This green protein smoothie is packed with spinach, banana, and vanilla protein powder and makes for the perfect healthy breakfast or post-workout snack! Added bonus: it’s vegan and dairy-free!
Start your day or refresh and cool down with a Green Protein Smoothie. Made with a banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds, it’s the perfect breakfast or post-workout snack!
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The Most Delicious Green Protein Shake
If there’s one thing I like about smoothies, it’s the fact that they’re perfect for hiding greens. I mean, a smoothie that tastes like peanut butter and banana but provides a cup of spinach? I’ll take it!
Today, I’m showing you how it’s done with this delicious green protein smoothie. It packs in spinach but tastes like a peanut butter banana milkshake. And it’s loaded up with protein! It’s perfect for enjoying post-workout or sipping in the morning as you get ready for your day.
Recipe to Make Green Protein Smoothie
Why You Need to Make This Smoothie
- It’s made with just five ingredients! I’m willing to bet you have most (if not all!) of these ingredients in your kitchen right now.
- It comes together in no time at all… just add everything to a blender and blend away!
- It’s a great staple smoothie recipe. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, feel free to get creative and add extra flavors and ingredients.
Ingredients in This Green Protein Smoothie
Smoothies are great for more reasons than one. I particularly love that they’re versatile — you can use up your fresh bananas when they’re a day too far gone, or you can load it up with frozen fruit if that’s what you prefer. The same goes for spinach!
- Ice: Start with 1 cup of ice. This will make for a perfectly refreshing smoothie.
- Banana: Next, you will need 1 banana. I do recommend frozen for extra iciness, but you can supplement a fresh banana by adding some extra ice.
- Peanut butter: Add delicious nut butter flavor with 1 tbsp of peanut butter.
- Spinach: Sneak in the greens with some spinach! Use 3/4 cup of frozen spinach or 1 cup of fresh.
- Protein powder: I never let a good opportunity for protein go to waste! Include 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder for an extra punch.
- Chia seeds: Chia seeds add even more protein while also contributing to the thickness of the smoothie. Use 1 tbsp.
- Almond milk: Finally, use 1-1.5 cups of almond milk depending on how thick you’d like the smoothie to be.
Tools Needed to Make This Green Protein Smoothie
Like many smoothie recipes, this green protein smoothie is simple when it comes to the required kitchen tools. You really only need a blender in addition to a few measuring cups: 1 tbsp, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup, and 1 cup.
How to Make a Green Protein Smoothie
Are you ready for the simplest recipe you’ve ever made? Here it is:
- Add your ingredients to a high-powered blender in the order that they are listed.
- Blend until completely smooth. You may need to add more almond milk as you go.
- That’s it!
Substitution Tip
Feel free to switch up your smoothie ingredients as you’d like. These are the items that are easy to swap!
Peanut butter
Any nut butter will work just fine — cashew, almond, etc. Even sunflower seed butter will do!
Vanilla protein powder
If vanilla isn’t your flavor of choice, a plain protein powder will work just fine! For this particular recipe, I don’t recommend using chocolate — it won’t taste as nice with the greens. Stick with vanilla or plain for the best flavor.
Chia seeds
You can omit chia seeds or replace them with flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, or hemp hearts.
Almond milk
You can use any type of milk here, including cashew, coconut, oat, or dairy milk. You can also use coconut water.
Green Smoothies: Are They Good for You?
Green Protein Smoothie is a nutrient-rich blend of fruits and vegetables. They’ve become a popular way for people to meet their recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals. Unlike juices, green smoothies retain the beneficial fiber content from whole foods.
At their most basic, Green Protein Smoothie combines leafy greens like spinach, kale, arugula, and micro greens with a base liquid like water. While these greens alone can make for a bitter-tasting smoothie, there are tons of combinations that improve its flavor profile and add nutritional content.
But added ingredients can also increase a smoothie’s calorie count by increasing its sugar and fat content. Leafy greens are naturally low in these nutrients, so make sure to be mindful when adding ingredients to ensure a balanced smoothie.
