Continuing the theme of my post-vacation shape up, I went home and drank my veggies for lunch in the form of a…
Green Monster Spinach Smoothie!
Green Monster Spinach Smoothies are one of my top secret diet weapons, because although they’re packed with baby spinach, which make my skin, hair, nails, and overall self feel totally great, they do not taste healthy at all. I repeat, they do not taste healthy at all.
PLUS!
- Spinach is fat free, cholesterol free, low in calories, and very low in sodium
- Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, and lutein
- Leutin is an antioxidant that promotes good eye health, and may help prevent cancer of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate, and even dementia.
- Dole lab tests found spinach juice has twice the chlorophyl, eight times the calcium, six times the magnesium, 10 times the potassium, 15 times the vitamin C and 43 times the vitamin A of wheatgrass juice!
Are you convinced yet? Well channel your inner Popeye and get to blending already!
First add 1 sliced frozen banana, and 1 Tablespoon peanut butter in a blender. Tip: PEEL and SLICE your bananas before you freeze them, or you’ll be sorry!
Next add bulking agents for staying power, like protein-packed vanilla Greek yogurt, and creamy unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You could use any kind of milk you want – cow’s, rice, soy, etc.
PS I started calling cow’s milk, well, cow’s milk, after I stopped drinking it last year in favor of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, and it freaks. Ben. out. So hysterical. I terrorize because I love.
Fill the blender the rest of the way up with baby spinach. I reckon I fit about 4 cups in there today!
Start the blender on “high blend” until everything’s mixed up, then switch it over to “liquify” to get the Green Monster velvety smooth.
Pure green gold!
Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 frozen sliced banana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)
4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Nutritional stats:
350 calories, 10g fiber, 21g protein
I almost feel guilty enjoying one of these babies, as it tastes like a sweet, indulgent ice cream shake. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch or even a snack.
Try throwing in different kinds of greens, protein powder, and any frozen fruit or berry combo under the sun. The sky’s the limit with this ultra-healthy, not-healthy-tasting Green Monster Spinach Smoothie!
*Sources: Dole, WH Foods, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
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I use:
-half an avocado
-spinach
-almond butter instead of PB
-small amount of organic honey
-chia seeds
-almond chocolate milk
-protien powder
-frozen banana
where did you find chia seeds? I have been looking in local gro stores. Please and thank you
Our chemist and health food shops are selling chia seeds. Maybe for you too?
Everything is better with chocolate.
I have never seen Almond chocolate milk though.
ooooh my goodness i was SUPER skeptical! but i am drinking this now; so yummy! i put too much peanut butter cause i didn’t measure, just estimated. next time i’ll reign in the p.b. some. but there will be a next time! this is an awesome way to get in more veggies and fruits! yummmmm!
I’m a new follower and found you from Pinterest. I have always been VERY skeptical of these smoothies and the people that claim “they’re good! you can’t taste the spinach!” but I decided to try it out for dinner anyway. Oh. My. Goodness. These are yummy – I feel healthy & full after drinking it! Absolutely don’t taste the spinach one bit! This will be perfect as a quick breakfast or snack after working out. Thanks for converting me.
I love green smoothies I make mine with frozen strawberries, spinach, unsweetened almond milk and chocolate protein powder its like a chocolate covered strawberry milk shake mmmmmm
Will try your recipe soon thanks
Looks perfect! I like the idea of freezing the bananas! Excellent post.
Love this smoothie, I also make one with kale that is fantastic. Good way to start the day.
New follower. Love your blog!
I add frozen mango and sometimes strawberries (but the red changes the color of the smoothie). I always add cinnamon and vanilla too. I’ll have to try the peanut butter next.
what is a good alternative to the greek yogurt ive tried to like it but i just cant stand it anything else to sub that you can buy at the grocery store i wanna try this today
You can use regular yogurt, protein powder, or no yogurt at all. You can also use 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, although the smoothie won’t be as silky with them blended in. Still good – just not 100% smooth!
if you soak the oats overnight in a bit of milk in a covered dish, it helps make it less chunky in the smoothie.
I love the idea of oat meal………gonna do that tomorrow….thank you………..Carmen in Virginia
Hi there! Just found you through a friends blog and have been spending way too much time checking out your recipes! Quick question for you… my daughter is allergic to nuts. Do you have a suggestion of something to replace the peanut butter? Thanks so much! Have a great weekend…
Try sesame seed butter…trader joes sells it and it’s soooo delist!!!
