Guest post by Jen Hansard, co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies
We have a super simple and healthy recipe we’ve been itchin’ to share with you!!! As a crazy-busy passionate mom, I’ve been known to fuel my body with processed junk. Like those days when I found ourselves at Starbucks twice in one day…or driving through Taco Bell for dinner…again.
I was starved for time, low on energy and just….overwhelmed.
Can you relate?
Well, I discovered something that quickly changed our lives— green smoothies. This blended drink of fresh fruits and dark leafy greens gave us energy, a fast healthy meal and transformed our bodies from the inside out. No joke. And our free Simple 7 is how we made this healthy habit really stick for the past 2 1/2 years… and going strong. Now we have over 500,000 people from all around the world hooked on the green smoothie lifestyle too. I hope you’ll join us!
5 Green smoothie tips to get you started:
Before we share our most popular green smoothie recipe, we need to welcome you into the world of green smoothies with a few important tips…
1.) Follow the 60/40 formula.
When you’re making your first few green smoothies, don’t just throw things in the blender. Chances are, it’ll taste nasty if you wing it right out of the gate. To save you a few smoothie-fails, bust out those cute lil’ measuring cups and follow this simple formula: 60% fruits to 40% leafy greens.
2.) Blend in stages to avoid leafy chunks.
Chewing your green smoothie is no fun! To get a “smooth” green smoothie experience, blend up your leafy greens and liquid-base first. Then add your remaining fruits and blend again.
3.) Ditch the ice and freeze some fruits.
Want your green smoothie to be extra chilly? Freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas (peel first), grapes, pineapple or berries. This is also a great way to not waste ripe fruits (like those brown bananas on your counter). You can also freeze your leafy greens in a freezer-safe bag. Just make sure to add your frozen greens straight to the blender (don’t defrost these fragile lil’ guys).
4.) Use raw natural sweeteners.
Add naturally sweet fruits to any smoothie that tastes bitter or a bit too “green.” By sticking with naturally sweet fruits like bananas, mango, apples, pears or pitted dates, we avoid artificial sweeteners and processed sugars.
5.) Make smoothies ahead for the perfect fast food.
We know life can get crazy busy— especially in the morning. That’s why we think green smoothies are the healthiest fast food for people who are constantly on the go. You can blend your green smoothie the night before and store it in your fridge (up to 2 days). Use an airtight lid to limit oxidation and keep it as fresh as possible. When ready to drink, give it a good shake before you open.
If you follow these five green smoothie tips, we pinky promise your green smoothies will be love at first sip! Now, here’s a favorite recipe we make for friends and family who’ve never tried a green smoothie before…
Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup mango
- 1 cup pineapple
- 2 bananas Use at least one frozen fruit to chill your smoothie. We often use frozen mangos and bananas our green smoothies.
Instructions
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Tightly pack 2 cups of leafy greens in a measuring cup and then toss into blender.
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Add water and blend together until all leafy chunks are gone.
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Add mango, pineapple and bananas and blend again until smooth.
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Pour into a mason jar (or cute cup of your choice).
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Gulp or sip like a rawkstar!
Recipe Notes
PSSST! Got an allergy to mango or pineapple, or not a big fan of bananas? You can substitute any fruit with another fruit with a one-to-one ratio.
Are you a green smoothie fan, yet?
If you made this recipe or have a favorite of your own, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below (we’ll read every one). And if you want more recipes and green smoothie tips…
Your key to success:
Are you yearning for more energy? How about clearer skin, and potentially even losing a few pounds? Then you need to check out the Simple 7. You’ll get 7 easy-to-follow recipes, each including 7 ingredients. You’ll get a simple 7 guidebook which will help educate you and help you create your own custom blends. You’ll also get access to community support. Oh, did we mention that IT’S FREE?!! So what are you waiting for?!! Remember – “Drinking green smoothies is a lifestyle – not a diet.” You owe this one to yourself!
Peace, love and leafy greens,
Jen & the SGS team
Jen Hansard is a world-changing mom and the c0-founder of Simple Green Smoothies. She and her team are on a mission to help busy families rethink their lifestyle choices by establishing healthy habits that are easy to stick with.
Jump on the green smoothie bandwagon and transform your health with Simple 7. With over 500,000 green smoothie rawkstars in their community, you’ll see that it’s easy to make healthy eating a lifestyle– not a diet. No more complicated nutrition facts, research studies, diet fads or counting calories. It’s all about eating better (not less) to live a happier, healthier life.
Thanks, great way to manage my high blood pressure.
Hi :)
Funny thing. I decided an hour ago I would quit my high blood pressure meds because I cant bare the side effects anymore.
Has this smoothie truly helped?! Do you drink it daily?
Cheers,
I hope you kicked that ridiculous condition in the teeth!
Marie
I need some help. I have 2 problems. I ‘m on warfarin and I have a kidney problem. So, I can’t have veggies or fruits that are high in vitamin K and I can’t have veggies or fruits that have hi salt, potassium and phosphorus or least very small quantities of all of these. Also I have to stay below 3 ozs of protein at any one sitting. Do you have a recipe for a smoothie that’s good for my my system?
My husband is also on warfarin and green leafy veggies which are high in vitamin k are not forbidden to him. They key is to be consistent and eat the same amount every day while collaborating with your health care professional. If you can’t have potassium then leave out bananas. Use water instead of milk to avoid protein. Avoid nut butters and Chia, flax, and hemp seed to avoid protein.
Thanks for the help on this one, Lucy.
Absolutely right. I also am on warfarin. My doc says its easier for him to make a adjustments to my warfarin dose than to deal with kidney failure due to diabetes being of control
Hi Ken,
Good observations. I’m a renal dietitian. Given what you’ve posted, I’m presuming you are pre-dialysis…probably Stage 3 or 4 kidney disease. I would suggest that you meet with a Registered Dietitian (RD) specializing in nephrology (like me) who can blend all of your diagnosis, medications and labs to safely recommend how you should proceed.
Kidney disease is very complex and many dietitians won’t even take on a renal patient because of it. Consulting a renal specialist is very important to your health, well being, and safety.
Best wishes,
Susanne, RD
Yum! I tried out the beginner’s luck smoothie and it was fantastic!
I got tired of spending $5-$9 bucks on this type of smoothie. So, I searched the web and found your beginners luck smoothie. I purchased the products and to my great surprise I got it !!! I went an extra step and added 1 measuring cup of why protein!! The recipe made more than I was expecting 4 – 8 oz servings but that was not a problem for me! I shared a serving and stored the other two in the fridge for later! Thanks for the recipe recipe! This has saved my wallet and added much benefit to my health!
Have just started on smoothies. Have been having a hard time with solid good so this has been a life saver. Still experimenting with different smoothies. I’m diabectic so I’ll be watching my sugar. Thanks for the rec green smoothie. ms diz
I’ve been making this smoothie recipe for a few years … with a few tweaks of course . I add a spoonful of coconut oil and/or plain whole milk Greek yogurt to increase the fat and protein content. I throw in some chia seeds for fiber and top it w some whole blueberries for a crunch. YUM!!! I miss it so much when we eat out!
Wow! Such a helpful printable guide I can just attach to my fridge for quick reference. I usually just google recipes to use but this is going to be so much easier, especially for shopping too! Thanks!
Thank You so much for the well laid out steps that made making this smoothie sooo easy! This has been the best I’ve Ever made! ☺
When making this smoothie do I cut the stems off the spinach before blending them. Is this a sweet tasting smoothie. Just making sure it does not have a bitter taste.
Yes, cut the stems off. It is sweet.