I love to make smoothies and shakes of all kinds – breakfast ones, meal replacement ones, post workout ones, protein ones – I’m a fan of it all. Except for the “green smoothie.” I’ve never tried to put greens in a smoothie, though I’ve heard it’s a healthy thing to do. But I’d rather eat my leafy greens in a salad, thanks. John told me he tried a kale one once and afterwards decided he would rather have his greens in salads, too. Taste test = 2/10.
I was at Costco the other day stocking up on my favorite things to buy in bulk for John and I (more on shopping for two at Costco later), and decided to add this giant 1.5lb bag of power green mixed salad to my cart on a whim. I normally don’t buy salad in bulk, but here’s how I became convinced to do so this time:
Me: “Heeeey this is a good buy…we love to eat salads, I love making wraps, I could even try a green smoo-” *pause to rewind on that last statement
Brain: YAAAAASSS
Me: “Back up…what. the heck, brain?? A G R E E N smoothie? Bleah. No.”
Brain: It will be good for you.
Me: “..except it will probably taste like dirt. And leaves.”
Brain: Healthy dirt. Plus you could vamp it up.
Me: “Hmm…I guess I could add some sweet stuff to it so it doesn’t taste like leaves…”
Brain: GREENSMOOTHIEFTW
Me: OKAYOMG. *places giant bag in cart alongside my giant ‘here we go’ eye roll.
Fast forward to this morning where I decided to test drive a green smoothie concoction I had been thinking of trying with my new power green mix. I decided to make some for John too, because shoot if I’m going down he’s going down with me. #marriedlife. MUCH to my surprise, my power greens smoothie turned out really good for having 3 heaping handfuls of green stuffed into it (slight cringe). Even John decided he approved – taste test 10/10! And the best part…the drink didn’t even look green. OR taste like green stuff! So whether you’re a green smoothie newbie convert or committed veteran, I’m sure you’ll love how this one turns out!
– 3 heaping handfuls of organic greens mix (I use spinach, kale, and chard – power greens!)
– 2/3 cup frozen strawberries
– 1 cup frozen blueberries
– 1 cup frozen green grapes
– 1/2 cup filtered cold water
– 1 tsp chia seeds
– 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
– *1 Tbsp organic granola of your choice (I use organic maple vanilla granola) for topping.
– 1/5 Tbsp chia seeds for topping
1. In a blender, toss in frozen fruit and protein powder
2. Toss in greens, chia seeds, and water
2. Blend until consistency is smooth (no clumps)
3. Pour into two 8oz glasses and top with chia seeds and granola
4. Stir in toppings, and enjoy!
It didn’t taste like a “green” smoothie at all, despite how much green we stuffed into the blender. I’m also glad it didn’t look green, because that just makes me think of drinking mushed grass. The chocolate whey gives it just the right balance of sweet, while adding some protein to your morning routine! We had our his and hers smoothies with a side of scrambled eggs for breakfast and felt just the right amount of full + satisfied. Let me know how you like it if you try this smoothie out! 🙂
*You can substitute these for Oats if you don’t want granola.
