A slim-down smoothie filled with super foods including spinach, blueberries, oatbran, and apple. Delicious and sooo good for you!
Or purple… it really depends how many blueberries you put in!
A yummy, filling smoothie packed full of food stuff – super foods, antioxidants and packing a hefty punch of protein too! It’ll get your day off to the right kind of start!
Spinach, cucumber, carrot, apple, banana, blueberry. Meet my basic delicious superfood green smoothie! I drink this or a variation of this every single day and for me, it’s the breakfast option that works best and helps me to get all the veggies I need in. I know what you’re thinking – does this stuff taste like spinach?! Thankfully, no! The key to a delicious smoothie is to pack it full of vegetables that bring loads of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to the table, and then disguise the taste of those veggies with a smaller amount of fruits. The reason I put the emphasis on the veggies is because fruit is usually high in sugar, and that sugar reaches your bloodstream faster when it’s liquidised. Thankfully, blending it up into a smoothie (rather than a juice) ensures that we’re still getting the fibre and all the other goodness from the fruits and veggies – nothing is filtered out.
So a smoothie recipe on a baking blog? I know! I never ever thought I’d be the kind of person who drank smoothies and I bet you feel the same. But I started a few months ago in an effort to start every day on the right note with a healthy breakfast (toast with nutella from the work canteen calls to me otherwise!) and I’ve stuck with it, to my great surprise. My skin is clearer and I never worry about getting my five a day anymore – I get at least that just at breakfast!
Let’s be clear – I’m not only drinking them because they’re healthy (if only I had that kind of willpower!), smoothies are also really tasty! Knowing that I’m getting so many vitamins, antioxidants and other good stuff in easily is just the icing on the cake! I got this smoothie2go maker when I decided to give smoothie’s a try. I was worried it would be a waste of money if I lost interest in smoothies, but so far it’s definitely been worth the twenty or so pounds I spent on it! The blender is really small and it doubles as a mug for your smoothie with a handy flip lid – I also got some hard plastic straws that I use along with it. If you already have one, you can also use any powerful blender. Since we’ll be blending up frozen bananas and other fruit, you’ll need one that’s strong enough to blend ice.
We’ll be using frozen banana to make this smoothie because blending up frozen banana gives it an incredibly delicious, creamy consistency. You can even use your blender or smoothie maker to whip up some banana ice cream using this method (apparently good if you need to trick any children into thinking they’re getting ice cream when they’re actually eating bananas). All you need to do is buy a bunch of bananas, and peel and chop them, then pop the slices into a freezer bag and freeze. I normally do that on a weekly basis so I never run out of frozen banana chunks. Often the chunks get stuck together but a drop onto my tiled kitchen floor quickly sorts that out!
So let’s run-down the amazing benefits of superfood smoothies:
- super healthy
- low carb, no added sugar!
- all the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals you can shake a stick at
- an excellent source of dietary fibre – which will help to keep you full for hours
- conversation starter – at least once a day someone at work asks me what on earth it is I’m drinking!
You do have to factor in 5 minutes to whizz up your smoothie every morning, but for me, that’s still a simpler option than worrying about having breakfast supplies for porridge or cereal ready at work (since I eat my breakfast there), and the fact that those are carb and sugar heavy options. A super healthy breakfast gives me room for indulging in things like my amazing homemade focaccia or bounty-stuffed chocolate brownies.
So here’s my everday superfood smoothie recipe – it’s a delicious base to start from, but you can swap out things according to what’s in season and what you have in your fridge! I love to include half a small avocado when I have some, for the good fats and a creamy texture, and if I need an extra bit of protein I will include a scoop of fruit flavoured protein powder too – great for a pre-workout meal. A tbsp of peanut butter is great too!
A note on the oatbran – I include it because I have some and to get some beta-glucon into my diet! If you don’t have it, don’t worry!
- 1 small banana's worth of frozen banana chunks
- 2 tbsp frozen blueberries
- 70ml unsweetened almond milk
- 30ml water - you may need to add more
- 2 big handfuls fresh spinach (I've also used frozen spinach with success)
- 40g (A 1.5 inch chunk) of cucumber cut in half
- 40g (A 3 inch chunk) of carrot, cut into thick slices
- 1 heaped tbsp Greek Yoghurt
- Start by assembling your banana chunks and blueberries in the bottom of the blender with the almond milk and water. Blend until the mixture is smooth - you may need to add more water. Add the spinach, cucumber and carrot, plus the greek yoghurt and blend again. If the consistency is too thick, add more water or almond milk and blend again. Drink immediately.
If you’re already making smoothies, what combinations are you loving?
x Kerry
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Oh dear, I think it’s too late for me. I haven’t been eating healthily but this does look really good!
You know I wouldn’t drink them if they weren’t delicious Lorraine! Plus strawberry protein powder makes it taste like a milkshake and helps me actually get some protein 🙂 You should have a go!
This sounds so healthy and delicious!Great recipe!
Amanda recently posted…1-13-15
I keep meaning to pick up a bag of spinach so I can start making smoothies. I always enjoy them when I make them and think it’s a great way to get some extra protein (when I add protein powder) but I’m just lazy and never feel like getting out my blender. I know, not a big deal but I have my breakfast routine of oats and snack of greek yogurt + berries. It’s hard to stray away from goodness 😉 This looks great though!
Diane @ Life of Di. recently posted…Oh, New York.
Looks delish Kerry and what a gorgeous colour!
Janie x
Janie recently posted…One Day with Le Creuset {Plus Giveaway!}
YUM! This looks like a delicious way to get in a lot of healthy foods 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Kerry!
Thanks Liz! Do you do smoothies?