Green Smoothie Recipes - Tasty Ways to Eat More Greens

Eating healthy doesn't have to be time-consuming. In just 5 minutes a day, you can make a green smoothie for breakfast, a light lunch, or even a snack. It is currently recommended that everyone eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day. Many people don't hit that goal though. With a green smoothie, you could easily consume that in one meal! The best part is that you can easily adapt your green smoothie recipes to your tastes or whatever is in your fridge.

Despite what you might read elsewhere, you do not need an expensive blender to make green smoothies. While the Vita-Mix and BlendTec high speed blenders are nice, I have discovered that a $40 blender from your local discount store works just as well. I have used an inexpensive blender everyday for the past year to make my daily green smoothie with great results.

The order in which you blend your ingredients for your green smoothie recipe has a huge impact on your final results. The key to a well-blended smoothie is to blend your greens first. I place about 2 cups of liquid in the blender and then fill the jar with my freshly washed greens. Blend on high until all the greens are liquefied. For the initial liquid, you can use water, kefir, milk, or thin yogurt. I generally just use water, but some days I use plain kefir to add some probiotics to my diet. You have a lot of choices for the greens as well. In the beginning, you may want to go with spinach or romaine lettuce as these are mild-tasting. You will not be able to taste them after you add the fruit. Trust me! I have a picky 7 year old who doesn't go a day without drinking a green smoothie. She calls it her Popeye drink!

After the greens have been processed, you can then proceed with adding fruits and other ingredients. I like to use 2-3 different fruits, including one that is frozen. I generally use frozen berries because they blend easily. You don't even need to peel fruits like apples or pears, which is great because that is extra fiber, which will keep you fuller longer. I just make sure to remove any seeds before processing. This may not be necessary in a Vita-mix, but it is a needed step when using a less expensive blender.

If you desire sweetness in your smoothie, use a ripe banana or pear as one of the fruits. You can also blend up a Medjool date or 2 in your smoothie to sweeten it naturally. Just be sure to remove the pit. A small amount of honey or agave nectar will do the trick too.

Kale and Pear Smoothie

Kale is such a nutritional powerhouse, but unfortunately it can be bitter. That's not the case in this green smoothie recipe where kale's strong flavor is masked by the sweetness of the fruit.

• 1 cup water


• 1 cup Kale, washed and torn


• 1 banana


• 1 orange, peeled


• 1 pear, sliced and seeds removed


• 1 cup green grapes

Blend on high speed until smooth.
Adapted from a Vitamix recipe

A Taste of the Tropics Green Smoothie
Get a taste of summertime, even in the middle of the winter.

• 2 cups water


• 1 head romaine lettuce


• 1 banana


• 1 orange, peeled


• 1 cup pineapple chunks, fresh or frozen


• 1 tbs coconut oil

Blend on high speed until smooth.

Peach-Melon Smoothie
This smoothie is great for satisfying your sweet tooth. Try this one frozen in a popsicle mold.

• 1 cups water


• 4 cups spinach


• 3 cups cantaloupe, diced


• 1 peach, pit removed


• 1 banana

Blend on high speed until smooth.