The Best Green Smoothie Recipes {Plus Smoothie Tips and Tricks}

Disclosure: This post is not sponsored (just sharing some of my favorite things!) but it does contain a few Amazon affiliate links. The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn referral fees (at no cost to you) by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Looking for a refreshing and nutrient dense breakfast or snack? Check out today’s post for smoothie making tips and the best green smoothie recipes around!

Happy February, friends! How is 2019 treating you? I heard numerous people say that January felt like the longest month ever and that they didn’t start the new year quite like they wanted. So, they are declaring a “do over” and kicking off (restarting) their new year’s goals and intentions this month. Personally, January went by in a blur, and while I dived head first into several goals and many new responsibilities, in many other areas of my life I fell behind (like this blog), while I tried to get everything in order for the new year.

But while I was taking a little impromptu break from blogging and kind of a break from social media, I was busy planning so many things I want to do and share here. So, I think the little break was a success and I can’t wait to see what happens in 2019!

Since we are talking about the new year and all, I want to know what are some of your new year’s goals or intentions? Like I said, I have quite a few, but not too many to manage, and they are mostly things I already do, I just want to hone in and focus on this year. Things like Marie Kondo my entire house, save more money and be more intentional how I spend my money, read more books, consistently meal plan (this can be hard since sometimes I have recipe assignments pop up, but I’m really trying to figure out a system that works despite this), continue to be active and workout, AND…. Figure out a system to blog more while doing all these other things and taking care of a babe! Wish me luck!

Ginger Pear Green Smoothie

If you are trying to meal plan, eat healthier and/or be more active, you are probably eating a lot of overnight oats and drinking lots of green smoothies right now. I am a firm believer in living a balanced lifestyle and not doing extreme diets or workouts. We pretty much live the 80/20 rule when it comes to healthy eating and exercise. I’d say we eat healthy and stay active (whether it be working out or going on family walks) 80% of the time and the other 20% we allow ourselves to sleep in, binge watch shows on Netflix and enjoy some favorite foods like ice cream, Girl Scout Cookies and pizza, without feeling bad about it! 😊

My go to healthy breakfasts are fruit and yogurt parfaits, almond butter or avocado whole grain toast with fruit and/or eggs, oatmeal (check out some of my favorite oatmeal recipes!) and protein shakes and smoothies, particularly GREEN SMOOTHIES! I love smoothies because you can pack a TON of vitamins and nutrients in smoothies and it tastes great!

I have a TON of smoothie recipes here on Kitchen Concoctions, but since I make green smoothies the most, I thought today I would share with you some of the best green smoothie recipes and some smoothie making tips and tricks to help you stick with your new year’s goals, whether that is to eat healthy, not skip breakfast, or just be the best YOU can be, whatever YOU decide that to be!!

Check out my smoothie making tips below! And be sure and check out all my favorite green smoothie recipes by clicking on the photos and links throughout this article!

Tropical Green Energy Smoothie

What is a green smoothie?

Typically, green smoothies are smoothies that have leafy greens added, usually spinach, kale or fresh herbs, like parsley. Because spinach and kale (specifically baby kale) have a mild flavor, you don’t usually taste these leafy greens in your smoothie, and only taste the other green smoothie ingredients. Thus, making a green smoothie a healthy and delicious way to consume more of those good, nutrient dense leafy greens!

Note: If you are adding things like fruit or vegetables to your green smoothie recipe, you want to use light colored fruits or vegetables (like bananas, mango, pineapple, cauliflower, carrots) to keep your smoothie a nice green color. While you can certainly use red fruits and vegetables (like strawberries, beets, etc.), depending on how much you use of these ingredients can sometimes result in a brownish “green” smoothie.

Are Green Smoothies Healthy?

Green smoothies are a super healthy breakfast or snack option! Leafy greens (like spinach and kale) are packed with essential vitamins and nutrients. Pair those with other healthy foods often found in green smoothies (things like fiber rich rolled oats, ground flax seeds which are a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, etc.), and you have a healthy green smoothie. The things you have to watch out for, which could cause green smoothies to become unhealthy, are the amounts of added sugar (additional sweeteners, more than a serving of fruit juice, etc.).

