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the “it doesn’t taste green!” green smoothie

January 7, 2018 by Amanda @ .running with spoons. 15 Comments

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it’ll have you saying “it doesn’t taste green at all!” Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it’s gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy!

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it'll have you saying "it doesn't taste green at all!" Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it's gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy! | runningwithspoons.com

I know what you’re thinking… and I promise you there’s a good explanation for the title of this recipe. Trust.

Because while guzzling green smoothies might be commonplace for those of us in the health/fitness world, not everyone is sold on the idea of “drinking a salad.” And that’s the problem!

Green smoothies don’t taste like a salad. And if they do, you’re doing it wrong. Unless, of course, you’re literally blending up nothing but vegetables and intending for it to taste that way. And I get it. I totally do. Manually chewing through a salad is time consuming and tiring. But then that’s literally a blended salad. Or vegetable juice + tonnes of pulp, which is… nice. I guess.

A green smoothie, on the other hand, is actually sweet. And creamy. And smooth. And refreshing. And energizing. And just straight up delicious.

And believe me… I was shocked too.

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it'll have you saying "it doesn't taste green at all!" Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it's gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy! | runningwithspoons.com

I think I had my first green smoothie around 10 years ago.

This was back when I was just starting to get into the whole healthy eating thing, and my idea of an acceptable salad was a small bowl of iceberg lettuce with a few slices of tomato. Drenched in ranch dressing, obviously. Veggies and I didn’t exactly get along at that time, so I was more than a little skeptical of putting green things in my smoothie. But we did it, fam, and I vividly remember not being able to believe that it didn’t taste like a salad. Or grass. Or swamp water. It was basically a green fruit smoothie

The key is to use a mild green when you’re starting off. Baby spinach is perfect for this, since it doesn’t have a strong flavour and it’s pretty easy to blend up. I remember trying to add kale to a smoothie once (again, around 10 years ago), and… I think maybe my blender just wasn’t powerful enough because there ended up being huge globs of kale in my smoothie, and it traumatized me so much that I still won’t touch it to this day. Spicy arugula is another one I don’t like. But that’s neither here nor there.

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it'll have you saying "it doesn't taste green at all!" Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it's gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy! | runningwithspoons.com

So that’s the story behind the name! I couldn’t believe it didn’t taste green, and neither can anyone else that I convince to start adding leafy things (read: spinach) to their smoothies. You get the nutritional benefit without the “this tastes way too healthy” feeling, so it’s basically a win-win.

That being said, this “It Doesn’t Taste Green” Green Smoothie is a seriously spruced up version of the one I had all those years ago. I think that one was basically just a banana + a handful of spinach + some almond milk to get things going, which doesn’t exactly make for the most interesting recipe to share.

SO! I added some avocado. Not only do these guys come with a nice dose of healthy fats and vitamin E, but they give smoothies this light, pillowy creaminess that feels almost mousse-y. It’s magical. And I promise you can’t taste these either. Then, a scoop of protein powder to add a little bit of extra nutrition and help thicken things up. I usually opt for plant-based powders, and the ones from Vega* and PlantFusion* are the brands I turn to most.

After that, all that’s really left is the fruit. I usually reach for frozen bananas, but things like mango, pineapple, or blueberries work really well too. You can also add a few spoons of cocoa powder if you wanna mask the greenie-ness even more, which I’d imagine works especially well for kids.

Happy Eating!!

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it'll have you saying "it doesn't taste green at all!" Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it's gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy! | runningwithspoons.com

I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!

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The “It Doesn’t Taste Green!” Green Smoothie


★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Amanda @ Running with Spoons
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
Print Recipe
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 3/4 – 1 cup (180 – 240 ml) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 ripe, medium-sized (100 g) banana, frozen*
  • 1/4 of a ripe avocado (~30 g)
  • 1 scoop or 1/4 cup (20 g) vanilla protein powder**
  • 1 cup (30 g) baby spinach
  • (optional) 2 Tbsp (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients into any standard blender in the order listed and blend on high until smooth. Transfer to a glass, top with any additional toppings of choice, and enjoy immediately. This smoothie can also be made the night before and left in the fridge. It will not separate.

