A few weeks ago, I shared a quick vid on my Instagram story about blending up a bunch of leftover spinach into ice cubes for a week ahead of green smoothies. Spinach smoothies are SOOO good for you! Spinach For an easy to add green, try spinach. Picky eaters will love the vegetable smoothie, while still getting the benefits like fiber, vitamins, and protein. Grab a handful of spinach and throw it in the blender. Healthy Nutella Smoothie Ingredients. Leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, spinach are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Green Superfood Smoothie Recipe. Many are laden with preservatives and additives—something that you wouldn’t want your kids to drink even though you’d like to add a little … 6 foods to avoid adding to your smoothies. Preferred milk: I like to use unsweetened vanilla almond milk. If you're measuring you should use about 1/2 to 1 cup. You can add other greens to the mix, too, but the best thing is to start slow by adding the spinach to the smoothie. Now to add the spinach and greens to your fruit smoothie. Spinach Smoothie Cubes. Spinach is very mild in flavor and adding a handful to your fruit smoothie won't result in a change of taste. Learn how to make Frozen Spinach Cubes that are perfect for green smoothies with this quick and easy recipe. Spinach: Use fresh or frozen spinach here. These healthy, nutritious vegetables can either enhance the sweetness and flavour of a smoothie or simply add volume, fibre and extra nutrition. Coconut oil combats body fat by converting it into energy, making you burn more fat during your workouts. These smoothie-friendly vegetables are just as easy to toss in smoothies as leafy greens like spinach and kale. Spinach is maybe one of the most amazing ingredients for smoothies. If you want to add liquid to your smoothie, she suggests using unflavored skim or 1% cow’s milk, or unflavored almond or soy milk. FREEZING SPINACH TO COOK WITH LATER For spinach that I plan on adding to soups, stews and skillets, I first blanch the baby spinach leaves then freeze them in ice cube trays so spinach can easily be added to recipes on a whim. Two cups of spinach contains 8% of your daily value of calcium. Frozen Spinach Cubes for Smoothies Like I mentioned, this is a great way to use up leafy greens before they go bad, but this also makes a great food prep project if you want to just buy it fresh and make a bunch of cubes at once. My smoothies are usually 1% milk, spinach, a small banana or half or a large one, 1-1.5 cups of frozen berries, and a tablespoon of flax seeds (which get ground up nicely in the blender). There are lots of leafy-green superfoods you can add to your smoothies. I feel like we talk smoothies a lot! From adding spinach to turkey meatballs to pulsing it into sauces, I’ve gotten pretty good at hiding leafy greens from myself. Adding 1 tablespoon of peanut, almond or cashew butter will create a savory dessert-like smoothie. Approximately 2 grams of protein per 85 gram serving . The reason being that they are extremely healthy, while being low in calories. I find that since 90% of American adults don’t eat the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (per the CDC in 2017), smoothies can be an efficient (and tasty!) Spinach. However, there are a few key tips to making a deliciously smooth beverage: Use a high-powered blender. You guys know I’m a big fan of smoothies. Add spinach to blender with water. Consider adding spinach to a fruit smoothie with oranges, pineapples, or apples. With its light and delicate flavor, spinach blends seamlessly into all smoothie flavors. If so, add 2 tablespoons to your next smoothie pre-workout. Iron helps transport oxygen around the body and aids in energy production. The Incredible Smoothies website recommends a ratio of 40 percent spinach to 60 percent fruit when making smoothies. Add spinach to your smoothie. If you’re feeling tired and low-energy, you may need to add more iron to your diet. I'm always adding/sneaking spinach into my kids meals, but I never, ever thought of a spinach smoothie. Plus, spinach is a fantastic source of plant-based iron, which is easier to absorb when it has been blended. We know that most people are busy and don’t always have the time to prepare healthy meals and snacks. Store them in the freezer add them to your next smoothie. But smoothies are a good way around that. 1. Spinach and Green Smoothie. Spinach and kale are great staples for smoothies. If you want to disguise the green colour, then blueberries work really well! One cup of raw spinach, which can be blended into a smoothie without compromising taste, provides 3.5 grams of fiber. From