You actually don’t *have* to add PB – I just do it because I like the taste, and protein boost!
We use SunButter Creamy in our house since I can’t send PB to school with the kids. It is a very close second and tastes great in this smoothie.
I make these every morning except I add frozen berries or frozen peaches. ( I like peaches better because they don’t alter the green color) also i use PB2 which is powdered peanut butter. 46 cals and 1.5 grams of fat per 2 tbsp. If your looking for protein then stick with the pb but if your looking for taste and lower cals go with the pb2. Only bummer you have to get it online. BTW its just pressed peanuts. They just press the oil right out of it.
You can get the powdered PB2 at HyVee if you have one of those grocery stores in your area at least I can here in Missouri.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I found you on pinterst as well.
. I’ve also shared it with friends and they’re all going to give it a try!
I have two very picky boys when it comes to most veggies and they love it! It’s a big hit in this house
This sounds good . I will have to try it. I learned the trick of slicing the bananas the hard way when I made frozen smoothies this summer. Thanks for sharing!!I love your log. I follow it faithfully.
I didn’t measure exactly cause I have a small blender & I taste banana & peanut butter mostly. My 7 year son has been very excited to try this and he likes it. I do too. Thanks for the great way to get the spinich into my family.
[...] have seen so many blog posts about “green” smoothies all around the internet and so in the spirit of my goals for 2012, I decided that putting spinach in [...]
How much does this recipe make?
It makes about 16oz
I’m trying this week! I just started making smoothies each morning (Dr. Oz’s Green Drink is amazing), and this looks delicious!
looove this! made it for dinner tonight, really good: i love spinach so i put a little more in, but if you don’t like the taste of spinach stick to around 4 cups.
I’m looking forward to trying this since 1- I am constantly watching my weight, and 2- I have picky eaters in my house. What exactly is the serving size of this smoothie, and do you know the fat and carb content?
It makes about 16oz.
Okay, do ya have to include the banana or is there something low carb I can substitute? I have been doing well on my current diet and carbs are a big part of that, but dang it, this smoothie sounds so good I want to try it.
Oooh peanut butter. I hadn’t thought about that! I do about 1.5 cups of milk, frozen raspberries and blueberries, a whole banana, scoop of Solgar protein powder, and a huge handful of spinach. Mine’s more of a blue/purple color. I’ve done the yogurt before, and also a squirt of honey to make it a little sweeter. It’s a great breakfast shake for me, I enjoy it during my hour commute!
do you know the fat & carb info as well?
thanks!
Hi!
I tried this yesterday, it was absolutely delicious! I was just wondering, mine got a little bit too thick. Is there anything I can do to make it more liquid-like because it almost got to a solid. The milk is so thick that I wasn’t sure if it would help to add more. Did anyone else have this problem?
Next time just add a bit more milk. You can add more/less of any ingredient to fit your tastes!
I’m lactose intolerant is there a non dairy substitue for the yogurt or can I just leave it out??
There is a soy yogurt you could use. I really wish I could remember the name. Not every grocery store carries it, but one with a good organic section or something like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods would carry yogurt alternatives.
Made this and everyone loved it! Especially the kids! Calling it the green monster smoothies definitely helped the cause! They loved the name! Pinned it on pinterest and it got over one hundred repins! It’s a for sure hit!
I started eating healthier this year…and received a NINJA as a Christmas gift…was a little intimidated actually..saw this recipe..and for some reason..just had to try it..and well..loved it! Thank you!
This is SO yummy!! Thanks for sharing!
I have this for breakfast daily. Sooo good and filling! I put ice cubes, a cup of almond milk, drop of honey, refrigerated blueberries, banana,( unfrozen), and lots of spinach. Maybe a little flaxseed too. Delicious.
I’m going to try this. I have tried a “green” smoothie before that started out with kale and it was just plain gross. But I’m trusting this and I’m going to go buy the ingredients tomorrow. I need more veggies in my diet, so if it tastes decent, I may be able to drink some. Thanks
[...] going to try drinking Green Monsters this week and get back into regular 3x weekly, low impact exercise regiment: mainly yoga and [...]
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This sounds good! Can you make this ahead of time (like the night before) or is it better to make them right before you eat them? My problem is the extra ten minutes of sleep often wins out over getting up to make a smoothie
I’ve never made it the night before, so I can’t vouch, but one person suggested putting all the ingredients in the blender the night before, then simply blending real quick in the morning!
