So I have a solution for you! Below are some super-easy smoothie recipes. Choose one that you like and whip up a quick green smoothie for yourself (and your family). It will give you energy, and fill your belly for a couple of hours with all the right foods.
Spinach is typically thought of as a lunch or dinner ingredient in a savory recipe, so spinach in a fruit smoothie may sound strange at first, but – even if you don’t enjoy its taste by itself – the other ingredients will mask the flavor, I promise.
If you haven’t been eating your greens every day, simply jump-start your day with a green smoothie, so that before you even start your day, you’ve already sucked down your veggies, greens, and fruit to boot.
And better yet? So have your kids and other family members.
Benefits of Spinach
Do I even have to talk about the benefits of spinach? We all know it’s good for us. Spinach has been cultivated in many parts of the world for hundreds of years, not just as a food source, but also as an important medicinal plant in many traditional systems of medicine.
Spinach benefits cannot be overstated. In the past it has often been regarded as a plant that helps restore energy, increase vitality, and improve the quality of the blood. The main reason for this is that spinach nutrition provides twice as much iron as most other greens.
Other nutrients it contains include calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and the B-complex vitamins. It is also a good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
Spinach, just like other greens that contain chlorophyll and carotene, is a remarkable protector against various diseases, including cancer, anemia, digestive problems, skin problems, as well as acting as a mild laxative. Women who are worried about osteoporosis should consume spinach because it is a rich source of calcium and vitamin K.
In fact, when compared calorie for calorie to other vegetables, some say that nothing is as nutrient dense as spinach, while also being very low in calories. And no, you don’t have to worry about the oxalates in spinach hurting you.
Spinach is Super Low In Calories & Super Dense in Nutrients = Great For Weight Loss!
Spinach, it’s really low in calories, so it’s an excellent ingredient for all weight loss smoothies, as well as meal replacement smoothies.
1 cup spinach, raw (30g) = 7 calories (!)
1 bunch spinach (340g) = 78 calories (!)
The great thing is that once you try a spinach smoothie recipe, you’ll be consuming lots of it and it won’t matter anymore if you or your picky-eaters at home don’t enjoy munching on spinach salad!
Just adding a few spinach leaves to a your smoothie recipe, is so easy, tastes delicious, and it’s also incredibly good for you!
A bunch of spinach has a mere 78 calories, while providing 10g of protein.
So, how do you prepare a spinach smoothie?
When preparing spinach smoothie recipes, as in the case in most other greens, feel free to experiment and include a wide variety of other fruits and veggies.
By experimenting with different combinations, you will be able to come up with something that you and the whole family will love. You’ll even have an easier time getting your children on board to adopting a healthier diet.
The great thing about spinach is that it’s mild tasting, so it’s a perfect starter green for green smoothies. Even the most picky eaters won’t mind a few leaves of spinach in their fruit smoothie (use some deep colored fruits, such as berries, or colored glass containers to mask the green color for those most green-resistant eaters).
Generally speaking, Vitamix or Blendtec blenders will do a great job with any type of greens, including the tougher greens such as kale, collard greens, or celery tops. These smoothie makers will give you smoother liquid, compared with other blenders.
However, even if you have an inexpensive blender you can make spinach smoothies without worrying about rough texture – spinach is soft enough, so most blenders will handle spinach well.
First, when buying fresh spinach it should be dark green and free from any evidence of decay. Choose spinach that has vibrant deep green leaves and stems with no signs of yellowing. The leaves should look fresh and tender, and not be wilted or bruised. Avoid those that have a slimy coating as this is a sign of decay. Slightly wilted spinach can be revived to freshness by dipping it in cold water.
Do not wash spinach before storing as the exposure to water encourages spoilage. Place spinach in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag tightly around the spinach, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Place in refrigerator where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days.
Prior to preparing a smoothie, wash spinach under running water. If using non organic spinach, you may want to soak or spray it with a biodegradable wash, then rinse. Use a salad spinner to dry.
The leaves can be used as is. You don’t need to remove the stalks, as you would for a salad.
Put the leaves into your smoothie blender together with your fruits and veggies – bananas, strawberries, apples, celery, etc.
That’s basically all there is to it!
