Green Smoothie Recipe

As you may know by now I am a green smoothie fanatic ;) I have one most mornings, and I swear by them. They are the foundation to my healthy morning routine. They are one way that I make sure to really jam-pack nutrition first thing in the morning. I am able to pack it with fruit, lots of greens, other veggies and things like seeds and powders too if I want.

The benefits of eating dark leafy greens are endless!

They are full of minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients. They’re amongst one of the most nutritious veggies you can have. They contain a ton of fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium... and more! They will make you glow from the inside out.

If there is one thing I recommend people to start with when wanting to be healthier is adding more greens in their life (that and hydrating by making sure to drink lots of water - most people don't realise they're functioning at a low level of dehydration, which can come up as many different 'symptoms') this is why I am obsessed with my morning green smoothies, they make it so easy and delicious (you don’t even taste the green flavour!) to have a serious dose of greens in before your day has even started! I see and feel the difference when I have greens every day ✨ greens are literally life! Full of magical chlorophyll 🌱🍃🌿

Here’s a list of dark leafy greens to consider : kale (all the different kinds, my favourite is the one pictured cavolo Nero/dark kale/dinosaur kale!) Bok Choy, collard greens, rocket/aragula, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, good ol’ lettuce, Broccoli, microgreens (the most potent being from broccoli sprouts!) spinach, cabbage, watercress, beet greens... I could keep going but all are amazing!

For my green smoothies I prefer to stick to kale (all the different types are great, but I particularly love cavolo nero/dark kale), and spinach just because they're easy to find and also their taste is rather mild, which makes for a delicious smoothie.

I wanted to write down the 'recipe' that I use every day, but this is more of a 'formula' rather than a strict recipe. I will be adding rough quantities, but don't get too stuck on those and experiment with different amounts.

What is important is the balance of the different flavours such as sweetness and acidity, as well as the temperature of it! A warm smoothie will never be good.. Now you don't need it to be ICE cold (those are nice in the summer, but less so in the winter), but they do need to be cool, this is also important to protect nutrients while they're being blended as blending will create some heat and heat will destroy some of the nutrients.

I often share what I have in my green smoothies on my Story every morning, but I wanted it to be in one place so you can refer back to it.

Ingredients (for 2 people, makes around 1L of smoothie) :

• 2 RIPE spotty bananas (this is KEY for a good smoothie - you need that sweetness as a base, and they also digest much better - if your bananas need more ripening but you're desperate for a smoothie, add in a Medjool date to sweeten it)
• 1 or 2 whole peeled orange (this is for the acidity, if your orange is very sweet, add in the juice of 1/2 lemon)
• 1 whole kiwi (I buy them organic and don't even peel them)
• 1 cup of frozen fruit (to keep it bright and green we like to have a mix of mango and pineapple, this gives it that delicious tropical flavour. Sometimes we just use one or the other. If not, I add berries, but this will turn the colour of the smoothie brown)
• 4/5 big leaves of dark kale with the stalks! (this depends on the size of the leaves, it might be more or less, but generally, I like to have a big handful of kale in there. Oh the stalks are full of nutrients, don't you dare chuck them!)
• 1 small handful of spinach (we normally get frozen spinach in 'balls' and I add 2 balls)
• 2 heaped tbsp of flaxseed (we buy whole flaxseed, as it keeps its nutrients longer than ground flax. This is a great way to add in those good omega 3s)
• 1 L of water (or coconut water if you're feeling fancy!)
• Optional : 1 knob of fresh ginger, spirulina powder/green powder/Chlorella powder/Barley grass juice powder...
  
  

Method :

• Add everything to your blender (this is the one we use and adore - this is the newest version, ours they don't make anymore. best company) and blend until smooth.
• Serve immediately in a big glass jar, I like to drink mine with a straw :)
  
  

Experiment with different ratios, and different produce. The ingredients I listed are my normal go-to's but depending on what fruit is in season or what we have on hand, I often add other types of fruit in there too. I just keep in mind to have a good balance of sweetness and acidity for the perfect smoothie! (the bananas/kale/citrus are always the base though)

I like to drink my green smoothie first thing in the morning after I've drank a tall glass of water, and I like to wait a little bit before having solid food. This allows the smoothie to digest better, and will make you feel light and full of energy! This doesn't happen every day as I'm often ravenous being pregnant ha, but I find I prefer when I have it first thing.

Another one of our go-to smoothie recipes is my PBJ smoothie, check that one out! You can definitely add greens to that one as well - we often do. It might just change the colour of it, but who cares! It tastes delicious and is jam-packed with nutrition.