green smoothies

ThinUpGirl

What's your fav green smoothie?

I just started making them... like I made one today!

- 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
- 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks
- 1 cup water

It looked a pretty, lime green colour and tasted delish!!

I hate veggies, especially greens so I thought it would be a good way to get some in my diet.
I was thinking of doing a 5 day cleanse of just green smoothies.

Has anyone tried a cleanse and gotten great results?

MoreBean13

I don't know about cleanses, but I do green smoothies pretty much every day after my workout with a few modifications. I use kale rather than spinach, I use frozen fruit so it has that icy consistency and I add a scoop of vanilla protein, and sometimes a greek yogurt. Kale is a tricky mistress- it's super healthy but it's bitter and not right as a salad green, but works great in smoothie form- bitterness disappears in the mix.

cara4art

Green smoothies are awesome - great way to automatically and painlessly get in a lot of greens. I add in hemp protein powder and chia seeds - makes them very filling without all THAT many calories. But I exercise 5-6 days a week too. Only thing is, on the food tracking, the fruit counts as sugar just like a candy bar would, which seems strange to me. I just joined up here 3 days ago, but have been doing green smoothies for quite awhile. I have a hard time believing that fruit is as "bad" as candy as far as sugars in it. Now I'm afraid to eat bananas at 14-19 grams of sugar each, and I've been using them in my smoothies without thinking about this:(

MoreBean13

Green smoothies are awesome - great way to automatically and painlessly get in a lot of greens. I add in hemp protein powder and chia seeds - makes them very filling without all THAT many calories. But I exercise 5-6 days a week too. Only thing is, on the food tracking, the fruit counts as sugar just like a candy bar would, which seems strange to me. I just joined up here 3 days ago, but have been doing green smoothies for quite awhile. I have a hard time believing that fruit is as "bad" as candy as far as sugars in it. Now I'm afraid to eat bananas at 14-19 grams of sugar each, and I've been using them in my smoothies without thinking about this:(

I completely disregard the sugar counter for that reason. I don't eat any processed sugar on a regular day, and the default settings make it such that you can't eat any fruit. You can adjust that setting manually if it makes you feel better. Now I would not recommend ignoring the sugar if you eat a combo of candy bars and fruit, but for me it makes no sense.

ThinUpGirl

Green smoothies are awesome - great way to automatically and painlessly get in a lot of greens. I add in hemp protein powder and chia seeds - makes them very filling without all THAT many calories. But I exercise 5-6 days a week too. Only thing is, on the food tracking, the fruit counts as sugar just like a candy bar would, which seems strange to me. I just joined up here 3 days ago, but have been doing green smoothies for quite awhile. I have a hard time believing that fruit is as "bad" as candy as far as sugars in it. Now I'm afraid to eat bananas at 14-19 grams of sugar each, and I've been using them in my smoothies without thinking about this:(

I know what you mean about the high sugar in fruit, I've noticed since I started using MFP I'm always over in my sugar, but under in carve and fat. I thought fruit was good sugar, but I'm just getting started on my fitness journey so I'm still trying to figure things out. I will definitely try some sort of protein powder.

twoboys2012

i have friends who love these but and i think they use pineapple juice instead of chunks but i guess you could do both ... i wanna try them too but never seem to remember to get the ingredients. Maybe will try next week. Any other smoothies for other greens or is it just spinach?

Umeboshi

That sounds delish!
I want to get into making smoothies but I'd have to buy a blender and just don't know how much I'd use it xD

ThinUpGirl

I don't know about cleanses, but I do green smoothies pretty much every day after my workout with a few modifications. I use kale rather than spinach, I use frozen fruit so it has that icy consistency and I add a scoop of vanilla protein, and sometimes a greek yogurt. Kale is a tricky mistress- it's super healthy but it's bitter and not right as a salad green, but works great in smoothie form- bitterness disappears in the mix.

I've never tried kale, it looks bitter, mind you I've never been a leafy salad kinda girl, but its worth a try.
The frozen fruit sounds great especially after a work out or on a hot summer day.

I had my smoothie before I ate my breakfast this AM and ended up skipping my coffee. I'm hoping that adding greens (from absolutely no greens) will help increase my energy. I find I'm ofter very tired which is why I decided to start my fitness journey.

I'm loving all the helpful info I'm getting

scadoodles

my favorite =

2 handfulls baby spinach
1/4C blueberries fresh or frozen.
1/2-3/4C pinapple chunks fresh or frozen.
1/4 C almond milk
ICE


YUM!!

I also like peanut butter and banana ones.

zen_mama

I love green smoothies! I also drink green juice when I have fruits and greens I need to use up. My favorite green smoothie is banana, blueberry, spinach and apple with some water to thin. For green juice I use a combination similar to the blend used in the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". I use spinach or kale, celery, cucumber, lemon, ginger and green apple. Sometimes it can be a little tart or bitter (depending on how much leafy greens I use) so I'll add a carrot or a fuji apple to sweeten a bit. Usually makes about 20 oz or so and I drink in place of a meal. Calories seem to range between 220-450 depending on amounts of fruit used.

looplooploop

Here's my typical smoothie:

1 banana
1 tbsp hemp hearts (for healthy fats.. could use flax instead)
1/2 cup frozen fruit (usually mango or pineapple)
2 cups greens (usually spinach or kale but sometimes romaine, dandelion greens, etc)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 scoop brown rice protein powder
and sometimes 1 tbsp of cocoa of I'm craving something chocolate

hurleycutie142

i love my smoothie that i make every morning... i have had great weight loss results i was 210 when i started my weight loss journey... dont worry too much about the sugar in fruits... i mean dont eat it all day... but i love it as a snack or more as a dessert... think of it this way in a candy bar ur adding a bunch of extra stuff in your system that is not only just sugar... fruit is a natural sugar...

