Breakfast with a lot of nutrients or a snack that is healthier than a candy bar? Yes, that is very easy to make: the green smoothie! You can find a recipe and cooking video at the bottom of this page. But first …
What is a green smoothie?
A green smoothie is a smoothie made with green leafy vegetables (these provide the green color) and a liquid. Possibly supplemented with other vegetables, fruit, and other ingredients.
You can drink it for breakfast or as a snack.
Benefits of a green smoothie
Leafy green vegetables are very healthy, they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It is a good antioxidant and also contains few calories.
The green color is due to the chlorophyll contained in these vegetables. This ensures a cleansing of the intestines, which is good anyway, but ideal if you want to do a detox. In addition, it also makes your body basic. If your body is too acidic, you can get all kinds of ailments so the acid-base ratio is important.
Leafy vegetables are best eaten raw because the nutrients are better preserved this way. In addition to a salad, they are therefore very suitable for use in a smoothie.
If you find it hard to eat enough vegetables in one day, then such a green smoothie is very useful. You will get a whole bunch of nutrients without you realizing it. Because of the fruit that is in it, it is somewhat sweeter and therefore also suitable for children who don’t like vegetables on their plates.
Which green leafy vegetables can you use in a smoothie?
In the recipe below I use fresh spinach, but you can vary with all kinds of leafy vegetables. For example spinach, arugula, kale, parsley, watercress, but also sprouts, broccoli, beetroot leaf, endive, pak choi, “weed” leaves in your garden such as dandelion.
Which liquid to use for a green smoothie?
In the recipe below I use unsweetened almond milk, but you can use any plant-based milk. I always choose unsweetened because you get the sweet taste of the fruit that you add. I personally like plant-based milk because it is creamy, but you can also use water, coconut water or add a little plant-based yogurt.
Extra additions
In this recipe, I use chia and hemp seed for the omega 3, but you can also add other ingredients to it. For example vegan protein powder, maca, ginger, spirulina, nut butter, avocado, cocoa powder.
Kitchen materials
In the video, I use a food processor to make the smoothie. But you can also use a handheld mixer it or make it in the blender.
You can grind the seeds in advance in a coffee grinder so that they are certainly fine enough to digest well.
Recipe for a green smoothie with spinach
Green smoothie
Ingredients
- 150 ml almond milk
- 1 handful spinach (fresh)
- 0.5 stalk celery
- 0.5 apple
- 0.5 froozen banana
- 1 tsp chia seed (ground)
- 1 tsp hemp seed (ground)
Instructions
- Peel the apple and remove the core and seeds. Rinse the spinach thoroughly. Cut the celery into small pieces.
- Put all the ingredients in the blender and mix until smooth.
- Add extra almond milk or water if necessary.
It is best to drink the smoothie immediately because it contains the most nutrients.