Notes

* You can swap out the banana for 1 cup of a different frozen fruit, like mango, pineapple, or blueberries. ** I really like Vega and PlantFusion.

  • Prep Time: 5 mins

Keywords: breakfast, gluten-free, green smoothie, healthy, post workout, protein, recipe, snack, vegan

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and hashtag it #runningwithspoons

This super creamy green smoothie is so tasty it'll have you saying "it doesn't taste green at all!" Packed with protein and healthy fat, it makes a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack. Plus it's gluten-free and vegan so everyone can enjoy! | runningwithspoons.com

Looking for more healthy smoothie recipes? Try one of these!

Blueberry Avocado Smoothie
Brownie Batter Protein Pudding
Banana Oat Breakfast Smoothie
Creamy Mango Avocado Smoothie
Hot Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

Signature

*Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you so much for helping support Spoons!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Gluten Free, Recipe, Smoothies & Drinks, Vegan Tagged With: breakfast, gluten-free, green smoothie, healthy, post workout, protein, recipe, snack, vegan

Previous Post: « thinking out loud #268
Next Post: blueberry banana breakfast bake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. funny shooter 2

    March 8, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    Ave has already consumed a sufficient quantity of green smoothies. Must start ’em young.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Lauren

    January 31, 2018 at 10:34 am

    What kind of protein powder do you recommend?

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 31, 2018 at 1:59 pm

      I’ve really been loving Plant Fusion recently. Another one that I’ll use from time to time is Vega Sport.

      Reply
  3. Fernanda

    January 25, 2018 at 10:59 am

    I love juice. I always take it in the morning. Would it be interesting to take more than once in a day?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Nina

    January 23, 2018 at 10:31 am

    We do this combo quite often. If you put alittle less milk it gets so dense and creamy it’s almost like a pudding, which my 4yo loves!

    Reply
  5. Kat

    January 9, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    I totally had a green smoothie this morning, but with baby kale in it 🙂 Totally didn’t add any avocado though – need to do that more! I’ve added avocado in my smoothie once and absolutely LOVED IT, then I think I forgot about it as a smoothie ingredient lol So many choices! haha

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 15, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      I know! There are so many good ones. But I’m not brave enough for the kale just yet…

      Reply
  6. [email protected]

    January 8, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    Ave’s already drank her share of green smoothies. Gotta start ’em young.

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 15, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      Dang! I think I had my first one at like 24 lol.

      Reply
  7. Heather @ Polyglot Jot

    January 8, 2018 at 7:08 am

    Love this–my mom is convinced she hates green smoothies because she doesn’t think it’s normal to drink something green. I will have to make her this one…and put it in a container that she can’t see through hahaha! Tricky!
    I got in to green smoothies a few years ago when I was learning more about healthy eating and cooking. I agree that my idea of a salad was similar growing up…man, how things have changed! haha

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 15, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      Just add cocoa! That completely hides the colour 🙂

      Reply
  8. Hollie

    January 8, 2018 at 5:01 am

    I haven’t had a green smoothie in months but that is partially because it’s so cold here. Obviously, you understand but I want and need everything warm right now LOL. I will say, it looks great though!

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 15, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      I swear the cold weather makes me thirstier… so I’m sitting there sipping smoothies under layers of hoodies lol

      Reply
  9. lindsay Cotter

    January 7, 2018 at 9:27 am

    Lady, you better text me back! LOL! I wanted to see how you are. <3 Missed you.

    Reply
    • Amanda @ .running with spoons.

      January 15, 2018 at 5:22 pm

      Done and done <3

      Reply

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Amanda

I'm Amanda - health coach, cookbook author, recipe developer, photographer, makeup junkie, and the blogger behind Running with Spoons - a blog dedicated to proving that healthy snacking doesn't have to be tasteless or boring, one delicious recipe at a time. More about Amanda →

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