Sunday 24 June 2012

Healthy Green Smoothies.

I do like to try and be healthy, although I will be the first to raise my hand and say I am partial to some pizza and chocolate cake probably a little too often. I love eating fruit and veg, but I know how difficult it is sometimes to incorporate five portions in to your meals. Today I decided to dust off the blender that has been hiding away in the corner of my kitchen for the past couple of years and start making smoothies again, as they are a really good way of getting your recommended daily allowance of fruit and veg- a smoothie can count as up to two of your five-a-day.

Now, fruit smoothies are pretty versatile, you can just throw in any combination of your favourite fruits and you're good to go! But recently, I was doing a little research in to some good recipes, and came across some that contained an ingredient that I never thought I would put in to a smoothie... Spinach.


I have always loved spinach with my meals, ever since I was little and was convinced that eating lots of spinach would allow me to have superhuman strength, like Popeye. Including spinach in a blended fruit drink sounds bizarre though!

However, I can assure you that it isn't as bad as it sounds. Lots of people include spinach in their smoothies as it is a superfood (meaning it is very good for you), but doesn't have a strong taste, therefore the spinach is masked by all the other ingredients but you are still getting all the health benefits from it. Just a handful of the health benefits from spinach are:

  • Vitamin K to help strengthen bones
  • Contains anti-oxidants such as beta-carotene and kaempferol, which fight heart disease, cancers and eye conditions such as cataracts
  • Improves brain function and protects against aging 

     Now I know my smoothie isn't exactly a green smoothie, I'm not brave enough yet to put enough vegetables in it to make it turn green. To be honest, a green smoothie probably looks more appetising than the pukey colour that mine turned (do you like my strawberry and raspberry garnishing and brightly coloured straws as an attempt to make it look a bit better?), but I promise you it tastes a lot better than it looks, it is essentially a strawberry and banana smoothie with a handful of spinach thrown in (just throw a few more berries in there to make it turn red haha!). Here is what I used:
    • Ice
    • 200g fat-free natural yoghurt
    • 1 and a half bananas
    • A handful of chopped strawberries
    • A handful of raspberries
    • A handful of spinach

    What is your favourite smoothie recipe? Do you add spinach in yours?

    40 comments:

    1. I love making smoothies, but have never tried adding spinach. I didn't know if the flavour would go. I'm going to try it next time though!
      xx
      lauraslittlesecrets.blogspot.com

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      1. You should try it, but just add a little bit at a time so you get the flavour just right :) x

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    2. Interesting... Can you taste the spinach at all or do the fruit completely mask it?

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      1. I put a handful in and I can very slightly taste it but hardly, the rest of the flavours definitely over-power it, you just have to add it gradually x

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    3. Love this post! I'm trying to be healthy at the moment too, definitely going to try this! i love smoothies for breakfast, yummy :) xx

      katharine from kathykins.com

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      1. I always go on a kind of health kick about once a year haha, I wonder how long it will last this time! I'm going to start having them for my breakfast too, they're so filling :) x

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    4. oooh spinach, may have to give that a try, sounds very healthy :)
      x

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      1. Definitely give it a try, sounds so odd but it's really good :) x

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    5. oooooooh they look so lovely! When it gets hotter I'm hoping to freeze some smoothies to make nommy ice lollies.

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      1. Ooh I need to do that! I used to love smoothie ice lollies! :) x

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    6. I had a smoothie today too, I had spinach, beetroot, orange and acerola! It's lovely, so it's not a chore for me to drink it at all. I'm quite big on things like that, along with drinking gallons of green tea and taking coconut oil and Apple Cider Vinegar etc, but that's not to say I'm not easily led when it comes to things like chcocolate and Chinese too! :)
      Mel x

      http://melswallofmirrors.blogspot.com

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      1. Ooh that sounds interesting... I want to try it but it sounds very daring haha! I love green tea too! And chocolate. And chinese. :S Haha :) x

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    7. YUM
      http://allie-michele.blogspot.com/

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    8. Haven't made a smoothie in years and I've never thought about putting spinach in one. I always thought it would taste horrible!

      X

      www.thebeauty-mix.blogspot.co.uk

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      1. I thought it would be horrible too, but it's actually very mild :) x

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    9. I love smoothies although I'm still unsure about the spinach! I hate spinach normally so I'm not sure whether I'll be converted even with lots of other yummy ingredients (: xx

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      1. Oh noo, nevermind, fruit smoothies are yummy and good for you anyway! :) x

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    10. it looks very tasty! I'll try do it myself;)

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    11. I try to add spinach to almost every meal...I love it!

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      1. I'm starting to eat it more now that I have a huge bag of it aha, so good! x

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    12. I love the taste of spinach. I steam it and add some garlic butter, or have it with salads and in a sandwich. Yummy! I have never tried it in a smoothie though. I need to try it. I usually drink banana smoothies.

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      1. Ooh the spinach with garlic butter sounds so good! You should try it in smoothies :) x

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    13. Hmmm... this is deliss. I love spinach too, and the best: it's so healthy! Nice picture of that smoothie!

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    14. this looks so yummy, and sounds it too!x

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    15. Holy crap, this looks amazing!!

      xoxo
      Remy
      mydailythreads.blogspot.com

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    16. Spinach!? I'm never very brave with my smoothies. I tend to just stick to banana, strawberry and milk. One good tip I do have though is if you have bananas that are going off instead of throwing them out, break them up and freeze them, you can then use these in your smoothies and it saves you adding ice x

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      1. Haha it's surprisingly nice! Ooh that's a good tip, thanks! :) x

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    17. I love making smoothies aswell!
      I did however work out that is it SOOO much cheaper to just buy a smoothie in a bottle than to buy all the ingredients for it...
      Major fail :(!

      Laura x

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      1. Ooh is it really? :( I do feel healthier drinking homemade smoothies though :) x

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    18. This looks soo yummy! I love smoothies :)

      egtx3.blogspot.co.uk
      xx

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    19. yummmyy!!! x

      www.lebellebow.blogspot.com

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