Blueberry and Cucumber Smoothie Recipe

• 1/2 organic cucumber
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 cup organic Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 cup organic blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 4 to 6 ounces filtered water

Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth.

If you are new to green smoothies or not sure about the parsley, start with 1/2 cup or use fresh baby spinach. I blend about a cup or two of Italian parsley in my green smoothies quite often. Once you get used to the fresh, “green” flavor, it’s actually really good, so give it a try. You might like it!

I made this as a pre-workout smoothie so I added a banana. It’s not a sweet smoothie which is great if you want a low calorie, low glycemic drink. Otherwise, to add sweetness and calories, toss in a banana or two.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 128
Fat: 1g
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 31g
Calcium: 14% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 5.1 mg
Vitamin A: 188% RDA
Vitamin C: 99% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate, vitamin K, copper and manganese.

Browse more blueberry smoothie recipes or submit your own

Pinapple-Zucchini Smoothie Recipe

• 1 medium organic zucchini
• 1/2 cup organic Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 2 stalks organic celery
• 1/2 can pineapple and juice (I used 1 cup fresh, chopped pineapple)
• 4 to 6 ounces filtered water

Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 139
Fat: 1g
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrates: 32g
Calcium: 11% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 3.2mg
Vitamin A: 112% RDA
Vitamin C: 174% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate, vitamin B1 through B6, and vitamin K, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium.

Browse more pineapple smoothies or submit your own.

If you are wondering why I call this smoothie recipe “Iron 101″, it’s because it has 101% of your daily value of iron. A significant amount of iron comes from the fresh parsley which has 47% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron alone. *

Iron 101 Smoothie Recipe

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted
• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled
• 3 cups organic kale
• 1 cup fresh, organic Italian parsley (or use curly parsley)
• 4 to 6 ounces of filtered water

Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 498
Fat: 3g
Protein: 12g
Carbohydrates: 121g
Calcium: 32% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 101% RDA *
Vitamin A: 1257% RDA
Vitamin C: 447% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate, vitamins B1 – B6, vitamin E, vitamin K, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium.

* Special Note for Women and Vegetarians/Vegans: This green smoothie provides 8 milligrams (mg) or 101% of the recommended dietary iron intake for adult men and post menopausal women. Adult, pre-menopausal women need 18mg of iron per day. Vegetarians and vegans also need a higher dietary intake of iron due to the difference in bio-availability of animal-sourced and plant-sourced iron. An adult male following a vegetarian diet should consume about 14 mg of iron daily while vegetarian, pre-menopausal women should strive for 33 mg daily. These figures are based on recommendations set in 2000 by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences.

Browse more mango, banana, kale smoothies and parsley smoothie recipes or submit your own.

A lot of research suggests that those who eat more fresh fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of chronic disease. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) says on their website that getting at least 5 servings each day may lower the risk of “type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and perhaps heart disease.” Weight loss is also cited as a benefit. I can attest to that!

How To Get 5 Or More Servings Of Fruits And Vegetables The Easy Way

When I heard about green smoothies, I was intrigued. It sounded like an ingenious way to sneak more vegetables into my diet. I was skeptical about the flavor, though. Let’s face it, a bright green smoothie doesn’t exactly scream “drink me”.

The first one I made used banana, spinach and water. It was simple, bright green and tasted like….banana! I quickly expanded this recipe to include tomato, carrot, spinach and at least 2-3 fruits to mask the flavor. It was tasty!

In less than a week, I went from struggling to get my 5-a-day to eating almost 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The best thing about it was that I was enjoying the flavors of fruit without tasting all the veggies!

How Many Greens I Eat In A Week

After doing more research into diet and nutrition, it became apparent that I should strive to increase my intake of leafy greens. In the fantastic book, Green for Life, author Victoria Boutenko makes a stunning case for eating more leafy green vegetables.