Spinach Smoothie Recipes
Here are a few green smoothie recipes with spinach for you to try!
I encourage you to experiment mixing spinach with other fruits, greens and vegetables. Also, I’m really not good with exact proportions, so you will need to experiment with quantities, to get that perfect green smoothie for your taste.
Ingredients
- 2 pears
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Blend well all ingredients in your blender. Pour into glasses and enjoy!
More Green Smoothie Recipes with Spinach
Spinach-Mixed-Berries
2-4 cups of fresh spinach
a handful of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 blackberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 raspberries (fresh or frozen)
(OR 1 cup of mixed berries from BJ’s)
2 bananas (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cup water (more or less, to desired consistency)
For the Mixed Berries Smoothie I usually use frozen organic mixed berries I buy at BJs – a big 3 lbs bag for $9.99 – they are amazing in smoothies – and this is simply my favorite smoothie!
Spinach-Blueberry
1 large banana, ripe
1 cup blueberries, frozen (or Wild Blueberries from BJ’s)
1 cup oz spinach, fresh
1 1/2 cups water (more or less, to desired consistency)
This is my son’s favorite. For this smoothie, I’m using frozen Wild Blueberries from BJ’s – a big 3 lbs bag for $7.99 – they are amazing in smoothies – and this is simply my favorite smoothie!
Spinach-Mixed Tropical Fruit
1 large banana, ripe and peeled
1/4 avocado
6 oz spinach, fresh
1/2 cup pineapple, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup mango, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup grapes, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cup water (more or less, to desired consistency)
For this smoothie, I’m using frozen mixed fruits from BJ’s – a big 5 lbs bag for $9.99 – great value and taste!
Spinach-Pear-Celery
2 pears
1 stalk of celery
1 cup spinach
1 cup water
Spinach-Peach
6 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
2 cups water
Spinach-Kiwi
1 banana
2 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 cup water
Spinach-Watermelon-Strawberries
One half small seeded watermelon, peel and all
10 strawberries
1 bunch spinach
1 cup water
Spinach-Mango Green Smoothie
1 large banana, ripe
1 cup mangoes
1/2 cup strawberries
5 oz spinach
1 1/2 cups water
Spinach-Banana-Orange Smoothie Recipe
2 large ripe bananas
2 oranges
2 large handfuls of baby spinach
Spinach and Cantaloupe Melon Smoothie Recipe
1/2 cantaloupe melon
1 cup of spinach
Spinach-Tomato
Here is a savory recipe for a spinach-tomato smoothie:
4 ripe plum tomatoes
1 handful of spinach leaves
4 leaves of basil leaves
One note here on using frozen fruits in your smoothies. Personally, I don’t like smoothies that are really cold, so if I’m using a lot of frozen ingredients, I add some hot water to the mix to make them room (or rather – my stomach) temperature. I know that many people like frozen drinks, but drinking a lot of frozen smoothies is not really that healthy, in my opinion.
I admit – I am totally hooked on green smoothies!
I never use exact recipes – I constantly experiment by adding different ingredients, depending on what sounds good to my body each day.
Although some smoothies taste more delicious than others, I haven’t been disappointed yet!
Note: Because of the high oxalic acid content of spinach, some experts recommend to keep your spinach intake down to once or twice a week. While I don’t subscribe to the view that greens (including those rich in oxalic acid, such as spinach) are dangerous, if you have any health issues such as kidney stones, speak to a qualified doctor or nutritionist about your concerns and any changes to your diet.
Now that you know how to make some basic spinach recipes, you can experiment with other variations on this theme. When you are ready, start incorporate other, stronger tasting greens into your smoothies.
For all my blending recipes I use Vitamix. If you don’t already own a VitaMix, I strongly encourage you to check out what this machine is capable of! For more information about VitaMix you can go directly to the VitaMix website. You may also want to read my post about the Best Blender.
I LOVE my VitaMix and highly recommend investing in one if you are ready to make serious changes to your diet. I have had mine for almost 5 years and use it daily!
If you decide to purchase Vitamix – be sure to use Promotional Code 06-004554 to get free shipping.
The Making of Spinach Smoothie: Inside of my Vitamix
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!
I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!
