Too much sugar in my green smoothies. :(

jennismagic

I've finally joined the green smoothie bandwagon (albeit very late), and I'm worried that I'm putting too much sugar in. I've tried two so far, and I only use kale and dandelion greens. I'm not quite used to the taste yet, so I've been adding a table spoon of raw honey along with fresh fruit for flavor. Today's smoothie contained the greens, honey, water, and a medium peach. Obviously, the honey is a major source of the sugar, but I don't know how else I can get the benefits of a green smoothie without sweetening it up first. Any ideas? I have stevia on hand, but I don't like to use it on a daily basis.

angelicasmommy

If you use milk instead of water, it would help with the taste. Kale and dandelion greens, imo taste horrible lol...so that could be an issue as well. I use spinach. I find milk, banana, spinach tastes awesome and I also add flax seeds, any other type of frozen fruit, pb etc.

GaPeachRealtor

I use spinach and spurila no dairy just water and man does it taste like grass ..but I'm so use to it now. ..I also add a 1/4 cup of oatmeal raw I have a Vitamix and it will grind up anything to dust.LOL.

harlanJEN

Here is how I get my greens with my protein.

2 scoops choc protein powder, frozen 1/2 banana, 2 tb peanut butter, ice, water, big handful baby spinach, big handful kale(stems removed)

Tastes great ... Is my post workout mainstay

margojr4

I also use spinach, banana, PB, scoop vanilla protein powder, ice and water - approx 26g sugar.

Ebeth2006

It can be hard because even the fruit can add a lot of sugar if you are not careful. I read a good blog on green smoothies which said to start out easy. Make something you like that you can drink even if it has more sugar than you want at first. Slowly start taking out the sugar.

I use Splenda when I need to be extra careful with my sugar intake. I know people have issues with it so use what ever you'd like.

Spinach/Kale / Swiss Card / Any leafy green. Spinach and Swiss Card are mild and good starters.
Banana
Coconut water (fresh from husk)
Mango
Yogurt

or my favorite

Spinach and Powdered Green Tea
Banana
Yogurt
Ice
And Splenda

LisaDunn01

My favorite green smoothies:

1. 10 oz water
1 raw (yes, raw) egg
1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Warrior Blend Protein Powder (I use plain but you may prefer Vanilla)
1/2 c. pineapple
1/2 banana
1/2 orange (no peel)
1 1/2 handfuls spinach
1/4 bunch parsley
3-5 fresh basil leaves

2. 16 oz. water
1 pear
1/2 squeeze lemon
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 1/2 handfuls spinach
2 celery stalks

The fruit makes it sweet.
FYI - KAL liquid stevia tastes the best out of all the stevia brands and it's good for you. No reason not to use it daily. I make a Chia Protein Shake with it.

2 tbsp. chia seeds
2 c. almond milk (Homemade - 1 c. water, 1/4 c. blanched almonds. blend and strain through nut bag. Easy!)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6-8 drops liquid stevia
YUM!

IntenseRSX04

use baby spinach instead, it's tasteless, and add whey protein

LilEmm

Yogurt - plain
Frozen strawberries
Spinach
few sprigs of mint
1/4 c cucumber (peeled)

Heather_Rider

two words... PROTEIN POWDER!!! okay.. make that 4 words.. GREAT TASTING PROTEIN POWDER! lol...

mine taste like cake batter! Its actually SO sweet (and i dont prefer sweets) that i have to use extra blueberries to "sour" it up a bit so i can stand it. LOL sweet stuff makes me wanna vomit. lmao! Mom truly won the war when she told dad "let her eat it till she pukes.. she wont do it but once!"

boy was she ever right.. lol

:flowerforyou:

bimpski

i use 2 oz. of baby spinach and 2 fruits (right now 1 banana and 1 cup red grapes) with about 4 oz of water. no need for any sugar.

