My first recipe and like, duh, it had to be a green smoothie!
Drinking green juices and smoothies on the daily was what catapulted me into really falling in love with nutrition and wellness. There’s something about consuming a healthy green beverage, that sets the tone for the rest of the day. Having a green smoothie for breakfast, just makes you feel so damn good, that you want to make better health choices going forward. Well, even if you don’t make amazing choices after your green drink, at least you’ve done one good thing for your body!
Years ago my green smoothies would be full of frozen bananas and dates and some spinach – basically a green sugar bomb. I’d drink almost a litre of this and then be starving a few hours later because of the insulin roller coaster ride.
I’ve learned a lot since then and now my smoothies are much lower in sugar, contain a good dose of healthy fats, fibre and some protein, which all help keep me full and my energy high for up to 6 hours. Much better.
Even better if you can consume all this goodness and it tastes amazing… like mint-choc-chip ice-cream amazing! Heck yeah!
I’ve used raw zucchini instead of bananas to add thickness and bulk to this smoothie, but don’t worry, you can’t taste the zucchinis or the spinach!
If you’re a vegan, just leave out the collagen powder. If you’re not 100% plant based, then collagen is an amazing supplement for your skin, hair and nails, as well as for healing the gut lining. I use an unflavoured marine collagen powder.
My vanilla vegan protein powder is already sweetened with xylitol, so I haven’t added extra sweetness to this recipe. If your protein is unflavoured or unsweetened, please feel free to add some vanilla powder and any sweetener of your choice. Stevia, xylitol, coconut blossom sugar, a date etc.
Maca powder is one of my all time fave superfoods. Maca is grown at high altitude in Peru and is said to have been consumed by Peruvian warriors many moons ago. It balances hormones in both men and women, boosts libido and increases energy levels. Plus it tastes delicious! Kind of like Horlicks.
Fresh mint also tastes delicious and is great for the digestive system – say #byefelicia to bloating!
So without further ado. Here’s the recipe for the smoothie that’s probably on highest rotation in my house. Feel free to tweak the recipe to suit your taste buds and nutritional requirements. ENJOY!
RECIPE – Serves 2
1 big handful of baby spinach
4 medium size raw or frozen zucchinis
2 servings vanilla protein powder (I’m using a vegan pea protein at the moment)
2 servings collagen powder ( can omit to make vegan )
2 tsp maca powder
1 avocado
1 big handful of fresh mint leaves
2 cups of nut mylk of choice ( I used almond milk )
2 generous handfuls of raw cacao nibs
Place all ingredients, except the cacao nibs in a high power blender and blend until smooth.
Add cacao nibs and pulse a few times to achieve choc-chip consistency.
Serve with a few extra sprinkles of cacao nibs and torn mint leaves on top. Enjoy the freshness! 🙂
