3 Green Smoothies That Are OK To Drink Every Day
- Emma Lisa
- Feb 13, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 17
Green smoothies are not only incredibly tasty, they are a fantastic way to get your daily dose of essential nutrients and extra leafy green nutrition all in one meal. But are they safe to have every day? As a Nutritionist, let me share why it's ok to enjoy green smoothies, daily and enjoy them often. Blenders ready? I've included of of my favourite green smoothie recipes for you to try. Let's tuck in!
Why Green Smoothies Are Good For You?
Whether you're looking for a quick and easy breakfast, a mid-day snack, or something plantbased to help you power through an energy slump, green smoothies are a super healthy choice. They are a fast and easy way to increase your consumption of more leafy greens and high fibre fruits and vegetables, while nurturing your gut microbes. Smoothies help to keep you hydrated, can aid weight loss, improve digestion and boost your overall metabolic function. Being so nutritionally rich with plantbased nutrition, all the extra nutrients can also help to clear up your skin if you suffer from acne, boost mood and your overall energy.
What Goes In Green Smoothies?
What Makes A Healthy Green Smoothie?
Short answer is plantbased ingredients like green vegetables, mainly leafy greens, herbs and other veggies rich in green coloured phytonutrients are the base for most green smoothies. Lots of people add bananas to improve the texture and taste, in addition to berries, kiwi, mango and other tasty fruit like pineapple. If you are diabetic like me, you can substitute low calorie, steamed cauliflower, sweet potato, raw, cooked oats, or creamed quinoa for banana to create that soft serve-like consistency in green smoothies. This is great way to also get a variety of nutrients, and not just rely on super sweet bananas to flavour your green smoothies every time.
Green Smoothies On A Budget
I personally find green smoothies to be the perfect way to use up leftover fruit and produce before it spoils (if you need to make every fridge item count). You can make smoothies rather cheaply by buying fresh greens and other produce on sale, or from the discount section of your grocery shop.
Many shops nowadays have bagged fruit and veggies that may have not made the cut for display and are sold at half price. The only thing wrong with them is they are misshapen, blemished or not as "perfect" as stores like to provide. Coles supermarkets do a good job of this with their "I'm Imperfect" range and Woollies with their "Odd Bunch" range.
Key Ingredients Used
Green smoothies are mainly made with a combination of fresh fruit, vegetables, and a liquid such as milk or water. The clean eating ingredients are blended together to create a thick and creamy beverage that is highly nutritious and makes for quick and easy meal prep. Smoothies can easily be tailored to fit any dietary needs or food preferences, whether you are diary-free, plantbased or otherwise. With a variety of natural flavours and endless combinations, there is something for everyone.
Popular Smoothie Ingredients
milk or water: the liquid you use can be simple tap water or something more nutrient-rich like coconut water, dairy or plantbased milk.
fruits and veggies: this is where smoothies get their fibre-rich nutrients from and provides you with a powerhouse of plantbased nutrition all in one tasty meal.
natural thickeners: some people add ice or frozen bananas to their smoothies to make them thicker and more like the consistency of serve ice cream. If you are diabetic some alternatives to banana include avocado, steamed cauliflower, yoghurt, and nut butters.
Combining these three simple ingredients makes delicious green smoothie recipes suitable for those looking to heal and nourish the gut while rebalancing body weight. Less is usually more, so focus on adding a few choice ingredients to your blender that complement each other, and then sit back and enjoy the goodness!
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Healthy Green Smoothie Variations
How To Make Healthy Green Smoothies You Can Enjoy Daily
Not only are green smoothies simple to make, but the base recipe is also incredibly versatile and generally cheap to make. You can use any kind of dairy or plantbased milk or just add water. Combine this with your favourite greens, plenty of high fibre fruit, nuts, and herbs to create your own unique recipes. Here's some liquid variations to try:
almond milk: rich in magnesium, a great low calorie alternative to dairy
coconut milk: another great replacement for dairy milk and easily digested, it has a lovely thick consistency and a rich, creamy texture.
coconut water: a nutrient dense water extracted from young coconuts that is very hydrating and fabulous to include after sport or the gym.
cow's milk: if you are not sensitive, this can make a wonderful creamy pudding but is higher in calories than plantbased options.
oat milk: an easy-to-digest, low-fat, low-sugar milk that also provide healthy fibre and a creamy flavour.
soy milk: higher in protein than other plantbased milks, soy is great option if you are sensitive to dairy or vegan.
No matter which version of milk you choose, adding greens smoothies to your meal plan each week is a fabulous and delicious way to get more fibre, eat a little more plantbased, and consume a well-balanced high protein meal. Experiment to find a few favourite recipes and then rotate those recipes each week to vary your nutritional intake and keep things interesting.
What Are The Side Effects of Green Smoothies?
While green smoothies are definitely densely nutritious, a diet consisting of only smoothies isn't healthful. In fact, it can become very imbalanced. Healthy meals need to be balanced with wholefood-based ingredients and macros such as dietary fibre, lean proteins, and healthy fats from a variety of clean eating sources, and not just from fruits and vegetables.