Very informative article. I learned a few thing about spinach that I didn’t know.
Keep up the good work
Mon from littlegreensmoothie.com
3 cups spinach
1 banana
1/4 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 tsp. flax seed
1/4 cup orange juice
I love drinking this everyday. I have most of my daily servings of vegetable and fruits for the day by breakfast.
Love the last recipe. I am halving my spinach with kale to get a double whammy of nutrients. I have yet to get sick this winter up north because of it.
I am very curious why frozen or cooler smoothies are any less healthy in large quantity than warm/room temperature as you suggested?
“I know that many people like frozen drinks, but drinking a lot of frozen smoothies is not really that healthy, in my opinion.”
Many people enjoy having cold drinks – especially in the summer – and most of us with strong digestion do not feel too affected by cold drinks. However, drinking cold drinks causes food and liquid to be digested poorly. Eating cold foods is the equivalent of putting an ice pack in your stomach. Digestion is slow, and indigestion follows. Plus, warming up the cold fluids consumes energy. If you do drink a frozen smoothie, I recommend taking your time drinking it (which you should be doing anyway) and don’t swallow it cold at once.
In my house we call our green smoothies, Shrek smoothies. I use a cup of frozen mangoes, a cup of frozen pineapple, 2oz of vanilla yogurt and 10 oz of apple juice ( you can substitute water for the apple juice). Oh and a nice big handful of baby spinach. All 3 of my kids love them and so do all of my daycare kids!:)
Shrek smoothies – I love it!
Hi how many Kiwi do you use for the spinach-kiwi ? Thanks
Can’t wait to try all the green smoothies!
The idea of Spinach smoothies is great, however Spinach does not have much nutrition in comparison to it’s parent, Swiss
Chard. Spinach is often grown in hydroponics and with a small root structure, no soil or sunlight it has little chance of gaining nutrients. Swiss Chard on the other hand is known as full grown Spinach in every country except the USA, has a large root and leaf structure with great nutrition. My suggestion would be to try the Swiss Chard in your smoothie and be sure to wash all fruits and vegetables with a reputable produce wash to remove all the insecticides, pesticides and surfactants. Consuming unwashed produce contributes to the rise in disease today. Contact me if you are interested in the produce wash I use.
I used frozen fruit in mine..
4 strawberries
2 peach slices
4 small pineapple cubes
2 spoonfulls of vanilla greek yogurt
splash of almond milk
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
fill the rest of the blender with spinach
How much smoothie does each of the recipes make? It seems like a lot for just one.
3 thick slices pineapple (including the wicked nutritious core)
1 banana
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp tahini
2-3 big handfuls of spinach
a cup of water
I like adding cilantro, green peppers and/or lettuce to the smoothie, usually has an apple and instead of water I used freshly brewed (chilled) green tea or OJ.
Power packed greens smoothie!
Handful spinach
” ” kale
” ” 1 or 2oz wheat grass (frozen) or fresh!
1/4c. spelt or 12 grain cereal
1/4c. instant dry skim milk
1c. almond milk
add water till the right consistantcey.
mix well add udo’s oil blend 5sec.
Drink and enjoy! 🙂
1 c. Spinach
1 sliced banana (frozen)
1 tsp. Greek Yogurt
1 tsp. peanut butter
1/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Packed with protein and energy, great way to eat your veggies!
I buy a big bag of spinach and blend it with a
little water. I then pour the liquid spinach into
ice cube trays. After frozen I then put in zip-lock
bags and store in the freezer. I pop 3 or 4 frozen
spinach cubes into my smoothies. This way you don’t
have to worry about the fresh spinach spoiling. I also
will put a few cubes into my soups!
1 c. almond milk
1/2 c. vanilla greek yogurt
frozen banana
1 T. pb
2-3 c. spinach
=deliciousness!!
1 can coconut milk
1 cup pineapple ( we use core and all)
1 large banana
1/2 cup berries of choice
Fill blender with spinach
Add water as needed
Tropical deliciousness!!!
I absolutely loved this smoothie and will be doing this everyday.
