Sweet Spinach Smoothie
The morning I created this delicious smoothie recipe, I woke up to gently falling snow. The scene was absolutely beautiful. With my Bible open, I sat near the hearth, relishing the warmth from the fire and a few moments of solitude. It wasn't long before Isabelle, my then 7-year-old, crept into the living room and whispered, "Mom, God answered my prayer. I asked him for 1 1/2 inches of snow. Look outside!" Our mid-morning snack that day was Sweet Spinach Smoothies.Now, before you shake your head "no way" and run out of the room when you see the color of this smoothie, give it a fair chance. Let me assure you that the sweetness of the banana and pear completely mask any the spinach taste. Trust me!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water or non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, rice, or soy milk)
- 1 Bosc pear, unpeeled, cored
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, packed
- 1 frozen banana, sliced
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal, optional
- 1/2 tablespoon kelp powder, optional
- 1/2 tablespoon spirulina powder, optional
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.
- Yield: 2 servings (serving size: about 8 ounces or 1 cup)
Video
Notes
- To freeze bananas, remove peels before placing in freezer. Put in a plastic zip-top bag until completely frozen.
- Substitute spinach with kale leaves.
- Use an Anjou, Asian, or Bartlett pear instead of a Bosc pear.
- Flaxseed meal is a powder made from ground flaxseeds. It's high in fiber and a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Kelp is a sea vegetable that is a concentrated source of minerals, including iodine, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron.
- Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae that is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids (antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage). It contain B complex vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and gamma linolenic acid (an essential fatty acid).
I am sure this is a sin too be so good!!! I added a tablespoon of vanilla protein and this is the best smoothie I ever had.
I’m so glad you liked it!
I am curious if spirulina “tablets” could be used in smoothies? We used to use powdered spirulina a lot a few years ago and just got away from it. (burnt out on smoothies and it was kind of expensive!) But we’re wanting to get back into smoothies again and “shopping around” for our options. Thanks!
Hi, Tara! I’ve never heard of spirulina tablets. As long as the tablets don’t contain any restricted ingredients, they should work fine (and not be as messy!). I don’t know about you, but whenever I add spirulina to smoothies, it gets all over the place! Maybe it’s just me, though. 😉
How do you feel about using other super foods like cocao, chia seeds & hemp seed ?
I can not tolerate flax or spirulina.
I don’t have a problem with chia seeds or hemp seeds. However, I would not recommend cacao. Recently, I started eating cacao nibs, thinking I was doing a good thing. But, I had severe stomach cramps after eating them. Then I started reading online about cacao and realized there are often major side effects from it.
Very yummy!!!! I didn’t add any of the optional ingredients because I didn’t have them. But I loved it. My 7 year old asked me “if my drink is organic” he had a sip but hopefully next time I’ll get him to have more.
Great! I love that your 7-year-old tried it, too. 🙂
If the recipe is for 2 servings, how do you store the other one?
Well, you could give the other half to someone in your family! That’s what I do. Or, you can always freeze it into cubes and then use the cubes in another smoothie later.
This is incredibly good! I only had flaxseed, so I used that. Of course you can’t taste that at all. I’ve always been “afraid” of green smoothies, but I am really glad I gave this a try. I used 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water. It’s awesome!
I’m glad you overcame your fear of “green” and went for it! See what you’ve been missing? 😉 Thanks for your comments!
I just found your site this morning 5th day into my Daniel Fast. Thank you for sharing your wonderul foods.
Thank you for such an informative and health-enhancing website!
Are you and your family vegetarians? Any suggestions for enticing a health 2-year old to try to eat anything different than Organic Baby food Spinach or organic Baby food Green Beans? He refuses to eat any other veggies nor table food fruits or vegetables.
You’re welcome! I’m thankful you are being blessed by the website. No, we are not vegetarians, although I have been in the past. As far as suggestions for your two-year-old, I’m shocked he doesn’t even like fruit! Have you tried smoothies? Maybe it’s a texture thing. If he likes the pureed baby food, maybe he would like something similar to that consistency. Another idea is to “trick” him by adding food into the spinach and green beans. For example, you could mash avocado and put it in with the spinach. Another idea is to cook sweet potatoes and mash those up. Have you tried to feed him something like that? These are just a few thoughts. Let me know if you need more. Feel free to email me at kristen@ultimatedanielfast.com. I’ll help if I can!
Thank you for responding with some intriguing thoughts. Yes,it is quite possible that it is a “texture thing”for him. I just invested in a VitaMix blender, so I can certainly try some Smoothies for him! I will e-mail you.God bless you, Kristen!!
First time at your site and I’m so excited!!!!
Blessings,
Where did you purchase your spirulina powder?
And did you include all three optional ingredients to your smoothie? Do they change the taste of the smoothie or just add nutritional value?
If I have the optional ingredients on hand, yes, I add them. The spirulina and kelp powders will change the flavor. I really like spirulina in smoothies. By itself, it’s not good, but when you mix it in a smoothie, the spirulina adds a unique taste. I don’t even know what to compare it to, but you should try it!
I’ve gotten it at two different places: 1) our local health food store, and 2) HyVee (in the health food bulk section).