Green Smoothie Ingredients:

The beauty of a green smoothie is that as long as you have your leafy greens, you can pretty much add whatever else you want to your smoothie. Some of my favorite green smoothie ingredients are:

Fresh or frozen leafy greens (kale*, spinach, parsley)
Fresh or frozen fruit (mango, oranges, pineapple, bananas, apples, grapes, kiwi, blueberries, avocados, coconut chunks)
Fresh or frozen vegetables (carrots, cauliflower)
Greek yogurt
Ground flax seeds
Chia seeds
Nut butters (I prefer almond butter, but other nut or sun butters work too)
Nuts (walnuts are a good source of omega 3 fatty acid!)
Rolled oats (soaked in milk or water for 5 minutes to soften)
Protein powder or collagen powder
Milk (use the type you prefer, I usually use cow’s milk or almond milk)
Honey, dates or maple syrup (if needed)
Ice (I, usually prefer to use frozen fruit or vegetables instead of ice so that I don’t water down my smoothie but sometimes I need to use some ice to get the texture I want)
Matcha powder or brewed green tea
Coconut water (instead of milk)
Juice (orange juice, pineapple juice) (instead of milk)

*Note: Some people have a hard time digesting raw Dino kale. So, you can steam or boil the kale for 2-3 minutes and then blanch it in an ice bath before adding it to your smoothie or to skip this step, use baby kale (found with the pre-packaged spinach and salad mixed greens).

Key Lime Pie Green Smoothie

How to make a green smoothie:

Today I am sharing ten of the best green smoothie recipes, but basically here are the steps on how to make the best green smoothie:

Choose your preferred leafy green (I usually use spinach)
Add it to a blender with your other favorite smoothie ingredients (fruit, milk, Greek yogurt, protein powder, etc.)
Blend until smooth and creamy; adding additional milk or ice/frozen fruit to reach desired consistency

Tools to make the best green smoothies:

1. A high-power blender or single serve blender – I personally own and have been a big fan of the Nutri Ninja Mega 1200 Watts Kitchen System. While this blender is more expensive than others on the market, it is way more affordable than a Vitamix Blender and does just as good of a job (I’ve used both of these blender brands professionally and personally for many years). Also, if you get the Ninja Blender Kitchen System, it comes with individual smoothie cups/blender attachments and a food processor attachment. If you don’t need a big blender, you could also just buy a Nutri Ninja Single Serve Blender.

2. Blender Spatula – A blender spatula is usually longer than a regular spatula and has a skinnier and longer rubber spatula part. This tool makes it easier to scrape out all the smoothie mixture from all the nooks and crannies of the blender.

3. Tumbler with Lid – If I am not using my single serve blender cup, and I want to take my smoothie on the go, then I love using tumblers (like these with a lid and straw) to drink my smoothie from.

4. Reusable Straws – I’ve been using reusable straws for many, many years! I prefer drinking my water throughout the day with a reusable straw, as I feel like I drink more water when I sip it through a straw, but a metal or reusable plastic straw is a must, in my opinion, for drinking smoothies. I like these stainless steel metal straws as they come with a long, skinny cleaning brush, but these reusable plastic straws are fun too.

Cleaning Tip: Even though these straws come with a cleaning brush, I always run water through my reusable straws as soon as I’m done with my smoothie, to help thoroughly clean it out.

5. Quart Size Freezer Bags – If I am meal prepping and making smoothie freezer packs, I throw all my smoothie ingredients in quart size freezer bags and then label and date each bag.

6. Ice Cube Trays – I use ice cube trays to freeze Greek yogurt for smoothie freezer packs.

Kitchen Hack: How To Clean a Blender

Cleaning a blender is a breeze with this simple kitchen hack!

Fill blender pitcher 1/3 to 1/2 full with hot tap water.
Add 1-2 drops of liquid dish soap.
Put lid on blender pitcher and blend on high for 30-60 seconds.
Remove lid from blender pitcher and rinse pitcher and lid thoroughly with hot water.
Dry blender lid and pitcher with a clean kitchen towel and store for later use.

Green Monster Smoothie

Make Ahead Smoothie Packs:

You can buy smoothie “packs” in the freezer section of your grocery store, but making your own is easy and so much more affordable. Simply place freezable smoothie ingredients (fruit, spinach and other vegetables, yogurt that has been frozen in ice cube trays, etc.) in a quart sized freezer baggies. Date and label the baggies and place in the freezer. When ready to make a smoothie, dump the contents of the smoothie pack in your blender and add milk and other desired smoothie ingredients (ie: protein powder, nut butter, rolled oats) and blend.