Last week, I kept track of what my wife and I ate and our intake of leafy greens for a seven-day period in November were the following:

• 3 large bunches of organic dandelion greens
• 1 bunch of organic collard greens
• 4 bunches of organic Swiss chard
• 3 bunches of fresh, organic dill
• 1 bunch of fresh, organic parsley
• 4 pounds of organic baby spinach
• 1/2 tub of organic arugula
• 1/2 head of organic green cabbage
• 1 bunch of organic kale

About 90% of these greens were consumed in green smoothies. On average, my wife and I drink two smoothies each day. There is absolutely no way I would have eaten this amount of greens by themselves or in salads!

How To Get Started

If you’ve never had a green smoothie before, take it slow. Try the simple banana recipe with spinach. If you don’t like banana, try it with pear, mango or peach. Be sure to check out our article on how to make a delicious green smoothie. You can experiment with different fruits and greens to find a combination you like, or sample any of our recipes on our website.

I have been drinking green smoothies every day for two years now. I have experienced the health benefits, weight loss and increased energy. I have also naturally gravitated toward a healthier diet and eat a lot less junk food. Green smoothies changed my life and I bet they will change yours too!

Happy Parsley Smoothie Recipe

– ½ bunch parsley, stems cut
– 2 small pears
– 1 Thai coconut, meat and water
– ¾ cup mango

Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth. Makes approximately 32 ounces.

This smoothie has a sweet tropical flavor. Coconut and mango blend so well together while pear and parsley make this smoothie both sweet and refreshing.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 454
Fat: 4.3 grams
Protein: 5.7 grams
Carbohydrates: 108.2 grams
Calcium: 28.5% daily value (DV)
Vitamin A: 135% DV
Vitamin C: 253% DV

With Cacao

I couldn’t resist trying this smoothie recipe with cacao. After drinking half of the pitcher as is, I added 2 tablespoons of cacao nibs and ran it through the “Smoothie” cycle on my Blendtec again. I took a sip and it was amazing with a delicate touch of chocolate and no bitterness!

Recipe

– 1 whole banana, peeled
– 1 whole kiwi, peeled
– 1/3 cup Goji berries
– 1/4 cup raw Cacao nibs (or 1/8 cup Cacao powder)
– 1 stalk of celery
– 1 cup fresh parsley, packed
– 1 cup fresh baby spinach, packed
– 6-8 ounces of water (or coconut water)
– 2-3 ice cubes to chill if desired
– 1 scoop hemp or rice protein powder (optional)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.

Cacao nibs and Goji berries will need to be ground up in a food processor or coffee grinder before adding to the blender if you are not using a high-end machine.

Makes approximately 20 ounces.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 483
Fat: 15.8 grams
Protein: 13.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 67 grams
Calcium: 24% daily value (DV)
Iron: 348% DV
Vitamin A: 318% DV
Vitamin C: 333% DV

Adding a scoop of protein powder will increase both the protein and calories. Check the label.

If you use the meat and water from a young, Thai coconut, you will increase the calories by about 140, fat by 3 grams, protein by 2 grams, carbs by 28 grams and add an additional 17% DV of calcium bringing the smoothie to a total of 41% DV of calcium!

More Green Smoothie Recipes

If you like this recipe, you might like this Chocolate-Banana with Goji Berries. Try other cacao green smoothies or share your own recipe!

Leafy Green Nutrition

Leafy green vegetables have more nutrition per calorie than any other food. Greens make up a significant source vitamins A, C, E and K as well as several B vitamins. They are rich sources of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. They are rich in fiber, extremely low in fat and carbohydrates and provide an excellent source of protein.

How Much Green Should You Eat?

The USDA food pyramid suggests a minimum of 3 servings of leafy greens per week. Most Americans fall short of this recommendation. Most health experts agree that the amount of leafy greens that we should consume is likely much higher than just 3 servings per week! I eat about 5-8 servings per day (that’s about two bunches or “heads”), mostly in green smoothies.

Drink Your Green Smoothies

Nobody likes to eat a big bowl of leafy greens. I eat a lot of greens each day, but I rarely eat salad. I get my greens from delicious fruit smoothies. I drink my spinach, kale, chard and dandelion greens while savoring the flavors of pineapple, mango, pear and even chocolate! That’s right, I eat about a pound of greens per day and all I taste is fruit and chocolate!

