This green smoothie is packed with leafy nutrition and is a great base for adding other secret ingredients that boost your kids’ energy!
Interesting title, huh? This is part of Judah’s breakfast practically every morning. Judah is a great eater, but I have found it difficult to get enough green veggies into him each day. He loves carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc. But, when it comes to the leafy greens, I just can’t figure him out.
It was a while ago that I first heard about the Green Monster movement. I decided to give it a try for Judah. He had enjoyed regular fruit smoothies many times before, so I had a strong feeling that this would go over well, which it did. He pretty much begs for this daily.
I love that the spinach is evident by a beautiful green color, yet doesn’t impact the flavor of the smoothie hardly at all. The combination of pure fruit, leafy greens and orange juice makes this a very beneficial and healthy meal option, or a snack. And, by using already frozen fruit, there is no need to add ice.
Judah drinks an entire travel cup of this every day and still asks for more. I bought him a cheap straw cup for $3.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond, so he thinks he’s a big boy and carries it everywhere with him while he plays with his toys and watches Sesame Street.
You can use any type of leafy green, but I’ve found spinach is the least taste altering. My brother-in-law has gone over the top with his smoothies this summer. Almost every day on Facebook I would see him post his latest strange concoction of beets, sweet potatoes, bananas, berries, almond milk and kale. I would tease him about it and we would share combinations. But, I could never go as crazy as he. This Green Monster smoothie combination I’m giving you may not include your daily fill of nutrition like my brother-in-law’s, but it sure is healthy and tastefully fulfilling.
*Note: You can basically use any combination of frozen fruit, however, if you use other colors like red raspberries or strawberries, your smoothie will turn brown. It will still taste good, though.
- Handful of fresh baby spinach
- Handful of frozen diced pineapple
- Handful of frozen sliced peaches or diced mango
- 1 banana , peeled and cut up
- 1 cup orange juice (or more as needed)
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Dump all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth and at desired drinking texture. Add more orange juice as needed, to allow the ingredients to blend. Pour into individual servings cups.
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*Note: Any combination of fruit may be used according to your tastes. Other leafy greens besides spinach can also be used. You may also add other nutritional ingredients such as ground flax seed, wheat germ, etc. The above recipe reflects my favorite combination.
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Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats
Stephanie says
September 14, 2011 at 1:15 AMHe is so cute carrying around his big green monster! Love these smoothies. Haven’t had one in a while. Great reminder to make one soon!
sweetsugarbelle says
September 14, 2011 at 5:45 AMNikki!!! I want to try this!!! And Judah is so stinkin’ adorable!!!
kokocooks says
September 14, 2011 at 3:51 AMOMG, I am totally going to try this. My son won’t eat anything remotely resembling a vegetable. It’s a shame, because he loved them when they were pureed. Love all the pics of the places your son goes while he enjoys his smoothie – adorable!
Jen @ BeantownBaker.com says
September 14, 2011 at 4:23 AMWhat a great way to get him to eat leafy greens. Love the pics of him carrying the cup around while playing. Too cute!
Rachel says
September 14, 2011 at 4:38 AMOh my goodness! Judah is DARLING walking around with his smoothie! That is the cutest thing ever. 🙂 I’ll have to try these with Jack.
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
September 14, 2011 at 4:52 AMThat is one mighty adventurous (and adorable) little boy there! I’d really have to beg my daughter to try something this green. If only they knew how tasty the smoothie is and didn’t judge on looks!
Nicole, RD says
September 14, 2011 at 6:52 AMHe’s so cute! Look at him suck down all those veggies 🙂 Makes a mama (and dietitian!) very happy to see.
Krystal R. says
September 14, 2011 at 1:03 PMAwww, he melts my heart! Love all the action shots of him drinking his veggies! I need to try this delicious smoothie out because I’ve been on a smoothie kick lately – it sounds perfect.
Mandy says
September 14, 2011 at 1:08 PMLooks good! I think I’ll try that for Avi and I. I also like how you’ve created recipe cards for your dishes. It’s really easy to print them off. Thanks Nikki!!
Sue gladd says
September 14, 2011 at 6:45 PMNikki, I make this for breakfast everyday and Daddy Gladd does too! We use coconut milk to bring it all together. You’re right about the smoothie turning brown if you mix strawberries with the spinach but I’ve found that you can add about 2-3 berries before that happens, so my concoction looks like this:
Crushed ice
Coconut milk
Banana
Couple of strawberries,
Pineapple (or peaches)
Fresh baby spinach
Vit C tablet
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon
I love it that Judah is enjoying the smoothies so much! Love, love, love it!
Annie says
September 16, 2011 at 1:11 PMSo glad your family is enjoying this! I love the idea of the travel cup for smoothies for toddlers. I’m definitely going to invest in another one for that purpose.
Jennifer says
December 27, 2011 at 10:50 AMRoasting the bananas will also give it a punch of delicious flavor.
Shannon says
February 17, 2012 at 12:45 PMJust made this true to your ingredients and measurements and it’s great! I hope to make it a few times a week now for the mornings =) Thanks so much.
Shauna says
March 1, 2012 at 9:01 AMCan you forgo the orange juice?
Nikki says
March 1, 2012 at 12:15 PMSure! You can use another liquid…like milk or apple juice, or even yogurt, etc.
Shannon says
March 1, 2012 at 12:48 PMI was out of orange juice so subbed it all for coconut milk which I had been adding in anyways. I think I like it better with all coconut milk as there isn’t the tartness that the oj gives =)
Nikki says
March 1, 2012 at 1:39 PMThanks, Shannon! My in-laws use coconut milk in their smoothies every day, too. Almond milk is another option. Really, whatever suits your taste. 🙂
Tessa says
April 28, 2012 at 11:58 AMI made these today for myself and my two sons. Me and my youngest are super picky and everyone LOVED these…even after I told them the secret ingredient! Thanks so much for sharing!
Nikki says
April 28, 2012 at 3:35 PMYay! I’m glad the revealing of the secret ingredient didn’t ruin it for them! 🙂
Melissa says
January 14, 2018 at 12:11 PMI don’t see the recipe. Where is it? 🙂 Thanks.
Nikki Gladd says
January 15, 2018 at 7:13 PMHi Melissa,
So sorry about that! At some point the recipe disappeared from the post (likely when I moved to a knew theme). I added it back. Thank you for letting me know!