Green Smoothies are  all the rage these days.  If you listen to the hype, you’d believe that drinking green smoothies will give you more energy, help you lose weight, ”detoxify” your body, make you smarter, extend your life, make you prettier, wash your car, pick your kids up after school, fly you to your mother in law’s house for Thanksgiving, etc.  You name it, and someone out there is claiming that a Green Smoothie will do it for you.  In fact, one website that I ran across claims “It isn’t a ‘diet’; it’s a lifestyle you will never want to quit living!”

I don’t buy into any of that.  And you shouldn’t either – the first tip-off should be that these sites all want your email address or credit card number before they give you any information!

I like to have a Green Smoothie for breakfast for three reasons.  First, it’s healthy.  With vitamins and minerals from dark green vegetables and sugars from fruit, I find that it gives me a bit of a jump in the morning. The second reason is that I’m not usually a breakfast eater, so a liquid meal is perfect for me.  Finally, the third reason that I like Green Smoothies is that I think they taste good.  Really – they do.

This is a recipe for a basic “Green Smoothie.”  You can try adding more ingredients, or try using different ingredients.  Kale, mixed greens, radish greens, cabbage, and collard greens are all popular additions or substitutions. I may post additional Green Smoothie recipes in the future.  But for now, here’s a basic recipe.

Basic Green Smoothie Recipe

  1. 2 cups raw spinach
  2. 2 medium sized bananas
  3. 1 cup apple juice

Preparation: Put all of the above in a blender.  Blend.  Drink & enjoy.

Nutritional Info: This smoothie has about 340 calories, 85 g carbs, 1 g fat, and 5 g protein.  Additionally, it contains over 100% of the USDA daily recommended Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

If you’re looking for something with a few less calories, go ahead and substitute water for the apple juice.  That should shave off about 120 calories and 29 carbs.

Don’t be suckered into paying for any green smoothie recipe – all are just variations on the above (free)  recipe.