That. Was. Amazing. I had a bag of spinach in my fridge just begging to be used but I wasn’t much in the mood for a boring salad. So when I came across this I was willing to give it a go! I am completely HOOKED. I didn’t have any yogurt so I threw in a scoop of lo-cal whey protein powder and that was just fine. This is so exciting! Thank you so much for posting!
I’ve never made a good green smoothie before, lol. I’m so excited to give this one a try. I’ll have to run and get some of the ingredients. If I love it as much as everyone else it will be a good motivation to add spinach to the garden this spring.
[...] try it. You absolutely cannot taste it. There are plenty of other people that back me up, like here, here, and here. This is such an easy and excellent way to sneak in some great nutrients first [...]
I look forward to trying this this week! Can this replace an entire meal? Is it that filling?
I can’t wait to have my kids try it too. My son is super picky. I hope he likes it!
[...] I waste spend enough time drooling researching there. My first and one of my favourites is this Green Monster from Iowa Girl Eats and she calls it her biggest diet weapon. Image Via [...]
I do the normal frozen berries/banana, sometimes a handful of spinach, (cow) milk and greek yogurt.
We just made this and me and my 3 yr old LOVED it! Thanks for sharing!
Did what another reader suggested and made 2 alterations: Better’n Peanut Butter instead of regular PB and plain non-fat Greek yogurt instead of vanilla. Have to say I can’t tell the difference. Think I might add some protein powder to boost it up a bit. SO GOOD!!!
My 4 year old boy, whose super picky, was super excited that he was drinking “The Green MONSTER” drink! I added frozen blueberries, skipped the Greek Yogurt, and added vanilla protein powder instead. It was delicious! After 4 hours hours, I’m still full from my noon drink!
I LOVE this recipe. I used to live for the Peanut Butter Moo’d smoothie at Jamba Juice until I realized the calorie count. This is amazing! I am sharing and enjoying!
Just want to say THANKS. My super finicky “cheesetarian” 9 year old son loves, loves, loves the spinach shake. He likes it with bananas and blueberries and even requests it for breakfast over Lucky Charms or any other sugar cereal. We have been searching for a healthy solution to his horrible eating habits and this was our answer. He doesn’t even care about the strange color the blueberries make it.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. Glad someone posted to Pinterest
)
Mary Varnum
Just made this for my 9 year old daughter and she said,”Looks can be deceiving. This is GREAT!” Thanks for posting such a yummy, healthy smoothie recipe. BTW – One of the members of my running group got us started on this smoothie and now a number of the members have tried it and loved it!!!!
will admit that green smoothies are awesome. I am SUPER surprised about the spinach juice having more of those nutrients than wheat grass. Never know!
I love your recipe!! I’ve been doing mine with 50/50 frozen fruit and some type of green leafy veggie. I also use coconut water and sometimes orange juice. Love mixing different concoctions!! I also use some super foods such as wheat germ, flax seed or oil, ground hemp seed, bee pollen plus a lot more:)
gawd, this is good! and I’m just starting to incorporate spinach into my diet. thanks
I make a similar smoothie but also add blueberries and beets. Yummy and healthy!
Spinach??? Anything but spinach
I absolutely hate spinach and really began to like it after I tried a green smoothie the first time. It’s not like that terrible frozen stuff your parents forced you to eat as a kid. Promise.
Someone shared this link with me and I have to admit, I was skeptical. I don’t like spinach (or any greens, really,) and I was sure it would be gross. But it was delicious! If I hadn’t made it myself, I would never have guessed spinach was an ingredient!
I just made this for a snack today…AMAZING! I am sooo excited about this new way to get my veggies. I will definitely be eating this at least 3 times a week. It would be so easy to change the fruit around and get a different taste. It fills me up and is sweet enough to not crave chocolate afterwards. Dear skeptics – please try this! You will be amazed
I am lactose intolerant (and on a budget), any idea if plain Kefir would work in place of the yogurt? My cousin LOVES this smoothie. One I get my new blender I am definitely making this with PB2 and all the other ingredients. Can’t wait!
I’m sure it’d be totally fine!
Yummy! Made yours (without the milk) and it was great. The kids liked it, but I must have put too much PB in. Added a couple strawberries and it was delish! We make a similar smoothie. Remove PB. Add in a couple of strawberries. Could use 1/2 banana. Often omit milk.
Thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you’d be willing to weight your spinach. I use frozen, so the cup measurements are off