Clean GREEN SMOOTHIES. How to, what to, and why to.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014


So I made my first green smoothie a few weeks ago and failed miserably. It tasted...green. Really really green. I put out a cry for help via Instagram and got SO many tips, lots of helpful and some not so helpful (love you guys anyway):



SO here is what I learned:

You can break it down like this:


Pick what you want to use, blend the liquid and greens together first. Then add in the fruit and powerfood toppings and blend well. Pour into a tupperware, chug as you sprint to catch the bus.

My favorite combos:

Apple Lemonade

  • 1 cup kale
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 2 apples
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 2 teaspoons ground flaxseed

Tropical Vacay Smoothie
  • 1 cup kale
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup pineapple
  • 1/2 cup mango (I picked up the "tropical fruit blend" at Trader Joe's for $3, it has the pineapple, mango and guava)
  • 1/2 cup guava
  • 2 teaspoons ground flaxseed
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Classic Strawberry Banana
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup almond milk 
  • 1 cup fozen strawberries
  • 1 banana
  • 2 heaping spoonfuls of Greek Yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons ground flaxseed

Some tips:
  • If using kale, you HAVE to include an acidic fruit to cut the bitterness. Lemon works great and so does pineapple. Or both. People on Insta also suggested ginger.
  • My friend Lizzie swears by these. She throws in peeled beets, brussel sprouts (no joke), broccoli, and anything else nutritious in her fridge. She swears the lemon covers the taste of everything.
  • These are great for "clearing out the system" if you know what I mean. It's amazing. I had a legit food hangover after a cheat night, drank one of these puppies and cleared the cheats right out. Felt 100 x better. Sorry for the overshare.
  • I found whole flaxseed for way cheaper than the ground. I just put 1/2 cup of seed in my blender at a time, put it on "grind", and stored it in the freezer. PS: don't forget the lid on the blender. This is an easy thing to forget before coffee.
  • You can use whole chia seeds, but whole flaxseeds pass right through your system. You can buy flaxseed ground, or grind it yourself in a coffee bean grinder or a blender.
  • My friend Jeffrey turned me onto simplegreensmoothies.com- it has tons of recipes and challenges.
  • Cleaning a blender can be a b*tch. Especially before coffee (hey bloody hands!). Fill the blender about halfway with water and a squirt of dish soap, put the lid on, and put it on blend for about 20 seconds. Now you have clean blades and cut-less hands!
  • Frozen fruit can be a lot cheaper than fresh fruit during off season. Plus it makes the smoothie more frozen-y. Go for it, just NO canned fruits! Fruits and veggies lose lots of nutrients in the canning process!


Now for WHY green smoothies. I think the nutrition facts speak for themselves.

Apple Lemonade:

Tropical Vacay:
Classic Strawberry Banana:
What is your favorite green smoothie recipe? I want to try new ones!

PS: Need a blender? I ordered mine on Amazon 2 years ago and it's still goin strong after 2 years of frozen drinks and smoothies. 



Hope this helps everyone, so unlike me when you try you're first green smoothie you're not like:


 Or

But more like:



Linking up today at Tough it Out Tuesday, Turn It Up Tuesdays, Delicious Dish Tuesday, Mamade

19 comments :

  1. Thank you for sharing this! I made green smoothies all the time last summer and just started making them again last week! I usually stick to spinach, vanilla almond milk, strawberries, and banana but I might need to switch up my recipe a little bit!

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  2. :) I definitely made an unhappy face after my first green smoothie! I wish I had this post back then! I've since learned the Goods and Bads of the Smoothie WORLD!

    Hahaha.

    :)

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  3. Your gifs crack me up lol!! I think I would have to close my eyes to not see how green the drink is to be able to drink it. I'm weird like that lol!

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  4. I have the same problem and half the time I'm struggling to finish my healthy smoothie that tastes horrible. I use kale a lot and love your tip for acidic fruits!

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  5. love this! and the gifs, lol. im all about a banana + frozen berries + almond milk + kale (or spinach) + chia seeds + flaxseed. so much stuff, haha. hubby loves OJ and lemon juice in his, ew. haha. I'm weird, i guess

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  6. I love the "add booze" comment--totally made me crack up!!! I don't do smoothies that often--I like to eat my food. But I do like to go to Robek's! They have awesome smoothies!! Do you have one in DC? These are great recipes though, thanks for sharing:)

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  7. Oh my gosh, my first green smoothie was a disaster. These are brilliant tips!! Also, Dumb and Dumber for the win!

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  8. I have gotten so used to green smoothies that I had a smoothie without spinach in it and wasn't sure what to think! Haha :) Love all the recipes!

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  9. LOL I remember when I first started making shakes, if I used kale it was the most DOMINANT taste. Apples helped mask it most for me. And peanut butter. Love your tips baby love!

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  10. Yes! I've been wanting to try a green smoothie but didn't know what to use or how to go about doing it to make it "green" and taste good.

    ♥ Duckie.
    www.frikkenduckie.com

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  11. Great post and great tips. I go easy on the kale but do add beets and romaine lettuce to mine. Just started following you on G+, twitter, and inbox..

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  12. Mike & I go to town on green smoothies....he does an apple juice/apple/avocado/kale/chia seed mix every morning. I'm on an almond+coconut milk (have you tried the 50/50?!?!)/banana/PB2/kale/chia seed kick right now. (1/2 c. milk, 1 full banana, 2 tbsp PB2, 1 tbsp chia, about 3-4 kale leaves, and a few ice cubes). I peel the kale off the stem to cut down on the bitterness too. :) But spinach makes a great substitute!

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  13. Love green juices!! One of my favorites is a green lemonade (kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, and lemon).

    So tasty :) :)

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  14. I could totally do the tropical vacay smoothie! But I'm with whoever put "remove kale, add booze."!

    -Kristen | Kandid Kristen

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  15. This is awesome! I've always wanted to try a green drink, but have been to scared. I may have to try one of your concoctions now :)

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  16. Hey thanks for sharing this recipe for Green drink! My first green smoothie tasted horrible. But I like the idea of adding fruits. I will definitely try out this. It was a very helping article!

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  17. a smidge of pineapple juice to help get things going and the children took turns blending away. Red Smoothie Detox Factor

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