Five Day Green Smoothie Challenge

I did it! I did the 5 day green smoothie challenge and it was so so rewarding! What is a 5 day green smoothie challenge? It is to make a different green smoothie everyday for five days. Normally each smoothie will be in place of your regular breakfast. Which meant Goodbye Bagels! (Well... until lunch time). 

I actually wound up doing this for three weeks. Almost every day for the entire month of May I worked on making five green smoothie recipes be absolutely perfect to share here. The great thing about green smoothies is unlike regular smoothies not only are you getting a giant fruit serving but you are also getting a serving of vegetables (which we could all benefit from). Drinking a green smoothie will definitely make you full, but in the comfortably refreshed way. Not only did I feel better after my month of green smoothies but I certainly saw improvement in my skins health. I will absolutely be continuing my green smoothie consuming! Here are my 5 favorite recipes so you can try as well;

Day One; Triple Berry Green Smoothie

-2 Handfuls of Spinach 

-1/2 cup of Frozen Strawberries

-1/2 cup of Frozen Blueberries

-1/2 cup of frozen Raspberries

-A little less than 1 cup of NonFat Vanilla Yogurt

Throw these items in a blender and blend until smooth. I came up with this one by thinking what I like in my parfaits or in my regular smoothies and just adding spinach. This one was really good, I realized that in a green smoothie I can't even taste the spinach! This came out to be a really awesome purple color.

Day Two; Peanut Butter Banana Green Smoothie

-2 Handfuls of Spinach

-1 Cup of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

-1 Frozen Banana

-1 Tablespoon of Smooth All Natural Peanut Butter

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. I actually found this recipe here, and loved it! I first tried it with regular milk, but the unsweetened vanilla almond milk really does make a delicious difference! I was so excited that this one actually came out green! Definitely something to try for all you peanut butter fans out there!

Day Three; Strawberry Banana Green Smoothie

-2 Handfuls of Spinach

-1 cup of Unsweetned Vanilla Almond Milk

-1 Frozen Banana

-12 Small Frozen Strawberries

Place everything in the blender and blend blend blend! After Day Two's Smoothie I was inspired to try another Almond Milk Smoothie. I replaced the peanut butter with strawberry and it was even better than the day before! My strawberries were locally grown and very little, so if you use regular sized strawberries, maybe dial the number back to 8. This color came out totally ugly (although tasted so so good), so I embellished for the photo! 

Day Four; Strawberry Cherry Orange Green Smoothie

-2 Handfuls of Spinach 

-1/2 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

-1/2 Cup of Plain Yogurt

-1/2 Cup of Frozen Cherries

-1/2 Cup of Frozen Strawberries

Toss everything into the blender, blend till smooth, and you have another delicious smoothie. My dad came home with fresh cherries, and my mother just made fresh squeezed orange juice when I got the idea for this smoothie! I plucked off the stems, removed the pits and quartered the cherries. Another ugly colored smoothie, but embellishments make the picture look more appetizing! This one might just have been my favorite.

-Day Five; Orange Apple Banana Green Smoothie

-2 Handfuls of Spinach

-1 Frozen Banana

-1 Small Apple 

-1 Cup of Fresh Squezzed Orange Juice

-1/2 Cup of Plain Yogurt

Everything goes in the blender and is blended until smooth! So glad that after two days of ugly colors, I finally made another smoothie turn out green. This one ended up a light yellow green.  I freeze all of the fruit the night before, but there is no need to with apple since it is already solid. Just be sure to dice the apple into small cubes. Surprisingly so so delicious, I was worried about tartness, but after a few tries I added Orange juice and made it sweeter. After using these typical plastic straws every day, I definitely think I'll be buying some fun paper straws!

Tips;

-For Greens use Spinach or Kale. Kale has a much stronger taste, so I opted for Spinach! 

- I say frozen, but I buy all of my fruit fresh. I then slice and freeze all of the fruit the night before, so the smoothie ends up creamy and smooth. I suggest you do the same!

-I saw some recipes with water, but that is totally unnecessary. Get added nutrients with orange juice, or your favorite type of milk (almond, skim, soy, etc.), or nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt.

-Experiment and have fun! I am thinking of trying to somehow make a chocolate and coconut one! Be daring and try whatever you think sounds good, because chances are it will be wonderful!

-If your smoothie is not sweet enough for you, or if you are craving a sweet dessert add a little squirt of all natural honey!

-Don't buy the cheapest blender at Walmart (mine at the top), it doesn't do the job well... especially if you make smoothies often, invest in a better one! (If only that were in my college student budget...)

Have you ever had a green smoothie? If so I would absolutely love to know what recipe you use! If you haven't had one before, I hope this convinces you to try one!

xoxo