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
Jessica 01.25.2012
Oh my. I just tried this drink this morning, and it is so good. If anyone knows me, they know I’m not big on green stuff so I honestly thought I would hate this. You cannot taste the spinach at all. I didn’t add as much to mine the first go around, but I will add a little more next time. I did add a sprinkle of Splenda, and it turned out great. Not as green or as thick looking as the one pictured, but still delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Jillian 01.25.2012
This looks amazing, but I can’t eat peanut butter (or any kind of nut butter) :( Do you have any suggestions for a low-fat but equally sweet substitute?
Iowa Girl Eats 01.25.2012
You can just leave it out!
Wendy 01.26.2012
My daughter is allergic to nuts, so we buy Sun- butter at Target (made from sunflowers).
Sara 01.24.2012
Found you on Pinterest and this is amazing! I discovered the third time making it that I was out of frozen bananas, so I threw a regular one in and…still delicious, but you need to pour over ice lol. Also…I take a little of the “healthy” out of it by using Nutella instead of peanut butter :)
Candace 01.24.2012
I make this smoothie too but instead of peanut butter I use almond butter. Also, instead of greek yogurt, try chocolate protein powder. Seriously good!! Sprinkle a tiny bit of instant coffee if you like that “hint of coffee” taste (which I do!). =)
Leslie 01.24.2012
I made this smoothie this morning for breakfast. It was great, but all the fiber made my stomach hurt. Has anyone else been affected in this way.
ashley 01.25.2012
Yes! I drank one of these and was sick all day. I was wondering if it did that to anyone else. I think maybe your body has to get used to it (if you don’t eat a lot of fiber usually like me…) maybe start off w/ less spinach and gradually add more and more
Heather 01.24.2012
I just found your blog via Pinterest and I love it. I made the Green Monster Smoothie this morning and it was great. Thanks for sharing the great recipe!
Laura 01.24.2012
Just made this and am loving it- thanks so much! I made it exactly as said and it is perfect. LOVE!!!!
brenda 01.24.2012
i’ve made this 2x. i’ve tried adding some strawberries to hide the flavor of the banana, didn’t work. i like the health benefits that comes from the banana, but is there anything to add to this smoothie to make it taste LESS banana-y. other that that, it’s pretty good.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.24.2012
You can just sub in other frozen fruits for the banana.
Megan 01.24.2012
OMG I made these last night to have ready this morning! They are amazing!!!! Hubby thought I was crazy! Then when I got in bed he came in and said…..did you make any extra for me to have!!!! YAY thanks so much!!!! Only thing I changed was used 2% milk!
Traci 01.23.2012
My company started the Live Healthy Iowa 100 day challenge today & I was telling everyone about your Green Monster Smoothie. I have been wanting to try this, but I’m reluctant because I cannot stand the sourness of Greek yogurt. Is this part of the ‘flavor’ of the smoothie or do the sweet flavors disguise it? I don’t think making one of these with ‘regular’ yogurt would prove as beneficial as it doesn’t have the high protein content. Thanks! :)
Emily 01.23.2012
I just made this and so surprised by taste. Never would have thought to add that much spinach and only taste the peanut butter and banana!
The only thing I did differently was add plain greek yogurt and added a little vanilla extract to get the flavor and cinnamon since it helps with regulating blood sugar. Also, I only buy unsweetened almond milk so that’s what I used. I am trying to stay away from extra sugar.
Victoria 01.23.2012
I just made a version of this with an avocado, frozen banana, unsweetened coconut milk, soaked almonds ans spinach. Sweetened only with the banana, it’s surprisingly tasty, and you avoid the pre sweetened almond milk and such! Thanks for posting :)
Victoria 01.23.2012
Oh, and I called it the green dragon smoothie for my kids in honor of the Chinese New Year!
Anna 01.23.2012
I betcha you could add agave nectar instead of another banana…more sweet w/out the impact on our yblood sugar. I will pin this for near future reference!
Green Monster Spinach Smoothie | The Spiffy Cookie 01.23.2012
[…] Source: Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats. […]
Misty 01.23.2012
YUM! Taste like bananas and peanut butter. Can’t even taste the spinach!
niki 01.23.2012
hi we all love this shake…including my 6yr old son and 2yr old daughter…
im trying to eat healthy and loose weight, is this an everyday drink or a sometimes drink??
Shell 01.24.2012
This is an everyday drink. Have had a similar smoothie every day for a year and I’ve never felt better or been in better shape.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.26.2012
You can definitely eat it everyday if you want!
Miranda E 01.22.2012
So YUM! I found this from a pin on Pinterest, was very intrigued cause its was a beautiful green color! never really made my own smoothies before, guess ya could say I’m a smoothie newbie! But this is fantastic! i threw in a very blueberries my girls didn’t eat and it’s still green and yummy, thanks for the recipe!
Jacqueline 01.22.2012
Can you make this smoothie without the greek yogurt? I have issues with dairy and would be interested in trying the recipe without a dairy product.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.23.2012
Yep, you don’t have to add Greek yogurt!
Becky Morris 01.26.2012
You mention protein powder at the end. What would you suggest, chocolate, vanilla, or something else?
Iowa Girl Eats 01.26.2012
I personally like vanilla whey protein powder.
Meghan 01.25.2012
I make spinach smoothies all of the time with coconut milk. And you can add frozen tropical fruit, too, to make it even tastier. And flax seed meal. All yum and healthy! My kids love these, too.
hsaunders 01.22.2012
Lots of sugar though girls, so be careful, definitely not a drink if you have diabetes or are watching your sugar intake.
jenrichmerritt 01.23.2012
where is the sugar coming from? how can we reduce?
Martha 01.27.2012
It looks like some of the sugar is from the vanilla greek yogurt. If you subbed it out for plain yogurt you’d cut the sugars down. the vanilla has 13g and the plain has 7g.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.27.2012
Some of the sugar in Chobani is naturally occurring sugar called lactose as well!
tiffany 01.27.2012
a way to tell the difference between the good and bad sugars in yogurt is to subtract the amount of sugar in the regular version from the amount of sugar in the vanilla flavor. So if the vanilla flavor has 13 g sugar and the regular (plain) flavor has 7, then the vanilla flavor has 6 g of added (unhealthy) sugar. This sounds like a great recipe! I try to watch my unnatural sugar intake, so I’d like to try this with plain yogurt and natural PB (meaning, not a brand like Jiff thats full of added syrups and oils, instead using a brand like Sun Harvest where the ingredients are peanuts and salt) thanks!
Laura 01.23.2012
Not really too much sugar. The banana is the only significant “sugar” and diabetics can eat fruit. I have all the ingredients in my fridge and just checked the sugar grams (even though, as a type 1 diabetic, I look at total carbs and not sugars) and the almond milk has 1g, peanut butter has 3g, and a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt has about 4g. Not bad at all.
Sheriann 01.22.2012
I found the original recipe lacked something. So, I added another frozen banana, and some vanilla, and now it tastes nicer. The flavours come together better, and it’s smoother/creamier. Definitely a keeper. I’m interested to try the one with avocado too. Thanks for the great idea!