Surprising fact, consuming too many leafy green vegetables can be a harmful, especially to those people with underlying gut and health conditions. This is because leafy greens like beet leaves, endive, dandelion greens, kale, spinach, and Swiss chard all contain high levels of oxalic acid, a naturally-occurring plantbased compound. In moderate amounts, this plant compound is perfectly safe, but if you overindulge by consuming too much,, it can lead to accumulation of oxalate crystals in the body. This most often happens in the kidneys which then lead to painful kidney stones and other organ distress. High levels can also affect your calcium absorption. Cooking greens that are naturally higher in oxalate acid is one solution, but who wants wilted spinach in their cup. The best way to avoid any unwanted side effects from green smoothies is to simply strive to strike a natural balance with foods that you know support your body.
Food Sensitivities & Green Smoothies
Can You Be Allergic To Green Smoothies?
Yes, absolutely if you are sensitive to the ingredients used. Use what you know your body responds well to and if you experiment, try only one new veggie or ingredient at a time. Isolate it so you can easily track the culprit.
Are Green Smoothies Good For Your Stomach?
Got thyroid conditions or IBS? A word of caution, cruciferous vegetables such as Bok Choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and watercress all contain compounds called, goitrogens. These are known to disrupt thyroid function in some people. Goitrogens interfere with iodine uptake and hormone production within the thyroid gland and be a triggering food for those with stomach or digestive issues. Cooking the these foods (as they really are super healthy) can make a difference and help reduce the disruptive effect cruciferous vegetables have on those sensitive.
If you choose to simply avoid (the above) or are on a AIP Diet, test and try micro-greens or dandelion, and include selenium-rich foods in your blender to boost your selenium levels. Selenium helps support thyroid hormone production. Its found in Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, eggs, and legumes. Yes, you can add all of these to smoothies.
How Often Can You Drink Green Smoothies?
The answer has two parts. It's important to be mindful when adding sugars, carbohydrates, or fats to your blender that you don't overdo it on too many calories in one meal. Trust me, it is so easy to do this in the name of eating healthier. You can pile on the healthy ingredients with Instagram-worthy toppings and before you know it, your smoothie has as many calories and a super-sized Big Mac Meal or even more!
To keep things balance, I generally recommend enjoying a green smoothie 3-4 times a week, or every other day BUT only if you are making sure you vary the ingredients each time. For instance, if you enjoy an almond milk, avocado kale based smoothie on Monday, make sure you switch it up and have a coconut water, mango and arugula based one on Wednesday. Yes, technically you could safely have a green smoothie every day, but it is so important to vary the greens you use, the milk and even the fruits to give your body a broad spectrum of nutrients throughout the week. Remember, healthy is all about balance, right!
Superfood Smoothie Ingredients
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Green Smoothie Recipes Without Banana
Give these super tasty green smoothie recipes a go and tell me you don't feel amazing afterwards. I've purposely rounded up three green smoothie recipes that don't rely on banana for texture and flavouring. This means they are lower carb, a little more creative and a great way for you to explore new, fresh recipes. Banana is such a popular ingredient (and for good reason) but I want to show you how you can still enjoy delicious smoothie recipes if you are diabetic, have insulin issues, or living with PCOS and need to reduce sugar intake.
Each green smoothie is made with a balance of common fruits and veggies and contains 30g of plantbased protein to fuel all day energy. I've gone with plantbased because these recipes tend to work well for everyone. As a general rule, I don't recommend using whey or dairy-based protein powders in plantbased smoothies, vegan options are usually much better tolerated. Dairy combined with fruit and veggies can ferment in your stomach and cause gastric issues in many people, especially those already dealing with IBS or gut issues. Give these recipes a try and pop down in the comment to share your favourite one.
Pineapple Berry Green Smoothie |
Ingredients |
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Method |
Add all the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Combine well until smooth. Serve in a coconut bowl with a little crunch from a sprinkling of crushed walnuts and seeds. Enjoy with an energising green tea 30-minutes later to support gut health and digestion. |
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Lime Mango Green Smoothie |
Ingredients |
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Method |
Add all the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Combine well until smooth. Enjoy with an energising green tea 30-minutes later to support gut health and digestion. |
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Kiwi Green Smoothie |
Ingredients |
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Method |
Add all the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Combine well until smooth. Serve in a coconut bowl with raspberries and banana cut into wheels. Add a sprinkle of granola or chia seeds to serve, and enjoy a herbal peppermint tea 30-minutes later for gut health |
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One Last Thing, Before You Go...
If you really enjoy healthy smoothies... stick around while sipping your green smoothie and browse this blog for more nutrition and healthy eating guides, or come join my free 5 Day Detox Smoothie Challenge (By A Nutritionist). You'll receive a meal plan and recipes to detox from bad eating habits with clean eating recipes and smoothies. It's a gentle detox just about anyone can enjoy to reset your appetite and eat healthier. Come join us today, click here.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 14+ years experience in clean eating nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and anti-diet culture. When she's not in clinic, Emma is mum to five kids, in her test kitchen and sharing her creative talents as a wellness digital creator. She lives in Sydney, Australia. FOLLOW: Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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