For those of you who are just starting to experiment with adding different vegetables to your smoothies, this is a great place to start. I’ve used easy-to-find ingredients for this green smoothie recipe. Feel free to play around with the ingredients to suit your taste!
WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE GREEN SMOOTHIE
LIQUIDS: ORANGE JUICE & OAT MILK
I always use juice as a base for my smoothies because they provide natural sweetness. Most often, I use orange juice, apple juice, or carrot juice. Even though these juices contain natural sugar, I try not to go overboard by adding too much juice into my smoothies. Otherwise, I’ll be consuming a lot of sugar at once. To add more volume to the smoothie, I often use non-dairy milk, such as oat or almond milk. You can also use soy milk or even filtered water for this smoothie.
MIXED GREENS
I often use salad greens for my smoothies. In the photo, the greens are a mixture of baby spinach, baby chard, and baby kale. You can substitute that mixture with baby spinach or any other type of salad green. If you are using bunched kale, I recommend using slightly less (maybe 1 large handful) because they have a stronger earthy flavor.
BELL PEPPER
Sweet bell peppers are great for smoothies because they are slightly sweet. In my photo, I have yellow bell pepper, but orange and red varieties work, too. You’ll want to use about 1/4 of a large bell pepper.
AVOCADO
Adding half an avocado to a smoothie is one of the best ways to thicken a smoothie and to make them more filling. Even if your avocado is looking a little brown (because you left an open half in the fridge for several days), they’re still usable for smoothies.
GINGER
Almost all of my smoothies have ginger in it because I love the zingy flavor. When I’m using very fresh ginger, I usually add slices of ginger straight to the blender. However, when I’m using ginger that’s been sitting in my fridge for a while, I grate the ginger first. Ginger that’s a little dried up tends to be fibrous and not pleasant to swallow in a smoothie. Grating the ginger helps to get rid of those dry fibers.
LEMON JUICE & ZEST
I also use lemon juice to brighten up my smoothies. A lot of the lemon flavor comes from the rind, so I use a microplane zester to grate the zest for my smoothies. You can also use limes instead of lemons.
CAYENNE PEPPER
To give my smoothies a spicy kick, I usually add a bit of cayenne pepper. You can use less or leave it out completely.
MORE SMOOTHIES RECIPES
Red Zinger Beet SmoothieOriginal Red Beet SmoothieBlueberry Smoothie
