The Perfect Green Smoothie Formula

Best Green Smoothie (4 Ingredients)

This Tropical Vegan Green Smoothie is 4 ingredients, tasty, quick and easy– loaded
with spinach, pineapples, orange juice and bananas. It’s only 255 calories and is
deliciously smooth!

Ingredients
 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped or cubed
 2 cups fresh spinach or kale, washed and stems removed
 2 small frozen bananas, whole
 ½ cup orange juice
 Ginger

Instructions 

1. Put all ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend it all together until
smooth, pausing to scrape down sides if needed.
2. Serve and enjoy! This smoothie will last in your fridge for up to 2 days.

Notes on the Ingredients

With only 4 ingredients (and easy ones to find, at that), this smoothie can be
whipped up at pretty much any time of the year.

 Pineapples – adds body, fibre and a burst of freshness to the smoothie. I

recommend using fresh pineapples over canned. You could also use frozen
pineapples. Pineapples are an excellent of vitamin C.

 Fresh Spinach – This may be swapped with kale if desired, but spinach is my
#1 choice for this because of how well it blends together. It also gives it that
beautiful green colour. They both offer ample amounts of Vitamin K, Vitamin A
and Vitamin C.
  Chopped Bananas – Bananas in this smoothie help to keep you full and add
a natural sweetness, so you don’t need to add any sugar to this smoothie. As
we all know about bananas, they’re high in, say it with me – Potassium!

 Fresh Orange Juice – This also adds a touch of sweetness to the smoothie. I
recommend choosing oranges that are more on the sweet side than tart.
Oranges are also a great source of vitamin C. You can choose to juice them
freshly or buy orange juice.

 Ginger - Exceedingly low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals as well
as phytochemicals such as gingerol, ginger provides fiber, high amounts of
manganese and magnesium, and good amounts of phosphorus, calcium, iron,
potassium, and zinc. Ginger is also a rich source of B-complex
compounds, vitamins C and E.2 Its vitamin C content is the reason ancient
voyagers carried this spice with them, to avoid scurvy.
 Studies have also demonstrated that gingerol acts as a potent anti-
inflammatory in fighting the effects of rheumatoid arthritis and other
inflammatory diseases.
 Ginger also contains shogaols, which have been shown in studies to reduce
inflammation and have anti-diabetic and anti-cancerous properties as well.4
For these reasons, ginger is an awesome addition to your juices and smoothies. Just
as little as a ‘thumb-sized’ portion could not only warm you up on a chilly day, but
also protect you from infection, inflammation, and pain!
Expert Tips & Serving Suggestions

As you can see this smoothie is already quite easy to make. Here are some tips to
make it even easier!

 I highly recommend using fresh or frozen versions of these fruits over canned
versions. It’ll yield the best taste.

 If you want to meal prep this, you can freeze all of the ingredients (except the
orange juice) and store them in a freezer-safe zipped bag. This also helps in
preserving the nutrients in the ingredients.

 Pre-portion each smoothie in its own reusable container so all you have to do
is pour all ingredients in the blender and turn it on.

 I used spinach for mine, but you could easily substitute kale if you want. I
would recommend blanching the kale for one minute first to its easier to
digest and blend in the smoothie.

 If you’ve just finished a killer workout you can also add a scoop of protein
powder. This will keep you full for longer.

 You can customise these to your liking. Feel free to add in chia seeds, flax
seeds, more fruit, coconut shreds, berries, or anything else to your liking!
 3 simple tips for healthier smoothies

Smoothies can be a nutritious treat, but remember — just because it’s called a
“smoothie” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Here are some tips for nutritious and filling
smoothies. Enjoy!

Slow down

 Watch your consumption. When you drink liquids, like a smoothie, you tend to
consume calories quickly and can end up feeling hungry.
 Take your time. By drinking smoothies slowly, there’s an increased chance you’ll
feel full and consume fewer unnecessary calories.
 Enjoy...then wait. The brain can take 20 to 40 minutes to release satiety (feeling
full) hormones, so wait before eating or drinking more — maybe you won’t be
hungry.

Skip the fruit juice

 Avoid added sugars. Stay away from sugars in your smoothie, including fruit juice.
 Use water or milk as your base. Skim milk, unsweetened almond milk,
unsweetened soy milk or water are all good options for the liquid base of your
smoothie.
 Add a protein source. Include milk, plain yogurt or plain kefir to your smoothie to
help increase satiety or feeling full.

Keep the veggies visible

 Include vegetables. Adding kale, spinach, carrots and beets are all great ways to
increase vegetable consumption for children.
 Keep the fruits and vegetables visible. Children need to be exposed to fruits and
vegetables in their whole, natural form to know they’re part of a nutritious diet.
Including vegetables is recommended, but hiding them in smoothies and other
dishes should not be the sole source of exposure.
 Give taste buds time. Kids need to be exposed to new foods 10 to 15 times before
the food is considered as disliked.