Do you find it really difficult to eat healthy when Fall comes around? I do.
I blame it on the excessive pumpkin spice latte advertisements that make me want to cuddle up on the couch and watch The Notebook while maybe eating eat a pumpkin pie pop-tart.
Please tell me I’m not the only one?
But don’t you worry, I have a solution in the form of food.
A simple morning green smoothie; it’s vegan, and delicious enough to make you forgive yourself for all of that excessive cookie consumption last week. (That’s where the detox part comes in!)
So what’s in this little green monster smoothie? The answer: good for you ingredients packed with essential vitamins and minerals to help you feel good!
- Almond Milk — Not only is almond milk dairy-free, but it provides excellent nutritional benefits. One cup of almond milk has fewer calories than a cup of skim milk, and is a great source of calcium, vitamin D & E. Source: Livestrong.com
- Kale — It’s actually one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet! Kale provides excellent sources of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K. Putting it in a smoothie is a great way to a serving or two of veggies in. Source: webmd.com
- Strawberries — This sweet berry packs a vitamin C punch to help keep up your immunity. I love adding it to smoothies for a burst of flavor. Source: californiastrawberries.com
- Cucumbers — Cucumbers help re-hydrate the body. They are loaded with vitamin A and K, and also provide a decent amount of potassium. I love how refreshing they taste. Source: livestong.com
- Banana — A great source of potassium, good carbs, and fiber are packed into this delicious fruit that makes smoothies creamy and slightly sweet. Source: livestrong.com
Sometimes I add in the following: almond or peanut butter, blueberries, mango, ginger, or lemon.
I usually end up drinking this smoothie in the morning right when I wake up for a burst of energy. I always feel amazing after.
You typically don’t taste the kale (or you can use spinach!) because the sweetness from the fruit cuts it out. So really, if you never have tried Kale before, now is the perfect time.
There are really endless possibilities. If you want to add more protein, feel free to add a scoop of your favorite vegan or soy protein powder. Or even adding a 1/2 cup of almond or soy yogurt would be great.
So won’t you start your weekend right with me? Don’t worry, we have plenty of time for Fall baking.
More smoothie recipes to try:
Triple Cherry Berry Watermelon Smoothie
Layered Banana Split Protein Smoothie
Refreshing Watermelon Pineapple Smoothie
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Vegan Detox Green Monster Smoothie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup frozen strawberries.
- 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 1 large frozen banana, broken into pieces
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or alternate milk)
- 1 1/2 cups kale, loosely packed, stems removed (you can also use spinach)
- Large handful of spinach
Instructions
- Add the almond milk to a high-power blender and toss the banana pieces and kale in. Blend on high.
- Add the strawberries and cucumber. Blend again until smooth.
- Add in more almond milk and/or ice for desired consistency. Serves 1-2.
Me too…the colder, the more difficult to stay on a healthier diet. I keep craving for creamy and sugary treats.
The green smoothie looks awesome. Would love one after morning yoga!
Your photos made me drool ;P
If only i have a real blender at my college apt, i`ll make these all the time~ (also, if i wake up early enough, but that seems impossible)
Looks and sounds yummy! They don’t sale kale in our grocery stores yet though… and they don’t sale strawberries anymore! =/
Try spinach and raspberries or blueberries!
maybe you guys should think about moving…just saying xox
Amazing recipe, I just need a drink like that
I’m so excited you posted this!! I was googling Green Monster smoothies the other week and have been really wanting to try one – I love the cucumber and strawberry in yours, sounds so yummy! Plus I have a gigantic bag of kale in my fridge 🙂 Can’t wait to try!
I made this on Tuesday and was daydreaming about it all of yesterday while fasting for Yom Kippur, and I had leftovers of it this morning, and I’m making more now to have tomorrow morning! My question: if we’re using baby spinach, do we have to take the stems off?
Thanks! 🙂
– Laura
Hi Laura, I always keep stems on! 🙂
Is there any aftertaste of the kale?
I JUST started a vegan transition-like last week. I had never tasted kale. I really don't taste it in shakes; this recipe is yummy!
how many calories do u think it is?
My guess would be anywhere between 200-350 for 16 oz.
AH ha! While donating blood, I figured out approx. how much each ingredient would be calorie wise. It came to a total of about 263. I knew my calorie counting skills would come in handy someday 😉
I think I am going to make this today but I don’t have any cucumbers on hand… should I wait until I do? How important are they for the “detox” part?
You can definitely make it without!
Is this smoothie something that you can have everyday?
YES!
is this smoothie a meal replacement?
Tried this receipe in my new Ninja. Easy and tastes surprizingly good.
I actually bought a bunch of kale and some almond milk today at the shops and was wondering what to use if for, perfect solution, i’ve only got frozen blueberries on hand so i’ll use that 🙂
I have had a hard time drinking these with kale, but the banana and cucumber off set that weird raw kale taste (love kale cooked). Thanks for the recipe, it was delicious! If drinking every day, rotate the greens – especially if you are using spinach and Swiss chard. Both have substances that your body will need a break from, so two days of one and then rotate two others in before going back to first.
i can’t figure out how to leave a message so i’m just going to repy to chris’ message…
i didn’t have any almond milk on hand so i used coconut milk. it made the smoothie really thick and not as dark in colour as yours. i may try again with water, no milk.