Based on your preferences, healthy additions to a green smoothie can include:
- Fruits like apples, mango, banana, avocado, or pineapple
- Other vegetables like carrots, beetroot, cucumber, or cauliflower
- Nuts and seeds like almond or peanut butter, hemp or chia seeds, and flax meal
- Herbs and spices like ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, or cocoa powder
- Natural sweeteners like honey, dates, or stevia
- Creamy additions like yogurt, dairy or non-dairy milk, or silken tofu
Green Protein Smoothie is also an easy way to take supplements like protein powder, spirulina, or other powdered vitamins and minerals just by adding a serving to the blender.
Benefits
Digestive Health
The insoluble fiber in leafy greens helps food to pass through your digestive system, reducing issues like diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. Fibrous foods also help you to feel fuller for longer, which can aid in meeting weight-loss goals.
Bone Strength
Leafy greens like kale and spinach are great sources of vitamin K1. Research has documented that people with a high intake of vitamin K1 are at a decreased risk for bone fractures, osteoporosis, and decreased bone mineral density.
Immunity Support
Leafy greens are much higher in vitamin C than other vegetables. Vitamin C is known to support the immune system, fight infection, and help maintain healthy cellular function throughout our bodies.
Potential Risks of Green Smoothies
Because there are many ways to make a green smoothie, it’s possible to add too many sugars, carbohydrates, or fats. The potent vitamin content in leafy greens may also be unsuitable for people with certain medical conditions.
Things to consider when whipping up your green smoothie include:
Weight Gain
Leafy greens are naturally low in calories and fat. However, common green smoothie additions like fruits, nut butter, sweeteners, or kinds of milk can add excessive amounts of these nutrients to a single serving. Too much fat or caloric intake can lead to unwanted weight gain, so measure your portions so you know what’s in your drink.
Blood Sugar
Excess sugar not only leads to weight gain but may also increase your blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of diabetes. Fruits and nut kinds of butter contain numerous vitamins and minerals, but can also have a high natural sugar content, so moderate the amount added to your green smoothie.
Medication Interference
The high Vitamin K content in leafy greens can reduce the effects of certain anticoagulant drugs. While people taking blood thinners do not need to avoid vitamin K, you should still talk to your doctor about how much you should consume.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Green smoothies are a great way to incorporate leafy greens into your diet. These greens are a rich source of vitamins and minerals and are most nutritious when consumed raw like in a smoothie. It’s also easy to customize a green smoothie to your taste.
Use 3/4 cup of frozen spinach or 1 cup of fresh. Protein powder: I never let a good opportunity for protein go to waste! Include 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder for an extra punch. Chia seeds: Chia seeds add even more protein while also contributing to the thickness of the smoothie.
A green smoothie is definitely nutritious, but a diet consisting of only green smoothies (or any single food) isn’t healthful. It has to be balanced out with whole grains, heart-healthy fats, lean protein, and fruits and vegetables. So go forth and rock that green smoothie!
Spinach is one of the best options since it has a mild taste. Kale, chard, and collard greens can also be used in smoothies, but they should be paired with sweet fruits and other flavor boosters that disguise their bitter taste. Both raw and frozen leafy greens can be added to smoothies.
Conclusion
This green protein smoothie is packed with spinach, banana, and vanilla protein powder and makes for the perfect healthy breakfast or post-workout snack! Added bonus: it’s vegan and dairy-free! Start your day or refresh and cool down with a Green Protein Smoothie. Made with a banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds, it’s the perfect breakfast or post-workout snack!
Green smoothies are a great way to incorporate leafy greens into your diet. These greens are a rich source of vitamins and minerals and are most nutritious when consumed raw like in a smoothie. It’s also easy to customize a green smoothie to your taste.
Spinach is one of the best options since it has a mild taste. Kale, chard, and collard greens can also be used in smoothies, but they should be paired with sweet fruits and other flavor boosters that disguise their bitter taste. Both raw and frozen leafy greens can be added to smoothies.
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