7 Reasons You Should Drink Them + The Best Starter Green Smoothie Recipe Ever

Green smoothies are the new coffee.

You can quote me on that.

Well..

Coffee is not going anywhere fast. But green smoothies [and green juices]  are coming in hot. Just you wait.

And for good reason too.

They’ll actually give you more energy than coffee can.

Oh, did I get your attention?

These little babies are worth every sip.

Let me break it down for you today.

First, a definition. A green smoothie is when you blend dark leafy greens with other vegetables or fruit with a liquid and ice. Best blenders for green smoothies serve this purpose.

A green juice is when the dark leafy green and other veggies and fruits go through a physical juicing machine, which pulls the fiber away from the starch/sugar. Both are great options for healthy meals and hydration.

What’s better, if you have a choice? Well, the green smoothie has more of an advantage if you ask me. Financially– you don’t throw half of the vegetable away.  You get more out of it. And nutritionally, you get all of the natural fiber to help keep you full longer than a juice can. And clean up is much easier, time wise.

Green smoothies are one of the BEST ways to get amazing nutrition and an steady energy boost at any time of the day.

Why?

1. It’s Blended: Because it’s already party broken down for your body, it’s much easier for your body to digest and absorb all of that green smoothie goodness immediately, without taking a lot of your body’s energy to do so. So you feel full and satisfied, and can save your energy for things that really matter in your day.

2. Most green smoothies  are made with some kind of dark leafy greens (kale or spinach most often). This gives you huge hits of vitamins and antioxidants like folic acid, B-vitamins, iron, and vitamin D and K, all of which reduce homocystine levels in your blood [which slows the aging, inflammation and the disease processes in the body. Triple threat.]

3. Green smoothies have an insane amount of absorbable trace minerals that you can’t get in many other places, like:

• calcium: much more absorbable than any dairy product
• magnesium: this is needed for ATP to produce energy in our mitochondria [Back off, coffee. This actually produces energy in our body, not an artificial boost and slump like caffeine gives]
• manganese: [healthy nervous system and cells]
• potassium: [helps maintain hydration, helps keep body in an alkaline state to fight disease and inflammation better]
• selenium: [antioxidant that prevents cancer, liver detoxification and healthy thyroid function]

4. Green smoothies also have high amounts of beta carotene, which have vibrantly colored antioxidants called carotenoids that give your skin a healthy glow because of their rich color [hello, amazing + beautiful skin]. Think of your healthiest, most vegetable-loving friend, and how their skin literally glows. This is why. No beauty or anti-aging product will do what food naturally can.

5. Detoxification + Elimination: With all those vitamins and minerals, you also get amazing fiber to help speed the process up of getting any crap and toxicity out of your body in a fast and natural way. This is always a good thing, and can impact your energy if you are sluggish and weighed down with any of theses things. A daily dose of green solves all of this.

6.  They are SO EASY to make and taste good. Not to mention the amazing mental boost you get from knowing that you’re putting such good stuff in  your body. It feels good, tastes good, and works hard for you from the inside out.

7. Less than 5 minutes to make {seriously, you can watch me do it below in a video I made for Fly Fitness last month}. 5 minutes of your whole day for so much payoff on the back end. Efficient and effective.

—–> CLICK HERE TO WATCH HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE AT HOME <—-

Want more good stuff to try? Grab our free download of a 3 Day Sample Meal Plan here. 100 % real food, made easy enough for real life!

Sarah’s Everyday Green Smoothie

[for green smoothie beginners]

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (add more for kids for a sweeter taste)

1/2 banana

1/2 avocado

As much spinach as you can handle (2-3 handfuls to start)

ice + water to blend

Directions: Add spinach, banana, avocado and blueberries, in that order, to a blender. Add a splash of water (approx 1/3 cup) and ice and blend well.

And now, I leave you with a challenge. Have a green smoothie for breakfast, lunch or dinner every day for a week. Then, come back here and tell me how you feel and what you noticed, in the comments below.

Know someone that would love this article?  I’m on a mission to get as many people eating, thinking and drinking in a healthier way as possible.  Want to help? Share the love and pass it along.

Sarah Adler is the owner of Simply Real Health, Inc, a healthy lifestyle company with a mission to teach people a fresh, modern and simplified approach to healthy eating. See more about her here.

FREE download available of our a 3 Day Sample Meal Plan here. 100 % real food, made easy enough for real life! Take it for a test run now.