I’m not a smoothie drinker but if I can get my kids to try it and like it, then I can make it for them often. Thanks for sharing!
The flavors of green fruits and veggies can be very fresh and crisp, which makes for a nice-flavored smoothie. They’re actually somewhat tastier than other types of smoothies, in my opinion.
I love all the specific tips- especially on not mixing the wrong colors! If my kids see a brown smoothie, they rebel completely, but they love pink, and maybe…I can get them to like the green!
Confession: I don’t even have a blender and I’ve never made a green smoothie. I think I might now get kicked out of the healthy blogger club…
I drink a green smoothie every morning and its a part of my daily routine. I would say 90% of people are absolutely turned off by the green color. Whenever I’ve added berries and the color is purple, it’s much easier to get people to try it. By the way thanks for sharing this wonderful article with all of us 🙂
Girl, you need your very own cooking show…Marcia’s Healthy Slice …you’ve already got the perfect name!! I love green juices and smoothies but never made my own. Today will be the day! Thanks for the information and inspiration.
I used to make smoothies all the time but have gotten out of the habit. Never made a green one even though I love spinach so much. Thank you for sharing!
I had no idea that there is a preferred “order” in which to put your ingredients into the blender. I usually just throw everything in without paying attention to the order in which I do so. I’ll definitely be paying more attention to that now.
Smoothies are my favourite way to be able to incorporate so many healthy foods into my diet. They are also great when you are craving something sweet, you can still have a healthy treat. This smoothie sounds delicious and decadent, it’s one I would try for sure
I’ve strayed away from the green smoothies just because of the color and I know that is so wrong!
I’d try this Mango Pineapple one, I bet I’d love it!
Thanks for sharing Marcia!