I didn’t measure anything lol
A handful of spinach
1 6oz cup of yogurt
A handful of strawberries
A handful of blueberries
A handful of pineapple
1 banana
1/2 cup of water (maybe like I said I didn’t measure it out lol)
I just used what I had in my freezer and fridge, next time I am going to try oj instead of water!!
Thanks so much for the exact proportions. I love all these ideas. I find that banana’s and pineapple work great with spinach smoothies. Which blender do you use or recommend?
Can you use a juicer for this instead of a blender? That is all I have right now and I was really hoping to get started on these green drinks. 🙂 Thanks!
Sure, you can make yourself a green juice with fruits and spinach. I wouldn’t juice a banana, though.
Just wanted to let you know I just made the smootie and added cranberry juice instead of water and it taste great.
Is one recipe considered one meal/one serving? My husband and I split one so basically that is two servings from one recipe? Are we not getting the full benefits by doing so? thanks
It’s fine to split the recipe if it’s too much for you to drink at one sitting – you are certainly getting the benefits. Try increasing the amount of smoothie over time.
Your pictures look amazing! I hope you are doing well. Will check in from time to time.
I see all the green blender recipes and I think to myself how most of them are very high in sugars. I would be interested if someone could share other more taste low sugar green blender recipes. Thanks! Allan
If you are concerned about fruit content in the smoothies, you may try reducing the sweet fruit, such as bananas, and replacing them with more celery, cucumbers, apples, etc.
Or try savory smoothies:
https://greenreset.com/green-blended-salads/
Plus some recipes for smoothies without bananas here:
https://greenreset.com/3-delicious-green-smoothie-recipes-without-bananas/
Is there particular reason why you want to avoid fruit?
Joanna,
In answer to your question regarding sugar: many of us are working on bringing our A1C down! Even though it is a natural sugar, fruit does add sugar. Look out if I eat 1/2 of a banana! The count is way up for several hours. I am often disappointed at finding how much fruit is included in green smoothies in most recipes! I use Stevia as a sweetener and it helps! If I didn’t have to be concerned about keeping the blood sugar down, I’d surely enjoy more fruit. I know that I am not the only one with the desire to see more green smoothies with less sugars, but perhaps with more interesting spices. Thank you.
Are these smoothies meant to be replacements for breakfast? Or just additional? Thanks 🙂
Will this work with all ingredients but strawberries cuz I used pineapple
Really looking forward to trying some of these recipes. Frozen fruit seems to be limited to strawberries and blueberries here in the UK so I’ll try with fresh produce.
Love the page. Really informative.
how healthy is a beet in a smoothy, I use them all the time?
To save lots of time, I puree spinach with a tad bit of water to just help it blend smoother. Mixture should be thick vs. thin; pour it into ice cube trays; once it freezes, I put into labeled freezer bags. This way I can grab and go. I also puree celery, kale, parsley. You can probably do any vegetable you want to use in your smoothie. This is a fabulous time saver for our busy days…also it help smoothie stay cold and you don’t have to use a lot of water. Have fun and hope this helps !
Thanks, Debra. That’s a great idea!
I’m sure is very healthy. I personally don’t use beets very often — I wonder what recipe do you use?
Do you peel fruit such as apples and pears ? If usini limes and grapefruit, again do you peel them are just use the juice ?
Please advise.
Thank you Nigel
No kiwi listed for the “Spinach-Kiwi” recipe. Just FYI.
There is a myth that certain leafy green vegetables and herbs like celery are high in oxalates and are therefore harmful. This is completely incorrect and is preventing many people from getting some powerful and needed nutrients and healing properties provided by foods deemed to be high in oxalates. Oxalates are not the concern they are believed to be.
There are oxalates in every single fruit and vegetable on the planet. The vast array of nutrients in so-called high oxalate leafy greens and celery are some of the most nutritious available to us. Medical research and science has not discovered that there are anti-oxalates in fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens that prevent the oxalates from causing us the damage the current trend tells us they do.
In reality, these foods don’t cause us any harm, rather they provide us with critical healing nutrients like phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. If you’re still concerned with oxalate sensitivity, start with a little bit of celery, lettuce and add in more fruits, greens, and vegetables slowly, however the oxalates won’t cause an issue when you consume a lot of them either. Eating leafy greens and celery in their raw state is especially helpful.