This Simple Green Smoothie for Beginners contains a healthy dose of spinach along with berries and yogurt, but you'd never know! It's the perfect recipe to sneak vegetables into a delicious and healthy treat. We'll show you how to modify the basic recipe and take things to the next level.
If you're a late to the green craze or want to slowly nudge yourself into eating more vegetables, then try this Simple Green Smoothie for Beginners. It's a twist on our popular Simple Strawberry Smoothie with yogurt. It's the same recipe except we added frozen spinach and replaced some of the strawberries with blueberries.
There are just enough greens to make you feel good about what you're drinking. And, there are just enough berries to offset the color and taste. Tricky!
I call it my Wimpy Green Smoothie because it doesn't look or taste green at all! But I know that healthy green spinach is lurking inside.
It's the jumping off point for something hardcore, like a Pineapple Green Smoothie!
Ingredients in Simple Green Smoothie for Beginners
Other than spinach, this is a fruit smoothie. It's meant to open oneself up to the idea of a greener smoothie, both in color and ingredients. Or maybe it's just an opportunity to be sneaky! 🙂
Here's a breakdown of the ingredients:
- A single serve container of whole Greek yogurt for protein and creaminess.
- ½ cup of frozen chopped spinach. Frozen spinach will be less noticeable than fresh spinach.
- 1 ½ cups of frozen berries. We used strawberries and blueberries. Any berry combination would work. Note that dark berries do a better job of masking the green color.
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice really perks up the flavor!
- Sweetener to taste.
We use 1 packet of Organic Zing which is part stevia and part sugar. Honey is also an option. Honestly, I like it so much better with a smidgeon of sugar. I monitor my intake of natural sugar sweeteners and I'm ok with a small amount.
Depending upon the blender used to make the smoothie, water may need to be added. A NutriBullet has a fill line for adding liquid so I usually add ¾ - 1 cup of water. Coconut water or juice can be added instead.
How to Make a Smoothie without Yogurt
Yogurt makes this green smoothie creamy and adds protein. But, my daughter is vegan. So, Greek yogurt is not an option. Instead, she adds silken tofu. There are also vegan "yogurt" alternatives on the market.
But, you don't have to add yogurt at all. Check out the other ways to thicken a smoothie below.
How to thicken a smoothie
Thicken a smoothie by adding one of these ingredients:
- Ripe banana - because of the natural sweetness, less sweetener may be required. Score!
- Finely ground oatmeal
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Wheat germ
- More frozen fruit
- Avocado
To obtain a thicker consistency use fruit that is frozen. Either buy frozen fruit or freeze fresh fruit. Otherwise, add a few ice chunks for a thick consistency.
Tips for Adding More Greens to Smoothies
- Push the ratio of greens to berries to the limit! A 1 to 1 ratio is doable. For kids and the squeamish, ramp up slowly.
- Make sure to always blend very well. A stray stem of green may set you back in your ways.
- Try other greens, such as broccoli, kale, Swiss chard, cucumbers, celery...I find that savory ingredients are less noticeable in a smoothie when frozen.
- Caution: All variations to the basic green smoothie recipe may require a different amount of sweetener!
Once you've designed the "Perfect Green Smoothie" package it! Portion out ingredients in freezer bags so that all you need to do is dump them into the blender.
There are so many blenders on the market. For a long time we used an inexpensive one that sits in our cabinet untouched for years at a time now. If you love smoothies, then a blender designed for that purpose is completely worth the investment.
We have a NutriBullet blender and love it. Rather than measuring everything out, we eyeball it. My two tips when using this particular brand (which very well may be applicable to other types):
- Before you start blending, shake the contents so they are distributed. Make sure the lid is closed before and after you do this.
- Make sure the lid is completely closed before you begin the process. AND every time you stop blending, check to make sure it's still closed.
I'm sure you've guessed by now that we initially had a few spills.
Well, off to make another green smoothie variation!
If you make this recipe, we loved to hear about! Tag @DinnerMom or #DinnerMom on all social media.
Check our favorite products for making smoothies are in our Amazon Store.
Simple Green Smoothie for Beginners
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5.3 ounces Greek yogurt 1 container
- ½ cup chopped spinach frozen
- 1 ½ cups mixed berries frozen
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 Packet Stevia Blend to equal 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup water or amount required per blender instructions
Instructions
- Add ingredients to Nutribullet or blender and process until smooth and creamy.
Nutrition
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Diana Johnson
Mmm I never thought to try silken tofu in my green smoothies. Great idea!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
Wonderful idea for kids to get them to eat their veggies. I don't have a problem eating all my vegetables but this would be a great way to sneak in some extra.