Vanilla Green Smoothie
Our Vanilla Green Smoothie makes healthy taste great! If you have sampled a variety of green drinks, you will likely agree that many have a grassy taste to them. Well, not ours! Our protein packed recipe uses lots of healthy ingredients to make this deliciously creamy green smoothie. Mango, banana, spinach, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, super green mix, and some vanilla protein powder, are blended together to give this smoothie a yummy flavor, while energizing your body with healthful ingredients.
This smoothie has enough healthy ingredients to serve as a meal replacement, and will give you hours of energy! Our Vanilla Green Smoothie is so good, it may even change your mind about healthy food tasting good! Don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients on hand. There are so many variations to this smoothie recipe, we provide options and swaps in the Pimp Our Recipe section in our Blog Comments & Tips below.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe updated as of 3/23/22
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1a
To a high speed blender (see Note below), add 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, ½ cup frozen mango chunks, and ¼ large frozen banana.
Note: We used the NutriBullet blender for this recipe, but the popular Vitamix Blender is an amazing high speed blender, and works very well. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can use a regular blender, but it may take longer to blend. Also, it may not make the smoothie as creamy in texture as a high speed blender.
STEP 1b
Measure 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and add to the blender. Then add 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (see Note below).
Note: It’s important to use a great tasting vanilla protein powder for this recipe. We used a plant-based, gluten-free vanilla protein powder for this recipe. If you don’t have any protein powder on hand, just omit this ingredient, and replace it with ¾ cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. And, you will need to omit ½ cup filtered water. The yogurt will add moisture to your smoothie, along with approximately the same amount of protein as the vanilla protein powder.
STEP 1c
Add 1 cup packed fresh spinach, ½ cup filtered water, and 1 teaspoon Super Green Mix (optional - see Note below).
Note: Using Super Green Mix is optional, but adds great nutritional value. If you don’t have a concentrated green powder on hand, just omit this ingredient, and add an additional ½ cup kale, chard, or spinach.
STEP 2
Cover, secure lid, and blend until all ingredients are fully combined and smooth (about 1 minute). Pour into a tall 18 ounce glass.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Garnish with a frozen mango, and enjoy!
Note: Recipe makes one 18 ounce serving, or two smaller 9 ounce servings.
Notes:
OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS: For substitutions and other variations, see the Pimp Our Recipe section in our Blog Comments & Tips for this recipe.
Our delicious Vanilla Green Smoothie is packed full of protein and many other nutrients, making it a great meal replacement.
VIDEO
How to Make this Incredibly Delicious and Healthy Vanilla Green Smoothie!
Blog Comments & Tips
Healthy Made Delicious!
If you love healthy food like I do, but don’t like the grassy taste of green smoothies, no need to fear. Our Vanilla Green Smoothie recipe is full of delicious ingredients that “cancel out” the grassy-green flavor. We think you will like the taste, and definitely love the benefits of drinking this healthful beverage. The other plus is it satisfies so many different dietary preferences. Our green smoothie is vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free!
A few years ago, I was suffering from low energy and some other health issues. After examining my nutritional intake, I realized that I was not consuming enough protein in my daily diet for my age and my activities. So, I switched up my nutrition plan to include one protein shake per day.
As someone who is a bit sensitive to digesting milk, I decided on using a plant-based protein powder. After a lot of sampling, I finally found one I liked the taste of and that had enough nutritional value (including carbs, and a blend of superfood powders, antioxidants, and probiotics) to provide me with a meal replacement. Just adding protein powder to almond milk or water is never enough for me, so I’ve been experimenting for years with a variety of ingredients to supplement my daily protein shake. It was these protein shakes that were the idea behind our Vanilla Green Smoothie.
Our recipe uses a combination of fresh and frozen ingredients, along with some delicious and healthy supplements to enrich our green smoothie. With a 20 ounce serving full of goodness, this smoothie serves as a meal replacement. Packed with tons of antioxidants, 23 grams of plant-based protein, 28 grams of carbohydrates, and healthy fats, our Vanilla Green Smoothie will give you plenty of energy that will last for hours.
Transforming a green drink into something palatable can sometimes be a challenge. Adding your favorite vanilla flavored protein powder, along with other fresh and frozen ingredients makes a well rounded, and healthy drink. This drink tastes more like vanilla than green grass, making it a great option for those that dislike healthy drinks.
Although it’s optional in this recipe, we added the Super Green Mix from YourSuper.com, to make it extra green and healthy. This superfood mix contains barley grass, wheatgrass, moringa, baobab, spirulina, and chlorella, punching up the superfood qualities in this smoothie.
If you don’t have all the ingredients on hand, just take a look at the Pimp Our Recipe section below for some great substitutions.
Now you have the recipe, ingredients, and equipment, but how do you ensure the best results from our recipe?
Our 3 tips to making a great Vanilla Green Smoothie:
High quality, fresh ingredients.
You can always use fresh mangos and bananas in this recipe, but you will need to cut and freeze them the night before. Otherwise, your drink will become too liquidy.
Use a high speed blender, as it will emulsify the ingredients to give this smoothie a creamy texture.
Have any dietary preferences that won’t quite work with our recipe? It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Don’t Have Any Protein Powder? Just omit the protein powder, and ½ cup filtered water, and replace with ¾ cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. The yogurt will add moisture to your smoothie, along with approximately the same amount of protein as the vanilla protein powder. If you are dairy-free or vegan, just replace with ¾ cup of your favorite non-dairy vanilla yogurt.
Don’t Have Any Super Green Mix? If you don’t have a concentrated green powder (like Super Green Mix) on hand, just omit this ingredient, and add an additional ½ cup kale, chard, or spinach.
Make it All Fruits & Veggies: Omit the protein powder, and ½ cup filtered water. Replace the baby spinach with 2 cups of a spinach, chard, and kale blend. Then use ½ or 1 full large frozen banana (not ¼), and add ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
Other Substitutions: We loved this recipe so much that it inspired us to create a variety of smoothies. Keep a lookout for our new smoothie recipes coming in the future!
Enjoy and let us know what you think by commenting below, rating our recipes, subscribing, following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Santé!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to use frozen fruit (or cut fresh fruit and freeze it the night before) in this recipe. Using fresh fruit will make your smoothie too liquidy!
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