So over summer I’ve switched up my brekkie routine somewhat. Along with my regular Whey Less smoothies, I’ve been enjoying green smoothies as well!
If you haven’t tried a green smoothie yet, I highly recommend you do! It’s a great way to get extra fruit and veg into your day – and it’s a wonderful way to wake up and start off on a healthy footing (not to mention they’re delicious and convenient!).
There are innumerable variations of the green smoothie, and I’ll share with you exactly how to come up with your own perfect creation. But first – let’s take a look at my go-to, everyday recipe!
My Green Smoothie
- 100 ml of chilled, filtered water
- 125 ml coconut water
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 scoop of Whey Less Natural***
- 1/2 banana (frozen pieces** – this gives the smoothie a beautiful, ice-cold, creamy thickshake texture)
- 1/2 mango (frozen pieces**)
- A good handful of spinach (the green bit!)
- 1/2 tsp vitamin C powder (this boosts the vitamin C and antioxidant levels in my smoothie. I use this one because it’s a brilliant formula and it adds a fruity, zingy flavour – YUM!)
- 2 tsp greens powder (this is a nice, added extra that supercharges my smoothie. I use this one because it contains over 34 organic ingredients that include nettle, spirulina, alfalfa, kale, fermented flaxseed/quinoa/lentils and kakadu plum, maca, beetroot, mesquite, acai, pomegranate, and probiotics AND herbals antioxidants green tea and rosemary!!)
Green Smoothie Basics
If making one feels a little intimidating, please don’t let it put you off. There are no hard and fast rules to how these things should go but a great formula to follow is:
- 200-300ml of a liquid base – this just depends on how thick you like it (less liquid = thicker smoothie)
- 1-2 serves of fruit (about a cup) – it’s preferable to use what’s in season and, unless you’re physically active, try and balance high-sugar tropical fruits with low-sugar options like berries (say half-and-half)
- A handful of greens (about a cup) – you can choose any, or a combination of greens but spinach is a nice mild choice if you’re just starting out
- Protein powder (about 15-20 grams of actual protein) – this is my own personal not-negotiable addition because no meal is complete without protein (and fat) and to keep your blood sugar and hormone levels happy, it helps. However, if you’re having this smoothie with a brekkie of eggs for example – the protein powder then becomes unnecessary
- Healthy fats – this is another one of my own personal not-negotiable additions – a teaspoon of coconut oil or a tablespoon of freshly ground flaxseeds are a great way to add healthy, blood- and hormone-balancing fats to your smoothie (really important for feeling full too!)
- Extra goodies – you can also throw in herbs like fresh mint or ground maca, or even spices like cinnamon or nutmeg for extra flavour
- Sweeteners – you may not need any extra sweetness in your smoothie, but if you’re just starting out and finding the greens a little overwhelming – you may like to add something to sweeten things up just a little (especially if you’re not using fruits like banana or mango). Firstly, you could use a little more fruit and a little less greens until your palate becomes accustomed to it. A couple of dates are another option – with their vitamin C and fibre they’re ideal! If you are going to add honey, maple syrup or agave keep it to just a teaspoon
Green Smoothie Inspiration Board
** frozen fruit pieces are a great way to chill the smoothie and make it ultra-refreshing. It also gives a thicker, creamier texture which is really enjoyable! My advice is to chop the fruit and store portion-sized parcels in zip lock bags like this before freezing.
*** about the Whey Less. You can use any good quality, low-carbohydrate protein powder you wish, but unflavoured works best. I work for this company and sell this product on TVSN. But I work for this company because they’re amazing and I personally use (and recommend) Whey Less because it is an outstanding formula. I love it both for what is in it, and what has been left out. The key stand-out things to mention are:
- Whey Less contains…
- ultra-purified, high-grade whey protein isolate and concentrate (please note cold, enzymatic, ultrafiltration techniques have been utilised to preserve the quality of the protein)
- added vitamins, minerals, and glutamine
- probiotics for digestive support
- a ‘chill pill’ called Lactium that research shows stimulate the activity of GABA. This neurotransmitter inhibits anxiety (and thus reduces stress) which amongst other things may reduce emotional eating
- Whey Less does not contain…
- nasty chemicals like artificial sweeteners, flavours, preservatives etc
- things you don’t want or need like casein and gluten
- any GMO ingredients
Hi Amie,
So you’re blitzing, rather than juicing? I’m interested in the benefits of doing it each way. Do you think it’s better to blend than juice? I have a Thermomix so can blend for Australia, but considering a juicer…. interested in your take on this.