cereal to bell peppers, here are some unexpected and unique things to add to your smoothies for an even better blended drink. Thanks Careermommy! Aim for at least one or two handfuls of raw spinach in each smoothie you make. Smoothies can be as simple or as complex as you want, but you can make them even better by adding additional healthy smoothie ingredients to pack in even more nutrients. The best thing is that your green smoothies will get the boost of phytonutrients, which are difficult to come by in blended fruits just. Add some spinach to your favorite smoothie. The spinach is undetectable in flavor (thought it does make the smoothie a bit…green) and the Nutella does wonders for making this smoothie super chocolatey! Tightly pack spinach in a measuring cup. 5. There are some foods to avoid using in your smoothies on a regular basis and I’ll tell you exactly why. I love adding spinach to my smoothies! Easy Spinach Smoothies are a great way to quickly get a tricky vegetable into your diet without the hassle. This is why spinach is the perfect green to add to a fruit smoothie because it adds so many nutrients without changing the flavor. Blend together until all chunks are gone. Although not quite as loaded with calcium as kale, spinach has considerable calcium content. How to Freeze Spinach. They also contain a good amount of heart-healthy fats. I like to use frozen pineapple and mangos to chill the smoothie down and save time cutting and prepping. Other leafy greens like kale are a bit stronger and easier to taste in a smoothie. It is tasteless in your smoothie and will blend into your drink with just about any blender. Adding in a frozen element can help thicken up the smoothie and make it just a little bit more filling. Add pineapple, mango and banana to blender. Your kids won’t taste the Smoothies don't have to just be frozen berries and almond milk. You can also substitute kale, thought the texture won’t be quite as smooth. Add to Smoothies: No need to thaw, just add the frozen spinach leaves right from the freezer to your blender when making smoothies. Add spinach to your smoothies to load up on lutein. It’s a win-win! Make sure not to remove the bag from the freezer too soon, as frozen fresh spinach thaws very quickly. Chopping up spinach and putting it in a smoothie is the healthiest way to eat it, research suggests. I usually throw in an entire cup; you can't taste it at all, and it's only 7 calories or so, plus a freggie serving. It’s awesome since you never have to worry about it going bad, there’s always some ready and waiting for you, and the nutrients are locked in … I personally haven’t tried adding quinoa to a smoothie yet, but I think I might have to after seeing this Strawberry-Banana Quinoa Smoothie by Noble Pig! A cup of raw spinach has only 7 calories, which is practically nothing. They’re so simple, and they’re the perfect way to use up leftover greens! If you want to take your health one step further, consider adding leafy greens to your smoothies. Making smoothies is becoming so popular with so many people and every ingredient under the sun is being added into a smoothie. We always keep a stash of frozen spinach on hand to use in everything from smoothies to muffins and soups. Tirralan Watkins from Los Angeles, CA on March 17, 2013: This was a very useful article, savingkathy. Papaya, Banana And Spinach Smoothie: Spinach and banana go well together in smoothies. (Should resemble green water when blended well). Pureed pumpkin is another tasty ingredient to use in smoothies. If you want to make more of a meal out of it, add protein-rich enhancers, like protein powder or Greek yogurt. Ready-to-use protein powders may be all the rage today thanks to their convenient use, but they are not always the best choice. One medium banana contains 3 grams of dietary fiber. To help you get going, here are top 5 superfoods to add to your green smoothie dishes. You can easily swap out berries for whatever berries you have on hand. I love adding spinach to my smoothies to increase my intake of calcium, iron and fiber. Spinach Is Perfect For Smoothies. So it’s essentially not possible to overeat on spinach. Adding seeds and nuts to your smoothies can help you boost your fiber intake even further. Here’s the blender I use to make this smoothie. Cashews 3. Enjoy a green smoothie as a quick, veggie-packed breakfast on the go or as a simple, healthy snack. Right before adding the frozen spinach to my smoothie, I grab the bag from the freezer and measure it out. Spinach. Like many smoothies, you could blend it into a drink or a smoothie bowl. But one of the easiest ways has been adding spinach to smoothies.