You can use just about any green leafy vegetable in a green smoothie. The most popular are:

- Spinach (preferably baby spinach)
- Kale
- Swiss chard
- Collard greens
- Dandelion greens
- Turnip greens
- Beat greens
- Parsley
- Arugula
- Romaine lettuce
- Green and red leaf lettuce

Read more about these leafy green superfoods.

Return to Health and Nutrition Topics.

As written, the recipe makes about 20 ounces, but the total amount yield will depend on the size of the fruits and vegetables you use.

Refresh Green Smoothie Recipe

• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 cups Swiss Chard (You can also use spinach or other leafy green)
• 1-2 stalks of celery
• 1 whole peach, pitted
• 1 whole orange, peeled
• 1/4 avocado (optional)
• 1/2-3/4 cup water (or you can use coconut water to add a tropical tone to the smoothie)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. You can make this green smoothie colder by adding a couple ice cubes, but I would not advise adding frozen berries as they would overtake the delicate flavors.

This smoothie would be excellent with fresh, chopped parsley too. I would recommend using one cup of Italian parsley and one cup of Swiss chard (or other leafy green).

Did you try this smoothie? Leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it or if you tweaked the recipe to suit your own tastes. Find lots more healthy smoothie recipes here.

I recommend that you use 2 cups of raw, chopped greens per smoothie recipe on our website. If you make an entire blender pitcher full, I would recommend using 3-4 cups of greens depending on the size of your pitcher to get the proper ratio of greens to fruit. The nutrition profiles below are for one cup. Please double that when calculating the nutrition value of your green smoothies, or combine one cup of greens with another.

As always, I highly recommend purchasing organic produce whenever necessary. Buying organic is especially important for leafy greens as they tend to contain higher concentrations of pesticide residues.

Here are some other leafy greens to consider adding to your green smoothies:

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is a great spinach alternative as it has a similarly delicate flavor and softer leaves that blend well in most blenders. Swiss chard is actually in the same family as spinach and beets. Chard leaves have a slightly salty flavor that wont make your green smoothie salty, but will help cut the sweetness of the fruit and berries you add to it. Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K magnesium, manganese, potassium and iron. Chard helps support bone, lung and heart health while boosting the immune system.

Swiss chard comes in a variety of colors including red, orange, yellow and white. Chard is extremely perishable so it should be consumed within a few days after you purchase it.

Swiss Chard Nutrition (1 cup, raw): Calories: 7 | Fat: 0.1 grams | Protein: 0.6g | Carbs: 1.3g | Vitamin A: 44% DV | Vitamin C: 18% DV | Calcium: 2% DV.

Collard Greens

Collard Greens have tough leaves that taste slightly bitter, but are easily masked by fruit in a green smoothie. I wasn’t sure that they would be good in a green smoothie after I sampled a piece of leaf, but I found that they are easily “hidden” by fruit. Collards are related to kale and are descendants of wild cabbage. Collards provide an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, folate, manganese and calcium. Collard greens are a good ingredient for detox smoothies and they help support the heart, lungs and immune system while lowering cholesterol and protecting against cancer with powerful antioxidants.

Because collard greens have tough leaves, I recommend that you chop them up before adding them to your blender unless you have a high speed Vita-Mix or Blendtec.

Collard Greens Nutrition (1 cup, raw): Calories: 11 | Fat: 0.2 grams | Protein: 0.9g | Carbs: 2g | Vitamin A: 48% DV | Vitamin C: 21% DV | Calcium: 5% DV.

Parsley

Parsley is more than just a fancy garnish for restaurant meals. Did you know that you can eat it just like any other green and that it’s a nutritional powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants? Parsley is a great source of vitamins A, C, K and folate as well as iron and calcium. There are two varieties of parsley – curly and Italian. Curly parsley is usually used as a garnish, while Italian parsley is less bitter and has flat leaves that make a great addition to green smoothies.