G
Hey Gwen – that’s a really pertinent question and one I get asked a lot, thank you!
If I had to generalise… blending is better than juicing.
I do personally juice on occasion as well – but I mostly drink ‘green’ juices which are primarily vegetable based (lettuce, spinach, silverbeet, celery, cucumber etc). I only add a little bit of fruit to sweeten (half a pear or apple).
Reason being – whilst juicing releases so many nutrients, it removes the fibre. When you juice fruit (or vegetables for that matter), you use much more produce than you would generally eat in a single sitting – with fruit this means you will be ingesting much more sugar than you would have normally done as well – and, without the fibre, you get a massive sugar rush (and then the subsequent insulin spike!) and all the problems that come along with that.
With blending, the fibre remains and offers its unique health properties in addition to somewhat slowing down the absorption of the natural sugars. I personally also add healthy protein and fat to reduce the GL (glycaemic load) so that it can be consumed as a complete meal.
If you are going to have a juice or smoothie without adding protein and fat, consume it with a meal rather than on it’s own.
Yum! Loving my Feb cleanse so far Amie! Up to the liver detox week now :))
Aaaaaaah – that’s great news Christine 🙂
This smoothie would be ideal for you too! You could also modify it a little and use the Aminoplex Cleanse in place of the whey.
Can’t wait to hear how happy your liver is at the end of it haha!
So glad you posted a link to a green powder, I’ve spent hours staring at the shelves not knowing which one to buy!! Thank you! One question though, why are Bioceutical supplements practioner only? Why can’t you choose your own off the supermarket or chemist shelf like other brands?
Hello!!! So nice to hear from you :o)))
I know exactly what you mean – there are a ton of green powders to choose from now and it’s really tricky trying to sort through them all!
With regards to supplement brands – there are a few categories they may fall into. Generally speaking you have 2 main ones; retail brands (like Blackmores or Healtheries) that you can just grab off the shelf and purchase straight away, and practitioner-only brands (like BioCeuticals (who I work for) or Mediherb) that are kept for recommendation by a qualified health professional.
Practitioner-only brands typically are of a better quality, more sophisticated and effective formulations, and a much greater potency than retail brands. This means 2 things – to get the best results from the product (and avoid any potential issues) you need qualified advice along with it. In addition to this – because of their strength and physiological activity – a qualified practitioner is required in order to determine your health condition, assess if it’s the right product for you, and ensure it isn’t going to interact with any other medications or supplements you may be on.
This policy, in the context of a greens powder, might seem a little heavy-handed – but the policy is about the brand not the product itself. Many health stores have Naturopaths, or other qualified health practitioners, working for them – if you’re interested in using the PhytoOrganic Essentials perhaps pop in and have a chat?
That makes sense. I have done that in the past to buy this brand but I already had all the info beforehand from you online, so it would’ve been quicker to bypass the ‘middle man’ so to speak (as lovely & helpful as the other naturopath was). Always trying to save time lol. Question number 2 (can I ever stop at 1? no); in the vitamin C powder (& Whey less) why is only alpha tocopheral included? It seems all 8 forms of E are important & possible problems from not enough gamma tocopheral?
That’s a good question!
In the context of Ultra-Potent-C and Whey Less, vitamin E is playing a supporting role in the formula as an antioxidant (almost like an extra in a movie really) and as such we’ve just used alpha-tocopherol.
You are right, however, when you are looking to utilise vitamin E as a therapeutic/medicinal tool for the purpose of addressing health conditions – cardiovascular disease for example – you want to use the whole complex (all 8 isomers = 4 tocotrienols and 4 tocopherols).
But is it possible to cause a health condition by having too much alpha tocopheral & not enough of the other 7? (for a generally healthy person who is replacing 2 meals a day with Whey less)?
In the context and amount you’d be getting in Whey Less, taking alpha-tocopherol on it’s own won’t cause an issue. However – if you are taking vitamin E as a separate supplement, at a therapeutic dose, for any period of time – that could potentially be a problem.