I’ve been seeing these green smoothies pop up all over the web lately and have been dying to try one. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical the first time I saw one because I mean, come on, who thinks spinach in a smoothie will taste good? I know I sure didn’t, but boy was I wrong! You can’t even taste the spinach–at all–and it gives it a beautiful green color. It’s a perfect way to sneak more greens into your diet.
I don’t think I’ve seen two recipes for green smoothies that are exactly the same. Everyone seems to have their own version, so I just decided that I’d come up with my own version too. =) I used a frozen banana, fresh squeezed orange juice, milk, spinach, and ice. Mainly because this is what I had on hand, but also because I thought it would be delicious. You could use any light colored fruit that you wanted such as pineapple, apple, pear, or banana, but if you use darker fruits like blueberries or strawberries you won’t end up with the pretty green color. I used milk because I while do like yogurt, sometimes I’m not in the mood for it’s tang and today was one of those days. I added some ice because I like for my smoothies to be a little thicker, but you could certainly leave the ice out–it doesn’t affect the flavor, obviously =). I didn’t add any additional sugar, just the orange juice, but if you find that it isn’t sweet enough just add a little honey or even some splenda (if you are trying to keep it low cal). This would be a perfect low calorie breakfast or snack. Enjoy!
Green Monster Smoothie
1 frozen banana, chopped
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup crushed ice
2 cups packed baby spinach
1/4 cup skim milk
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Serves 1.
**I’m not sure these nutrition facts are completely accurate since I just plugged the recipe ingredients in on a website that I found through google, but I think they are pretty close at least.
