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.
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 almond milk and it freaks. Ben. out. So hysterical.
Fill the blender the rest of the way up with baby spinach. I think 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!
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Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
Description
Green Monster Spinach Smoothie is packed with good-for-you ingredients — it's my favorite way to start the day!Â
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.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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
Susan 01.22.2012
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 :-)
Ryanne 01.21.2012
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!
Iowa Girl Eats 01.23.2012
I’m sure it’d be totally fine!
Laura 01.21.2012
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 :)
AB 01.20.2012
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!
stephanie 01.19.2012
Spinach??? Anything but spinach :(
Cassie 01.20.2012
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.
Jill 01.19.2012
I make a similar smoothie but also add blueberries and beets. Yummy and healthy!
Netta 01.19.2012
gawd, this is good! and I’m just starting to incorporate spinach into my diet. thanks
Gina 01.19.2012
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:)
Tammy 01.19.2012
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!
rebekah 01.19.2012
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!!!!
The Varnums of Orlando 01.19.2012
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 :o)
Mary Varnum
Stacy 01.18.2012
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!
Sheryl 01.18.2012
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!
Jenn 01.18.2012
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!!!
Sarah 01.18.2012
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!
» Blog Archive » Smoothie Recipes! 01.18.2012
[…] 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 […]
Susannah 01.17.2012
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!
Chocolate Oatmeal Smoothie | Ali Damron 01.17.2012
[…] try it. Â You absolutely cannot taste it. Â There are plenty of other people that back me up, like here, here, and here. Â This is such an easy and excellent way to sneak in some great nutrients first […]
Angela 01.17.2012
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.
Katie 01.17.2012
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!