horseplaypen

Try substituting grapes for your honey! My bf and I make a green drink to have with dinner, which is supposed to contain cucumber, celery, baby spinach, avocado, apple, parsley, ginger and lemon juice. We got his parents doing the same thing, only his dad is a super sugar addict so they add in a bunch of green grapes to sweeten it. I tried it their way once and WOW - so sweet!

jennismagic

Thanks everyone. I've written down everyone's tips, and I'm looking for more recipe ideas via Google, haha. I think it's best to experiment and take it slow.

piratesaregrand

I make this

1 cup almond milk
1 ripe banana, peeled + frozen
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 tbsp chia seeds
3 ice cubes
Plus some protein powder

jensfitpal2012

sounds interesting,will have to give this a try.Thanks,bump

soulfulsally

I would cut out the honey altogether and add in berries. They're low calorie and don't have much sugar. Works really well for sweetening the drink. You can try a half greens and half berries mixture to start out with and then slowly work on more greens, less berries.

nothingwithoutHim

Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.

jennismagic

Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.

Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?

drfilth

Try to avoid using cows milk.....there's nothing good about it

My green smoothie recipe............

1/4 cup coconut milk
fresh pineapple
1/2 small tomato
small piece ginger root
5 slices cucumber
1 stalk of celery
5 baby carrot pieces
2 tbsp flax seed
1/3 bunch cilantro
1cup baby spinach
1 cup kale

nothingwithoutHim

Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.

Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?

Avocados are some of the best to put in smoothies like this, because the kind of fat they contain (monounsaturated) is the kind that can use the least amount of fat to absorb the most amount of nutrients! I'm no expert, but I don't think 1% milk has enough fat to absorb much, as it has around 2.5 grams of fat, and most recommendations for absorption are anywhere from 3 - 20.

jennismagic

Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.

Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?

Avocados are some of the best to put in smoothies like this, because the kind of fat they contain (monounsaturated) is the kind that can use the least amount of fat to absorb the most amount of nutrients! I'm no expert, but I don't think 1% milk has enough fat to absorb much, as it has around 2.5 grams of fat, and most recommendations for absorption are anywhere from 3 - 20.

Thanks!

kimberliiw

Thanks for asking the question because there are a lot of great suggestions here.

ackeebee

I am only 2 weeks into the green smoothie making and so i try and keep them as simple as possible for the time being. This past weekend i used both kale and romaine lettuce in the same smoothie but previously i was only using kale, fruits (abt 2 - 3 fruits at a time) and water. So far none of the ones i have made needed any form of sweetener. Of course some are sweeter than some depending which fruits are used.

BrianJLamb

I am going to second Ackeebee and the use of romaine lettuce. I am also going to second IntenseRSX04 with the baby spinach. Kale can be rough. So can dandelions. I would suggest starting out with greens that are less bitter and then adding things as you get more used to it. This morning I had baby spinach, a banana, and a kiwi. It was tasty and really easy to drink. You can add all of the other things that people are suggesting. I just find that the easier it is to make it, the less prep and ingredients it needs, the more likely I am to continue making it until it becomes a sold habit.

Nerdy_Rose

I drink straight up green juice --- nothing but vegetables. Got used to the taste, and it makes me feel like Wonder Woman!

bikinisuited

bump

ackeebee

I just find that the easier it is to make it, the less prep and ingredients it needs, the more likely I am to continue making it until it becomes a sold habit.

i totally agree with this point. i see alot of recipes that in my opinion they seem to have too many ingredients and that turn me off.

i actually am not a fan of kale steamed but i must admit that i find it ok in my smoothies. i dont use more than one cup at a time.

jamie1888

I've found that using dark berries really help mask the flavor of the greens. I use frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. And banana does add a lot of sweetness. But, I have a super sweet tooth, so I usually add Truvia or Stevia too.

gdnt

I've found that adding some soft tofu to my green smoothies really mellows them out. 0 grams of sugar per serving.

SilverAway

I did. lol, take some and drank it..lol, man LMAO, did I lol, make myself feel lol like my lol weight was really a comin LMAO off and I felt kind of funny LMAO

SilverAway

Get over the LOL thing, nothing you said was funny plus the lol thing is getting real old