Parsley has a distinct flavor that can complement a variety of smoothie recipes. I made a simple parsley green smoothie with one apple and one orange the other day and it was delicious. Parsley is excellent when blended with spinach (ie: 1 cup fresh, chopped parsley and 1 cup fresh, chopped baby spinach). You might need to add slightly more water than a typical smoothie recipe calls for depending on the water content of the fruits that you add to the smoothie.

Parsley Nutrition (1 cup, raw): Calories: 22 | Fat: 0.5 grams | Protein: 1.8g | Carbs: 3.8g | Vitamin A: 101% DV | Vitamin C: 133% DV | Calcium: 8% DV | Iron: 21% DV.

Dandelion Greens

If you are interested in making a detox smoothie, dandelion greens should be an ingredient you use. Dandelions are used to cleanse the liver and gallbladder and to help support kidney function. They may help stabilize blood sugar and lower bad (LDL) cholesterol. Dandelion greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, E, K, calcium and iron.

Dandelion greens can be found growing wild but are also available in certain health food stores and farmers markets.

Dandelion greens have a bitter taste which might be difficult to mask with fruit in a green smoothie and some might find the taste undesirable. You can help hide the bitter taste by using pungent fruit and berries such as pineapple, oranges, banana, strawberries or other ripe berries. You might also want to experiment with using vanilla bean or flavored protein powder in dandelion green smoothies. Blending one cup of dandelion greens with one cup of other green such as spinach or kale might help even out the bitterness. Personally, I find that I do get used to the flavor and after the first couple sips and I soon don’t mind the flavor at all. I guess it’s an acquired taste.

Dandelion Greens Nutrition (1 cup, raw): Calories: 25 | Fat: 0.4 grams | Protein: 1.5g | Carbs: 5.1g | Vitamin A: 54% DV | Vitamin C: 32% DV | Calcium: 10% DV | Iron: 9% DV.

Kale

I’ve written a lot about the health benefits of kale and posted some kale smoothie recipes. Kale is a nutritious green to use for smoothies and as with dandelion and parsley, a great source of plant-based calcium.

Kale leaves are tougher and may be more difficult to blend in a low-end blender. I recommend chopping them first, and blending a little at a time until you have added the desired amount.

Kale Nutrition (1 cup, raw): Calories: 34 | Fat: 0.5 grams | Protein: 2.2g | Carbs: 6.7g | Vitamin A: 206% DV | Vitamin C: 134% DV | Calcium: 9% DV | Iron: 6%.

Other Greens To Try

Beet greens are similar to Swiss chard and spinach and blend up well in a green smoothie. Beet greens add 8 calories per cup with 48% DV of vitamin A, 19% DV of vitamin C and 4% DV of calcium.

Turnip greens are similar in taste and texture to collard greens and kale. Turnip greens add 17 calories per cup with 55% DV of vitamin C and 10% DV of calcium.

Romain lettuce can be used in green smoothies, but I don’t care for the lettuce taste in a smoothie if I add too much. I love Romain in salads or on their own, however. Try adding some to your green smoothie and see if you like it. Romain lettuce adds 10 calories per cup with 66% DV of vitamin A, 22% DV of vitamin C and 2% DV of calcium. I generally add more than just 2 cups of chopped Romain lettuce for a green in smoothies because it is not as nutritionally dense as other leafy greens such as spinach and kale.

Green and red leaf lettuce is a healthy, vitamin and mineral-packed addition to a green smoothie. Because it has a mild flavor and is inexpensive, I usually put an entire head of lettuce in my green smoothie.

Mustard greens are not for the faint of heart. If you want to ad some spice to your smoothie, these will do it. While they are nutritious, I do not recommend using them in your green smoothie recipes, although I have heard of some brave souls who have made mustard green smoothies.

You might need to experiment or mix new greens with your familiar spinach at first. Try not to get stuck in the spinach rut. Branch out and discover a whole new world of green smoothie nutrition and variety!

Browse our green smoothie recipe pages to find over 100 different smoothie recipes in any fruity flavor you can think of. While most of them call for spinach, you can simply substitute with 2 cups of alternative leafy greens from the list above.