I swear, it’s merely a coincidence that my first blog post as a born-again California girl is a green smoothie.
Cross my heart. I made this bad boy when it was the middle of dreary, cold February in Chicago, when it seemed like everyone around me was sneezing and sniffling and I was like, “GREEN SMOOTHIE, HAAAAAALP!” I promise you, my bacon consumption will not decrease one single bit after moving to The Juicing State.
But can’t we have our bacon and our green smoothies, too?
I totally understand being a little bit skeptical that something that looks so green could taste so good. Before I started making smoothies many mornings a week, I would totally assume that a smoothie with kale in it is basically hell on earth. But then, I fiddled and tweaked until I found a smoothie recipe that I liked. And I liked it so much I started making it every chance I could get. And THEN, one day, I threw a handful of leftover spinach into it and….it tasted the exact freakin’ same. Woah.
The trick to an incredible, creamy smoothie is, in my opinion, two things: frozen bananas and vanilla almond milk. The frozen bananas are absolutely critical; I won’t make smoothies without them. If you’re super put-together, you can cut bananas into coins and freeze them into individual baggies for super-quick smoothie making. I take the lazy man’s route and just halve brown bananas and throw them into a big ol’ bag in the freezer. The frozen bananas taste so sweet and creamy, and completely eliminate the need for ice! Ice in smoothies is the anti-creamy, yo. I also love using unsweetened vanilla almond milk for that incredible sweet vanilla flavor – it’s so much better than using plain ol’ dairy milk, in my humble opinion. From there, we add frozen mango chunks, a scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder, and voila! We have a smoothie so delicious that even a giant handful of raw kale can’t touch that flavor. Lately, I’ve even been adding a little bit of matcha powder for that extra health pizazz. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little metabolism boost, right? More bacon for us!
So there you have it: this creamy mango green smoothie, my favorite smoothie recipe of all time. It’s tropical, creamy, sweet, and completely satisfying. In just 5 minutes, you’ll have made yourself a breakfast with vegetables that tastes freakin’ delicious. Go, you!
P.S. Just because this is green and it is March does NOT mean it is intended as a contribution to St. Patrick’s Day festivities. If you bring a green smoothie to a St. Patrick’s Day party, people will hate you, and they will not be wrong. (That is, unless you put some whisky in it.) But don’t fear – I’ll be comin’ atcha next week with an awesome St. Patrick’s Day dessert, and in the meantime, might I suggest this or these?
- 1 overripe banana, halved and frozen
- ½ cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1-2 big handfuls baby spinach or baby kale
- 1 scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder
- ½ tsp. matcha powder (optional)
- First, blend together the banana, mango, and almond milk until creamy. Blend in the spinach or kale, then add the protein powder and matcha powder, if using. Blend a final time to combine. Serve immediately!
- This goes without saying, but the taste/quality of the protein powder you use will have a big affect on the final product. We love Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein Powder in vanilla ice cream (linked below, it tastes soooo good), but just make sure you use your favorite. If you don’t want to use protein powder, I’d think that ½ cup of vanilla Greek yogurt would be a good substitute, but you might have to add a little more milk to thin it out a bit.
Looking for more healthy breakfast ideas?
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Dark Chocolate and Toasted Pecans
Peanut Butter and Jelly Chia Seed Pudding
