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

Course: Breakfast, Drinks, Snack

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 2

This tropical treat has the perfect fruit-to-veggie ratio, which makes it a great beginner-friendly green smoothie. The spinach has a mild taste and is packed with over 20 different nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and high-quality amino acids. It’s rawesome stuff! Oh, and this recipe is kid-tested and approved too:)

Print

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

1. Tightly pack 2 cups of leafy greens in a measuring cup and then toss into blender.
2. Add water and blend together until all leafy chunks are gone.
3. Add mango, pineapple and bananas and blend again until smooth.
4. Pour into a mason jar (or cute cup of your choice).
5. 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.