my fav smoothie has a couple key elements that start my morning...

fresh squeezed grapefruit <--- natural fat burner... and acts as my coffee because it is so sour and the smell when squeezing it makes me wake up lol
protein powder <--- i use metabolic reset protein powder... it tastes good and great on calories...
hand full of spinach <--- get some veggies in and u cant taste it
strawberries <--- frozen
banana <--- great source of carb for a workout...
and alittle bit of water because i dont want a dairy in the system when im going to work out after drinking this...

taste amazing and a great way to wake up in the morning :]

TheDevastator

this recipe is a little different. Sort of a green pudding:

1 large head of romaine lettuce
5 tbsp of chia seeds
1 cup almond milk
2 ml english toffee flavored stevia (or fruit) or sweeten to taste

I'm on a very low sugar diet so I can't have much fruit.

It's very filling and high in protein and fiber.

AngelofMusic13

My favourite is probably:
1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1 pear
1 banana
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp honey

It puts me over my sugar on its own, but it delicious (I think last time I added 4 strawberries to it since I had them on hand)

The best bet is to experiment around! Kiwi is great to use and avocado makes nice thick smoothies.

MoreBean13

this recipe is a little different. Sort of a green pudding:

1 large head of romaine lettuce
5 tbsp of chia seeds
1 cup almond milk
2 ml english toffee flavored stevia (or fruit) or sweeten to taste

I'm on a very low sugar diet so I can't have much fruit.

It's very filling and high in protein and fiber.

Do you put that in a blender then and it comes out pudding consistency?

Ihatechokos4eva

Bump

saralynn594

bumping!!

DopeItUp

I'm simple. I just do:

1 cup spinach
2 scoops chocolate protein powder (varies)
16 ounces of water
Whatever other supplement powders I need to be adding at the time.

ciaobella47

BUMP

pigsfly1972

what else goes in the banana peanut butter one?

ThinUpGirl

i love my smoothie that i make every morning... i have had great weight loss results i was 210 when i started my weight loss journey... dont worry too much about the sugar in fruits... i mean dont eat it all day... but i love it as a snack or more as a dessert... think of it this way in a candy bar ur adding a bunch of extra stuff in your system that is not only just sugar... fruit is a natural sugar...

my fav smoothie has a couple key elements that start my morning...

fresh squeezed grapefruit <--- natural fat burner... and acts as my coffee because it is so sour and the smell when squeezing it makes me wake up lol
protein powder <--- i use metabolic reset protein powder... it tastes good and great on calories...
hand full of spinach <--- get some veggies in and u cant taste it
strawberries <--- frozen
banana <--- great source of carb for a workout...
and alittle bit of water because i dont want a dairy in the system when im going to work out after drinking this...

taste amazing and a great way to wake up in the morning :]

That sounds amazing. I'll have to get some protein powder, but ill be able to try that out tomorrow without it. I can't wait!!

ThinUpGirl

Here's my typical smoothie:

1 banana
1 tbsp hemp hearts (for healthy fats.. could use flax instead)
1/2 cup frozen fruit (usually mango or pineapple)
2 cups greens (usually spinach or kale but sometimes romaine, dandelion greens, etc)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 scoop brown rice protein powder
and sometimes 1 tbsp of cocoa of I'm craving something chocolate

Love mango and almond milk!!

TheDevastator

this recipe is a little different. Sort of a green pudding:

1 large head of romaine lettuce
5 tbsp of chia seeds
1 cup almond milk
2 ml english toffee flavored stevia (or fruit) or sweeten to taste

I'm on a very low sugar diet so I can't have much fruit.

It's very filling and high in protein and fiber.

Do you put that in a blender then and it comes out pudding consistency?

Yes. If you want a thicker pudding consistency, you might want to try 1/2 cup of almond milk and add more if necessary.

lilah808

I make a veggie smoothie in the afternoon to help with that occasional late afternoon energy slump. It helps a TON!

1 C Kale
1 C Water
1/2 Apple
1/2 Lemon
2 Sprigs Mint

I use a Vitamix blender which liquifies EVERYTHING, even the lemon rind!

Also there's a FANTASTIC app that you can get for your phone called "Green Smoothies"... there are recipes for smoothies, puddings, soups, as well as nutritional info/calorie content and more!

fionamac77

I had really nice one this morning

Almond Milk
Pineapple
Banana
Spinach
Sprigs of Watercress and Basil
1 tbsp milled flaxseed

I also made I nice pick me up yesterday afternoon, really refreshing:

1/4 Cucumber
1 medium Kiwi peeled
Fresh Mint
Squeeze of Lemon Juice


Still starting out on my green smoothie journey, but feeling great with them so far!

delikium

I lost 5 pounds after a 3 day detox. it all came back after, but i felt good still. and i did take more care of eating less sugar and junk after that.

cara4art

Actually, it's a good idea to rotate one's greens when doing green smoothies, because different greens have different properties. I use parsley, spinach, chard and kale, in varying combos depending on what I have on hand that day. Often it's parsley and spinach, or chard and kale. A word of warning - those tougher greens like chard and kale do require a higher-speed blender, which I have and love, the Blend-tec. Mint leaves are great for flavoring too and help hide the stronger greens flavors if one is not used to them. I tend to use about twice as many greens as fruit volume-wise.