Green monster smoothie

For those close to me it’s no secret that I really like drinking smoothies. My favorite smoothies are green ones and the recipe that I will show you today is the one that I use to drink most of the time: green monster smoothie with spinach, banana and apple.

This smoothie is energizing, nourishing and can replace breakfast when you’re on the go or simply you’re not in the mood to prepare anything. Somethimes it happens to me not to be in he mood to make anything else for breakfast and a smoothie it’s a quick and easy solution.

I think that 4/7 days per week I start my mornings with a smoothie. Be it a proteic smoothie, where besides the liquid base and fruits, I also add oats, seeds (chia, flax, hemp), or a smoothie made with fruits and vegetables. Of course, this smoothie can not replace a full breakfast, I mean, I can’t just drink only a smoothie for breakfast and that’s it till lunch. I will drink this smoothie, but I will eat something else in 1 or 2 hours after that.

I have to admit that green smoothie is my favorite. I like to make all sorts of combinations:

• spinach, banana, avocado, juice of one lemon, 150-200 ml water
• lettuce, banana, aple, kiwi, 200 ml. water
• spinach, apple, avocado, cucumber, juice of one lemon, 150-200 ml. water
• spinach, apple, cucumber, celery stalk, parsley, orange, banana, 150-200 ml. water
• spinach, apple, banana, ginger, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of turmeric or cinnamon, 150-200 ml. water

For a perfect smoothie you need

1. Liquids: water, green tea, juices, milk (dairy or non dairy)
2. Fruit with a creamy texture: banana, apple, pear, peach, mango, avocado (yeah, avocado is a fruit)
3. Extra fruits: berries, kiwi, oranges, lemon
4. Vegetables: spinach, lettuce, kale, celery, carrot, beetroot, cucumber, ginger (yap, a vegetable)
5. Herbs: parsley, mint, coriander, basil
6. Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger powder
7. Seeds: chia, flax, hemp seeds

One important thing to note is that, when you want to make a smoothie, do not overdo it with the ingredients. Yes, smoothies have earned their title or place among the healthy foods category, but if we do not pay attention of what we add to them, they can become too caloric and full of sugar (fruit sugar/fructose). My advice is to choose 2 or maximum 3 fruits (1 banana + a handful of blueberries, 1 apple + 1 kiwi + 1 banana, 1 banana + apple + orange, etc.). Regarding the liquids,the most „safe” solution for you would be to choose water, not natural juices. If you want the smoothie to be a bit creamy, add non dairy milk or 2-3 tablespoons of natural yogurt.

For a creamier texture I recommend to add frozen fruits, ice cubes, oats, peanut butter. You just need a blender, then you will learn the combinations along the way.

Let’s see this recipe of Green Monster Smoothie!
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INGREDIENTS
a handful of fresh spinach
2 ripe bananas
1 apple
juice of 1 lemon
ginger (to taste)
1 tablespoon of coconut flakes, chia and flax seeds
150 ml. water

*Why do I use ripe bananas? These are much sweeter than the unripe ones and this ripe bananas help a lor to the final taste of a smoothie. If you add a single ripe banana, your smoothie will be sweet enough and you will not need to add sweeteners.
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PREPARATION

Wash the spinach and put it in a blender.

Peel the apple, a bit of ginger root and banana, cut them into smaller pieces and put them over spinach in the blender.

Squeeze 1 lemon, add 150 ml. water and the seeds that I mentioned above and blend all the ingredients until all becomes a creamy, smooth drink.

That’s it! Enjoy it!

Nicoleta 🙂

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