If you hate green smoothies, you might like this one.
Out of the Perrys in our household, I’m the last to embrace the green smoothie. After making these for a couple of years now, my husband never gave up on me and managed to find a concoction that I like.
That’s love.
Calling this smoothie a “green” smoothie is a stretch because it isn’t even green, but it has spinach in it. So it’s a green smoothie to me.
I was never fond of blending a bunch of fruits and vegetable together and drinking it.
*shudder*
Steve used to get more adventurous, adding leftover salad greens, bell peppers, fresh lemon, ginger and whatever else was in the fridge to his smoothies. The kids ate it (sometimes), but I always made a face when he offered me some.
Here’s the magical combination of ingredients that finally made me like green smoothies. (Well, this one anyway.) Frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, carrots, spinach, and pomegranate juice.
The strawberries and carrots add quite a bit of sweetness so I don’t feel the need to add any additional sweeteners. The spinach is a pretty mild green, so there’s no bitterness, and the pomegranate juice (the only fruit juice we buy) adds some sweetness as well as some tartness to bring out the flavors in the berries.
It just works.
Using an immersion blender for this is so great. I figured out when I made little smoothies for my kids that my immersion blender fits in a wide-mouth quart-sized mason jar. We usually use an ugly plastic cup, but I grabbed a mason jar this time. They’re much easier on the eyes. Plus, it was easier to show you what’s going on inside.
One batch of this will feed one adult and both of my kids. If Steve and I are both home in the morning, we’ll make a little more. My kids like to eat it with a spoon because it’s icy and thick — kind of like they’re eating sorbet for breakfast. I’m all about desserts for breakfast that aren’t really desserts.
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
The Morning Smoothie
This was the first "green" smoothie that I could sort of like. It's sweet and a great starter for those who are reluctant to drink veggie-based smoothies.
Ingredients
- 3-4 frozen strawberries
- about 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 large carrot, cut into 3-4 pieces
- a couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup almond milk or coconut milk
- 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large plastic cup or a wide-mouth quart-size mason jar. Blend with an immersion blender, adding more juice or water, if you find it's too thick.
Notes
Nat's Notes:
1. If you don't have an immersion blender, go buy one. You'll love it. You can also use a regular blender for this, but you'll end up using a lot more liquid to get it to blend (unless your berries aren't frozen).
2. Feel free to play with the fruits and vegetables in this. You can also add coconut milk (which is fantastic, by the way) or protein powder.
3. My husband likes adding fresh ginger and some fresh lemon juice to his. I'm not digging that yet.
4. I updated this recipe and replaced the cup of pomegranate juice with a cup of almond/coconut milk and just a splash of pomegranate juice. Juice has loads of sugar, yo.
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Lindsay
Tuesday 11th of January 2022
Would a ninja work. You know the small cup sized one? I gave my immersion to my sister trying to make space and hardly used it.
Natalie Perry
Friday 21st of January 2022
I think so, yeah, but I've never used a ninja.
David
Saturday 9th of November 2019
Excellent recipe. Tried this with 100% cherry juice and was pleased. This will be a go to for this veggie hater.
Natalie Perry
Saturday 9th of November 2019
So glad you liked it! Cherry juice sounds like a great addition, too. Thanks for sharing.
Miss Mori
Wednesday 7th of January 2015
I am sharing this recipe over at my blog and encouraging people to come here to see the original. I made this as my "one chance" to get my husband to like the concept of veggie smoothies. My very picky eater, my mother-in-Law, wanted to try it, and i ended up making her one too. so THANK YOU! my entire family loves this recipe and are willing to try more of my "concoctions"
Sara b
Monday 14th of July 2014
What is the texture of this smoothie? I currently use my food processor to blend my green smoothies, but the texture is always gritty and chinky, not smooth. I'd like to know if an immersion blender would make a smooth smoothie. Thanks.
Ann C.
Tuesday 18th of March 2014
I love this idea but my blender won't fit in my mason jars! What size do you have?