I've been having my green smoothie every a.m. for a couple of years now, ever since I did the cleanse class. Lots of ingredients, but you can make your own variation.

I soak chia seeds in a little water for about 10 min in the blender. (If I don't, they can be constipating as they absorb 10x their weight in water.) I then add a 1/2 tbs of flax seeds, 1 tsp of coconut oil, 1 scoop protein powder. (I make sure to get the unsweetened whey protein from isolates.) Then I toss in 1/2 banana (necessary for creaminess) and 3 chunks each of the following frozen fruits...cherries, pineapple and mango. I add a few from frozen mixed berries. I then put a large handful of kale and then 6 ice cubes on top. I whirr it and add some cold water as necessary to get it all going.

Thanks Annie, sounds delicious, I am trying to stay away from too many fruits in the smoothie. I want DH to have some of it and he is pre diabetic so needs to stay away from too much sugars. I have tried my own variations but cant seem to get it tasty enough.

Well you might use the 1/2 banana and just strawberries which are lower in sugar than other fruits. Also, with the sugars being mixed with the high fiber kale and some fat from the coconut oil, it will slow down the digestion and keep the blood sugar from spiking too high.

We use baby spinach instead of kale. The flavor is more mild, so it doesn't need as much fruit to sweeten it. I think it still needs a little bit though.

I also add some chopped zucchini or cucumber too.

Like Annie, I make one for DH and myself every morning, M-F (I make Greek yogurt parfaits with fresh fruit for us on the weekends). Since I'm up making our breakfasts at 6AM, I streamline where I can. I make our green smoothies in my blender with approx. 1 1/2 cups of Trader Joe's green juice, 1 banana, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries or frozen strawberries, 1/8 cup flaxseed meal and 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt.

I've always liked

2 cups + of spinach

1 banana

1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk)

2 tbs. flaxseed meal

though usually only half a banana and lots of ice. It's even better with some cottage cheese in it, if you can have that.

I'm going to write these all down and try them.. thanks

I use the NutriBullet formula which is half greens and half fruit plus liquid (ice water plus a little coconut water) to the max line. For greens I use half spinach and half kale (about a half cup each). For the fruit I use fresh pineapple and frozen peaches. It actually works out to about a quarter cup each I think or about 5 peach slices which isn't much. Then I add a spoon of Barlean's Raw Energy Powder (flax/chia/coconut mix) & a spoon of protein powder (no soy, GF) plus a tbsp of local honey and about 4 ice cubes and fill to the max line with ice water. I don't care personally if it's a little thin. You can experiment with the fruit for sure, and if you do add kale, strip it off the rib as it can be bitter.

Edited to add, I do use baby spinach! Thx, Mtn, for adding your comment below.

I agree on trying baby spinach, if you are trying to reduce the sugar content by minimizing fruit.

Baby spinach is a pretty close substitute for kale, though kale is superior in some ways and spinach in others. In the comparison below they would be a tie except that Kale is cheaper.

If it makes you enjoy the smoothie and need less fruit, seems like a good tradeoff.

http://www.prevention.com/content/whats-healthier-kale-or-spinach

I make mine in the nutribullet - half full of frozen mixed greens, about a serving of frozen mixed berries, 2T chia seeds and 1 t of macha green powder. I do not soak the chia seeds and luckily haven't had any issues from that. Then I add pure lemon juice and pure lime juice, ice and water to top. It tastes better to me ice cold. I think the lemon and lime juice give it enough tartness to cover up the greens without adding a lot of fruit and to me it tastes great.

I do not have sugar issues, but I think berries are the lowest sugar fruit and with all the fiber of those and the chia seeds I think it wouldn't be too bad.

When I make a salad, which is almost every day, we have it before our dinner meal, I always use organic baby greens. They are definitely more tender and tasty than the "adult" greens. The best though is what we grow in our garden in the summer, even the carrots which I always buy organic, but there is such a better sweeter taste in the carrots we grow. I dont know why that is.

My most recent concoction is: ice, Greek yogurt, non-fat milk, bananas, apple, blueberries, vanilla flavored protein powder, crunchy peanut butter, fresh ginger, and a little maple syrup. All organic ingredients except for the ice :-).

mtnrd, on your link above, did you notice that they were comparing 1.5 cups of kale with twice as much spinach?

Annie,

Can you give me the brand and name of your whey powder. I have been making a smoothie for breakfast for almost a year now and have been using just a power meal replacement like Slim fast or nutribar mixed with flax meal, banana, egg whites and almond milk. I have lost a good amount of weight but feel that it might be time to change things up a bit. Thinking of changing the slim fast or nutribar powders to a whey protein powder but am not sure if this is the way to go on not.

Thanks

Just butting in... I found an organic, grass-fed whey powder at Whole Foods.

Check out the movie "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" about a guy goes on a juice fast for 60 days to gain control of his health. Very inspiring! Some of his green juice recipes are here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/recipes/

Also, check out www.simplegreensmoothies.com. They have an Instagram page, too, where they share recipes. They have a 30 day green smoothie challenge (for free), where they send you shopping lists, recipes and tips to make one smoothie a day for a whole months (quoted from their web site).

bluebell, I have bookmarked those two websites! thanks so much.

Sorry for the late reply...I missed your question, Lyban. Lately I've been buying the whey protein powder from Swansons.

My teen boys like this whey protein powder and I use it too. The ingredient list is the most agreeable I could find of all the protein powders (there is some nasty stuff in many of them so be sure to do your research), and it has a bit of stevia and a touch of vanilla in it so that you don't really need fruit to make it taste pleasant.

My standard smoothie is 1/2c frozen blueberries and then a bunch of greens (frozen kale or spinach or whatever I have on hand). Some ground flax seed. Milk or water to blend.

Annie,

thank you for the information. i will look into that one.

Lisad82,

also thank you for your recommendation. I will try to compare them both and see what works for me.

Oh Lyban, I need to update....the last batch I bought was from amazon...Eido Pro