Green Smoothie

Raise your hand if you want to feel energized, satisfied, and glowing? This Green Smoothie is such a straightforward, wholesome way to get a solid dose of protein and fresh greens. It tastes and takes less than 5 minutes to make! Skeptical? The drink may be green in color, but you can hardly taste the spinach. Same with the protein powder—thanks to creamy milk (we prefer almond) and the natural sweetness of banana, the protein powder flavor and texture is nicely masked. If perhaps you overdo it on the sweets and treats this holiday season, this is the recipe to get back on track with feeling healthy and nourishing your body; a detox if you will. It’s an excellent snack or meal for weight loss or a New Year’s resolution to eat less processed, more nutrient-dense foods.

What stands out

If you’re looking for a new healthy breakfast or snack this creamy, satisfying smoothie is such a straightforward and recipe. It’s surprisingly straightforward to make a smoothie that tastes and is chockfull of nutrition: protein, fiber, healthy fats, and tons of vitamins. Plus, there are so many ways to customize this recipe, based on your taste preferences or what you already have in your kitchen. We love that this smoothie uses only 5 ingredients and it can even be meal-prepped ahead of time.

How to Prepare

To a blender add: 12 oz almond milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 1/4 of a banana, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, and 1 cup of fresh spinach.

Blend until smooth and serve over ice!

Kitchen tip

This smoothie recipe doesn’t have any added sugars, all the sweetness comes from the banana. Remember, that the riper the banana is, the sweeter the smoothie will be!

Swaps

1. Feel free to use any other plant-based milk, such as oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. Dairy milk will work as well.
2. Instead of vanilla protein powder, you could also use chocolate strawberry, or plain.
3. Instead of spinach, you could also try using fresh kale in this recipe.
4. You can add some sweetness to this with a bit of maple syrup, agave syrup, honey, or even stevia.
5. Feel free to add additional ingredients here: flax seeds, a tablespoon of nut butter, or fresh berries would be delish.

Make Ahead Tips

We don’t love making smoothies ahead of time because they tend to separate and never taste as great as fresh. But, there are a few tips you can use to make it a little easier on you in the mornings when prepping your smoothies. For this Green Smoothie, we like to have our bananas and spinach all pre-portioned and stored in the freezer so they’re ready to pop into the blender. You can also pre-portion the dry ingredients (the protein powder and chia seeds), so all you need to do is add the milk and blend.

Serve it with

• Serve this Green Smoothie for breakfast with your favorite egg dishes such as Cheesy EggsBaked Feta Eggs or Poach Eggs.
• Serve alongside a breakfast protein such as bacon, turkey bacon, or our Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe.
• Serve this alongside a bowl of fresh fruit and yogurt.

Questions

strong Can we use a different type of milk instead of almond milk?

Yes, you can substitute almond milk with other plant-based milk, like oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. Dairy milk will work as well if you prefer.

what other protein powder flavors would work?

You can use whatever flavor you love: chocolate or strawberry works well with banana.

what can we use instead of spinach?

You could also make this Green Smoothie with kale.

Can we use frozen spinach?

Fresh is definitely better in this smoothie recipe. Frozen spinach has been blanched so it makes the smoothie too watery. You can freeze fresh (unblanched) spinach and use that.

Can we make this smoothie ahead of time?

It’s best to enjoy this smoothie fresh for the best texture and flavor. However, you can prepare the ingredients in advance and store them in the fridge or freezer so they’re ready to go when you are.

can we add sweetness to this?

Yes, you can add some maple syrup, agave syrup, honey, or even stevia.

strong Can we add other ingredients?

Feel free to add extras like berries, flax seeds, or a tablespoon of nut butter for added flavor, texture, and nutrients.

Ingredients

Makes 1 serving

• 12 oz almond milk
• 1 scoop protein powder, vanilla
• ¼ banana
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 cup spinach, fresh is ideal

Equipment

• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Measuring Cups + Spoons
• Blender

Method

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender.
2. Blend until smooth and serve over ice!

Kitchen notes

Banana:

The riper your banana is, the sweeter the smoothie will be! Protein Powder: Feel free to use whatever flavor of protein powder you enjoy. We think that strawberry or chocolate work well with bananas, or you can just use plain instead. Spinach: Fresh spinach is best here since frozen is blanched and may not blend as nicely as fresh. You could absolutely use frozen, fresh (unblanched) spinach if you want.