One of the easiest ways to incorporate healthy fruits and vegetables into your diet is through green smoothies. If you’re a smoothie beginner, you may find the pure green drinks hard to get down due to the bland taste.
However, there are friendly fruity drinks out there that are palatable and that are packed with nutritious ingredients. If you’re looking for a few beginner recipes, we can help recommend a few recipes, along with keeping you on your fitness goal at gym-expert.com.
Why Drink Green Smoothies?
Green smoothies often include leafy greens, vegetables, and supplements that are healthy for your body. These make them healthy smoothie recipes to take with you on the go. They are densely packed with nutrition and give you the necessary vitamins for you to start your day. However, not everyone is a fan of them due to drinks being naturally bitter.
Ingredients like spinach and kale are dense in minerals, including potassium, magnesium, and vitamins. These nutrient-rich leafy greens are often lacking in the standard American diet. Consuming these vitamins and minerals can help prevent illnesses and keep your body in shape.
The Base of Any Green Smoothie
There’s no specific way to make a green smoothie recipes, as long as you have your base of leafy greens, fruits, and some sort of protein. It provides you with many of the nutrients and minerals to help you start your day. Plus, it’s also good to add in a bit of fat to help digest the minerals better. Here’s a quick look at easy smoothie recipes.
1. Basic Green Spinach Smoothie
- 1 C fresh spinach
- 1 C water
- ½ C frozen or fresh pineapple
- ½ cup fresh mango
- One ripened banana that’s already been peeled
Out of on our list is the Basic Green Spinach Smoothie, which is part of the breakfast smoothies. The drink itself doesn’t taste too much like leafy greens or earthy due to the addition of fruit. It makes it ideal for those who are just switching to smoothies. If there isn’t a type of fruit you like, you can always sub-one similar in nutrition density.
2. Kale & Apple Green Smoothie
- 1 C roughly chopped kale
- 1 Stalk chopped celery
- ½ Banana
- ½ Sweet Fuji apple
- ½ C ice
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Kale and celery give this drink a nutritional boost, which makes a good for the skin. The addition of sweet ripe banana and Fuji apples help reduce the bitter taste from the celery. Adding in the ice and a pinch of fresh lemon helps brighten up the flavor and make it ideal for a hot day. Additionally, you can switch it up and add in your favorite protein powder or supplements to help make this drink more radiant. It is one of our favorite smoothie recipes!
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3. Spinach Berry Protein Green Smoothie
- 1 C spinach
- 1 Banana
- ½ C frozen blueberries
- ½ C frozen raspberries
- ½ C milk
- 2 Tbsp old fashioned oats
- 1 Scoop protein powder
A little intimidated by the healthy green color of such a drink? Choose to switch it up and make yourself a spinach berry green smoothie. These are great for kids because the berries tend to hide the fact that there’s a healthy handful of greens in the smoothie.
The banana, blueberries, and raspberries are a delicious combo that’s sure to please most taste buds. However, it can be a bit bitter, so we suggest adding a bit of sugar to make it palatable. Either way, protein smoothie recipes are an excellent way to start your day.
4. Pineapple & Banana Green Smoothie
- 2 C chopped kale
- 1 C pineapple chunks
- 1 Banana
- ½ C coconut milk
If you’re looking for a simplistic drink, you can’t get any simpler than this. It includes kale, pineapple, and banana. The coconut milk gives it a slight richness that you won’t find in many other drinks. The pineapple adds much-needed sweetness, the same with the banana. Alternatively, to kale, you can also use spinach or other leafy greens.
5. Mango & Lime Green Smoothie
- 2 C roughly chopped collard greens
- 1 ½ C frozen mango
- 1 C green grapes
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
The last smoothie is a tropical mango and lime one. It includes roughly chopped collard greens, which has a high amount of magnesium, iron, and calcium. The dense drink may be a bit much for beginners, but the mango and grapes give a subtle sweetness to the smoothie. If your blender is having a hard time blending it up, we suggest adding a splash of water, milk, or juice.
Smoothie Recipes: Conclusion
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Green smoothies are an excellent method of sneaking in a serving of your vegetables. A small handful of spinach or kale can give you multiple nutritional benefits, making it both a healthy and tasty snack or meal. The benefits of consuming leafy greens include clearer skin, more energy, and increased nutrition.
Unlike green juice, green smoothies contain fiber, are sweeter, and are much easier to consume once your taste buds get used to such drink. Then you can choose to add in cucumbers, celery, broccoli, or other vegetables.
What’s your opinion on these smoothie recipes? Let us know in the comments. We are eager to know!
Author’s bio: Scott Pine
The youngest sibling in a family of six, Scott grew up in Wisconsin in the 1980s. He studied computer science in New Jersey before deciding to follow his passion: fitness. He runs marathons and writes about how to boost muscle.