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 we 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.
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.
Also don't miss our Simple Green Smoothie book!
Nutrition Facts
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).
Are you a green smoothie fan, yet?
If you want more recipes and green smoothie tips, you should join Simple 7! For seven straight days, you’ll be blending a daily green smoothie + embracing a healthy habit that’ll transform your life. #kaleyeah
Whether you’re passionate about raising an awesome family, traveling the world, reading new books, creating the latest fashion trend, starting a new job or something totally different… we want to make sure you’re able to go after that as best as possible. You need LOTS of energy and nutrients to fuel you passions.
Join our FREE 7-day green smoothie challenge and get instant access to green smoothie recipes (that really taste good), a shopping list and a guidebook to help you along each day. You got this!
A note from Lisa: If you’re really into smoothies and would like a copy of the best smoothie recipes on 100 Days of Real Food, you can grab it from our Free Membership Area
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The 60/40 may lead to tasty smoothies, but they are way too high in sugar, especially for diabetics. You can reverse the percentages ank make a healthier, still sweet, smoothie.
I would recommend looking further into what causes diabetes and diets that can help the disease. Dr. Greger explains what causes insulin resistance below.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-causes-insulin-resistance/
Yes so true! When keeping the sugar content down, I also flip the ratio in my How to Make Low Sugar Green Smoothies formula: https://www.blenderbabes.com/articles/food/how-and-why-to-make-low-sugar-healthy-smoothie-recipes/
Amazing!!! It’s very healthy tips. Thanks for sharing with us.
Seems odd your smoothie recipe doesn’t include honey as an ingredient, given all the health benefits honey carries…
Honey is usually only added as a sweetener if the smoothie doesn’t taste as sweet as you’d like it
Ooh waoh!
I thougbt these drinks could not be stored ..ibwas told they have to be consumed immediatley or they lose nutritional value..please advise
I would pose this question here: https://www.simplegreensmoothies.com/simple7/ref/Kiran. I do make smoothies the night before for lunches sometimes but do not add greens. Greens get bitter if they sit too long, in my experience. I am also sure they (smoothies) do lose nutrient value as time passes.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts
and I will be waiting for your further rite ups thanks onc
again.
I like to make smoothies for an after meal digest
Just tried a shake very good
I just tried making this smoothie and it was quite delicious :) , thank you so much for the recipe, the boost it part was my favorite, I added some coconut oil and I thought “WOW! This really does boost it.” Thank you again for the recipe I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the smoothies. :)
Good explanation – especially the bit about blending the greens first, and THEN adding the frozen fruit. I tend to use more greens (kale / parsley / chard / spinach…), And I add flax seed (which I blend with the greens) for extra fiber and omega 3s.
This has been my breakfast-of-choice for about 10 years. Check out my recipe here:
http://www.naturallyradiant.ca/green-smoothies-the-breakfast-of-champions/
I’m glad you mentioned using flaxseed, I was wondering if I could mix flaxseed in. I use to put it in a shake so here goes nothing lol. Thanks!
Yum definitely gonna try it. But can i skip pineapple ?
I know there is an article on making a meal replacement smoothie. I love Beginners Luck smoothie for breakfast/ dinner but it isn’t as filling for lunch. Has anyone figured out the perfect meal replacement add ins?
I love green smoothies and often add a vegan protein powder to help keep me full midday.
This is one of my favorite meal replacement smoothies: https://www.simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes/green-smoothies/meal-replacement-green-smoothie
I added the vegan protein as well
I made it! It was good. :) Thank you for the recipe and suggestions.
I just made this. Still standing here starring at it. Don’t worry my mom says it will be great. My question is how much flax, Chia, hemp seed combo should I put in my smoothie?
Looking forward to trying this, can u toss n a few strawberries? I would like to know the mgs of protein? My husband has to be on a “low protein diet” because he has Sacrodosis and he has high levels or protein in his Kidneys so we are eating healthy, NO RED MEATS OR PROCESSED FOODS. We do alot of smoothies. Thus far he has lost 15 lbs and I have lost 4 lbs in less than a month, I’m proud that we are sticking to a Nutritionist diet. Thank you for your recipe. If you have any other suggestions on what else we can do, it would be so appreciated.
I am looking for a “low protein powder” (to fill him as he drinks smoothies for lunch) do u have any suggestions? Or maybe just leave out the powder idea and stick to green smoothies .
You can def add in some strawberries. Mint, basil, ginger or cilantro is also really good in this. It’s fun to doctor it up. :) These cauliflower vegan buffalo wings are really good: https://www.simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes/green-meals/cauliflower-buffalo-wings
I’m allergic to mangoes. What can be used to substitute?
Hi Alma, you can swap with peaches, avocado pretty easily. We have more green smoothie ingredient swap ideas here: https://www.simplegreensmoothies.com/tips/substitution-guide
I make a green smoothie with spinach banana blueberry strawberry and almond milk and a little bit of Greek yogurt and it’s so yummy
This is a good web site. with good recipes
I just made this and got about 4xcups worth so put some in the fridge. Tasted really good.
delitchious
I done really like the taste of green smoothies although I have tried it many times with different combinations. But this Beginner’s Luck smoothie which you mentioned turned out quite nice! I wasn’t expecting it to taste this good, to be honest!
Loved the 60/40 ratio rule! First green smoothie I made at home that I actually like!
Yes….my first smoothie! Used the 60/40 ratio and it was spot on. I’m going to try adding to protein now.
Yes .
I made it today and it turned out very well. Infact I added cardamom powder on the top and it tasted amazing. :D
Loved your smoothies.
I loved the lucky green smoothie, it is so tasty and I believe it did give me energy like never before. I don’t eat greens much but wanted to get more natural vitamins and nutrients, I want to stay more healthy as im getting older, i would like to have more of thess tasty smoothies, this one was so AMAZING!
Can you substitute milk for water? I don’t eat enough greens or get enough calcium. This substitution seems like a good way to get all of the healthy stuff I don’t make time for in all at once, but I don’t want to mess up the flavor. Thanks.
Hi. Sure, you can.
I love Smoothies :)
Im doing smoothies for a long time. But most of the time it taste nasty all the time. That’s why I’m lazy to do it religiously. Now I know why? 60% fruits and 40% green.
I got a new smoothie blend and go machine for Christmas as I wanted to try go on a “smoothie for breakfast” diet. Im collecting all the interesting recipes to keep it simple,tasty and interesting. So thank you for the 60 to 40 ratio because that will definetely help me go about it best.
Hey y’all just a comment below on freezing bananas. The skins are packed full of goodness don’t peel them cut em up and freeze as is doesn’t effect taste.
There is virtually no difference in taste if you use 60% supergreens and 40% fruits! So try using more greens, it is still delicious.
Note: Ripe bananas really sweeten it up.
I’m glad I stumbled across this! I have Gastroparisis and need to blend much of my food. This is a great addition to my diet and nourishment. I used my Glucerna as liquid, for protein. Believe it or not, it was actually pretty good. Thanks a million!
This tastes really good! Thanks for the recipe!
I am going to try this and would like to add chia seeds, what’s the recommended measurement for this recipe??
You could use 1-2 tbsp. – Nicole
Is there any good reason you can’t just add organic baby food to your smoothies instead of blending up your greens ?
Hi Danielle,
While I haven’t done much research on this, I have found many sites that have used baby food. Not sure if the consistency will change or not, but if you give it a try, let us know! If it works, it might be a good idea for any leftover baby food! :) – Nicole