[Recipe] Green Smoothie

Green smoothies. Seems you can find green smoothies on nearly every healthy lifestyle\food blog out there. They’re so popular, and there are so many versions. And for good reason.

Green smoothies are a nutritional powerhouse. They’re quick to make, tasty, and great to take with you on the go. They’re a great option to skipping breakfast. They’re full of nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins. Now that’s a real drink to your health!

My husband and I have been drinking green smoothies for breakfast for a few months now. I love the idea of getting at least the majority of my daily fruit and vegetable intake in a glass in the morning. That gives me a jump start on my day’s nutritional intake. And honestly, it just makes me feel proud of myself. Is that crazy? Maybe to some, but not to me. My green smoothie makes me feel great – like I’ve got a secret I haven’t let everyone else in on or like I’ve got a jump on the rest of the people around me, an advantage.

Yeah, that’s kinda crazy.

For the month of April, Fredericton Family Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Center is sponsoring a green smoothie challenge. I go to the center regularly for chiropractic and naturopathic care. Everyone there is so knowledgeable, friendly, and personable, and the level of care I receive from these professionals has made serious improvements in my life, as well as in the life of many of my friends and family members. They also offer therapeutic massage therapy. Really, the center is like a one stop shop for health and wellness. They’re amazing.

When the green smoothie challenge was announced, I was all over it. The center would send out recipes and other health tidbits throughout the month. Participants only had to make and drink themselves a smoothie every day. Easy. And so so good.

This green smoothie packs at least 8 servings of fruit and vegetables, that’s 4 servings of fruits and veggies for each serving. Amazing.

The first recipe we received is the one I’m posting about today. As with any green smoothie recipe, adjust ingredients as you need to, and based on what you might have on hand, as well as any allergies or food sensitivities you may have. The only important and necessary ingredient in a green smoothie is greens. Adjust everything else as you’d like.

We typically add some protein powder to our green smoothies. We’ve also recently switched to Vega protein powder, and for good reason.

Vega doesn’t contain a lot of the common allergens that other protein powders to like daily, gluten, and soy, neither does it contain sugar (it is stevia sweetened). It is a plant based protein blend. It also contains all of the following in one scoop!

I’ve also recently been introduced to chia seeds, another nutritional superstar. Packed with fibre, protein, and essential fatty acids, amongst other things, chia seeds are a fantastic addition to your daily menu. Expect to see more recipes, and a post detailing more about these little guys in the near future.

Last but not least, try to use quality ingredients in your smoothie. If you can use organic ingredients, please do. Put good things into your body, and it will do good things for you. Garbage in, garbage out. Quality in, quality out.

[Recipe] Green Smoothie

Makes about 750ml

2 cups greens (choose from kale, spinach, broccoli, etc – mix them up if you’d like)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup cucumber (skin on)
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
5 frozen strawberries (I’ve been using fresh strawberries)
1 cup milk (use almond milk or water if you prefer – we prefer unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 banana

Optional ingredients:
protein powder
chia or flax seeds

Start by putting your greens in a blender.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Blend. You may find it will take a few minutes in the blender to get things really smooth – blend until you’re happy with the texture.