How to make an awesome green smoothie
I never used to be into smoothies. I always thought they were… wasteful, almost? Why throw six different items of fruit in a blender and swig them down in a couple of minutes, when they could feed you for an entire afternoon if you ate them one by one?
Well, my previous reason for disliking smoothies is actually one of the reasons I do like them now – they’re a great way to use up fruit and veg that’s slightly past it! Limp spinach, bruised bananas, squidgy peaches – we’ve all got them, and they’re all welcome here. Clear out your fridge in one fell swoop, without having to waste any of those lovely nutrients that you paid good money for.
And yes, we’re talking about veg as well as fruit. I’m not saying you should throw a turnip in your smoothie (though I’m sure it’s been done, and was probably delicious), just some greens to give a fresh, vibrant taste – and colour! Green smoothies are basically just regular smoothies, with added green (it’s kind of in the name). You can feel good about your green, while enjoying the lovely fruity flavours. Win win.
The exact ingredients in a green smoothie can obviously be changed from day to day, depending on what you have going limp in your fridge – and everyone has their own recipe. Some people use milk, some use fruit juice, some just use water. People have their own favourite combinations of fruits and veg. But whatever you go for, just throw everything in a high-powered blender, give it a good blitz, and you’re good to go.
Here’s my favourite little formula…
The green smoothie you can see in the photos contains the ingredients you can see in the image above – avocado, banana, watercress, grapes, a little bit of vanilla protein powder, and some milk. I made it super thick, just how I like it (almost spoonable). But again, you can change the ingredients up however you like, so go mad.
I’ve included the recipe below, but really I’m sure you can figure out how to bung everything in a blender!
Do you have any other ingredients that you love to include in your smoothies? Let me know your favourite combinations in the comments!
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Simple green smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 handful watercress
- 1 small avocado
- 1 small banana
- Handful of grapes
- 1 tsp protein powder
- 250 ml milk (~ 1 cup)
Instructions
- Add the first 5 ingredients to a high-powered blender, and blend until smooth. Add the milk, and blend again until well combined. Adjust the smoothie's thickness with additional milk if desired. Serve chilled.
Note: nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose.
10 more awesome green smoothies
Pre-workout coconut green smoothie from Recipes From A Pantry
Blueberry and strawberry green smoothie from Hungry Healthy Happy
Apple and kale green smoothie from Tinned Tomatoes
Post-workout green smoothie quencher from Fuss Free Flavours
Green monster smoothie from Life Currents
A green smoothie for the green-phobe from Food To Glow
Hemp protein green smoothie from Smarter Fitter
She-hulk green smoothie from Nosebag NI
Super creamy apple and ginger green smoothie from Celery and Cupcakes
Kale and apple green smoothie from Cookin’ Canuck
Or, why not try my coconut, pineapple and banana smoothie (it tastes like a piña colada!).
This looks tasty, can it be done without grapes?
Absolutely, but you’ll need to add some other kind of fruit to add sweetness :)
Yumm!! I will have to try this. I make a smoothie of some sort every day! I’ve just bookmarked to try out tomorrow. Thanks! Becca
Thanks for the receipe ! I’ll prepare some for my vegetarian gf, I think she will love it. Without protein pouder :p
It’s really awesome that you give us such lovely and delicious smoothie. I have almost everyday that i drinks this green smoothie from last years. I have my own green smoothie recipe but this green smoothies really help me to reduce my weight and my skin looks good too.
Wow this couldn’t be any easier could it?! I love the infographic as well. Very very handy. Such beautiful photos too. Can you make me one and bring it to my desk please? :P
An excellent smoothie formula. I do pretty much exactly the same thing – though I always add one type of fruit that I’ve frozen. Usually blueberries or raspberries as they make the smoothie nice and cold. Oh and I bung in a handful of oats if it’s a breakfast smoothie – that keeps me full till lunchtime.
Frozen fruit is a great idea :) I have blueberries in the freezer!
At one point I was drinking green smoothies every mornign but I seem to have lost the habit. Think I might need to try and get back to it! My fave combo is spinach, frozen blueberries, avocado and almond milk :)
Your Green Smoothie really does look awesome! Love your formula/recipe – it gives such flexibility but also such great taste!
What a great looking smoothie, I have to try avos in a smoothie, never have!
They’re great in smoothies – so creamy! :)
My kid love smoothies and we always include spinach. I once told my son that’s how superheroes get their strength and it stuck w/ him, lol. I’m going to go check out your list of smoothie recipes. We usually stick w/ greek yogurt, coconut water, banana, peach, mango and spinach!
Haha aw that’s so sweet!
I usually make my smoothies using all the components you mentioned – I think it’s important to add healthy fats and protein to make a smoothie a well rounded meal, especially when having it for breakfast. Avocados and bananas are 2 of my favourite things to add. I have to use one of them if not both :)
Totally agree, why not get some other nutrients in there as well as just vitamins!
Love the infographic! Have pinned it ready as a great reminder. I love green smoothies too, have you see The Green Smoothie Challenege on IG? They send you recipes each day for 30 days. They run it a couple of times a year and it’s really fun to do with so many other people doing it at the same time :)
Ooh no I haven’t seen that. Sounds like it would need a lot of last minute supermarket runs to buy fresh fruit though…!
Oh my goodness, that coconut and pineapple one sounds right up my street! Pinned! Thank you for including my recipe, too! :) x
I would love this for breakfast, so I would add a little bit hemp or pea protein! :) I
I confess that I cheat with my green smoothies – the green colour comes from matcha, which I love, rather than vegetables. The colour of the one you shared above looks so light and refreshing!
I’ve never had matcha, will have to give that a go!
Great guide. I started out using mostly fruit in mine with just a touch of greens, but over time am becoming accustomed to using mostly greens with just a single portion of fruit for sweetness.
I’m still at the early stages of smoothie making, I need lots of other stuff to disguise the greens ;)
I believe awesome is the key word here. It does look super — super nutritious and super good. I am definitely going to try it and I like your chart on how to do it and what choices you get. Great photos too! Have a nice weekend.
Thanks Marisa :)
This comment had me rofl. ‘ Why throw six different items of fruit in a blender and swig them down in a couple of minutes, when they could feed you for an entire afternoon if you ate them one by one.’ SMoothies like these make such a great breakfast
I’ve never put an avocado in my green smoothie, but I think it would be delicious! We eat them so quickly in this house though lol…
Looks yummy! I love green smoothies and drink them nearly everyday. I tend to have them straight up though and just add water. Love your wee infographic :)
Haha it took me forever to make!!