Found my new snack!
I like to add a handful of ground flax/chia seeds as well to all my smoothies.
We are going to try the Vegan Detox Green Monster Smoothie and the Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing. I'm so excited to find this website.
This looks great. I just started making my own smoothies and experimented with kale (with strawberry and banana) for the first time this morning. Tomorrow I’ll try it with cucumber too!
What kind of blender do you use? Mine just broke and I’m looking for one that can handle making green smoothies like this that isn’t several hundred of dollars (like the vitamix).
Get a nutribullet for $99.00.
Use a blendtec blender…it’s the best! Costly but well worth it!
I tried this recipe this morning, it's delicious and I loved it!
Great photos – I like the mix of green and red. And so rare occasion when something healthy looks good too!
I don’t know what I did wrong, but mine looks like a dark garbage bag green, even if I skipped the spinach leaves. Not appetizing like yours at all! It tastes good, but the look makes me shiver!
I tasted a bit of the green ingredients but for the most part I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing.
Made this tonight, so good, a little sweeter than I prefer so I saw what you wrote about adding other items so I put some blueberries in and it was perfect. Plus my toddler loves it too! Thank you!
For those “smoothies” that are so good for you but you’re not crazy about the taste — add an envelope of Stevia — makes all the difference in the world!!!!!
I use dates for sweetening smoothies and almonds or add an extra
frozen banana
Just recd my Vitamix (QVC $379). This smoothie was fantastic. I didn’t have cuke so I added 20 red grapes…thanks for the recipe! Hubby’s out of town so I made this for my supper! Quicker than a salad and I didn’t need to cook the kale…perfecto!
I used the vitamix http://www.bestfivereviewed.com/vitamix-5200-blender/ to beldn one of these and it turned out awesome!!
i just love the colors! Green with red…wow! it makes me east even the glass! 🙂
Does anyone know how many times a day you should drink this?
Made it with Flax Protein+ Milk and minus the cucumber (I got distracted and forgot to get it while grocery shopping.. haha) It's delicious! Thanks! 🙂
does anyone know if this is a good for you. kale and Spanish and banana orange juice that a good green juice
Great I think I will give this a try!
when you mix the greens with red, doesn’t it just turn brown?
Really Delicious!
This turned out just perfect for me. I didn’t peel the cucumber and I included the stems from the kale (using a vitamix). I might just add in some protein and make a meal of this one! I do portion out my ingredients the night before and freeze everything, since I’m always in a rush in the morning. I dump in the almond milk and then follow it with the contents of one freezer bag. No ice needed to get it perfectly ice cold and creamy.
So basically… it's a smoothie where you can put in stuff, like any stuff. I'm sorry but I feel a bit underwhelmed.
Juicing and Blending are two completely different things with pros and cons. Blending keeps the fiber in and you can do this by blending once to twice a week. Juicing you can do once a day to multiple times a day or a fast of a weekend to months. Also when you juice it can also be used a a snack or a meal replacement. When you Juice, it is easier for the body to get all the nutrients in. You will need a Juicer for this. It is best to buy one thats a little more pricier if your going to use your juicer more then once a day
Can I just say… I LOVE this blog!!! I am so happy you have all these vegan and natural sugar things!
I did the same thing! I love the single serving option. Quick and easy to clean.
I changed the almond milk for Soya whey protein powder vanilla flavoured, froze the spinach, strawberries, and banana, it taste amazing, I add 5g of creatine in the morning when I wake up, an hour before going to the gym, this is essential for any vegan who’s practicing weight lifting.
Thanks for the recipe.
How many servings?
Red + green = brown. The taste was OK but this can’t be the same smoothie shown in that photo…
I just had this for lunch and it’s perfect! I added a few mint leaves. Thanks for the recipe!
Ive tried a green smoothie before and hated it. But luckily I tried this one and it was surprisingly AMAZING
So glad!!
What is the nutritional value of this drink?
I want a sugar free smoohie. What can I replace the banana with?
You could try plain yogurt, but know that each of the fruits in here will add natural sugar to the smoothie.
I love this! My 2 year old son not so much….hahaha
is this a meal replacement
Made it this morning and it was delicious! Made it with mixed berries because that’s what I had and it still came out great! Thank you for a greens loaded smoothie, the cucumber was a great addition
So good! Glad you loved it!
was really nice i enjoyed it very much no bitter taste if eyes closed were closed the would of thought was a milkshake. I added blueberries had no strawberries enjoyed thank you will make again x
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
Such a great recipe, someone wrote a whole song about it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO1ZY5BITN8 Smoothie by Pledge Drive
STOP IT 😭 This is INCREDIBLE!!! Thank you for sharing, I’m so honored.
Yes I lucked on this site because I had kale, cucumber, coconut water and coconut meat so I added the ginger,2dates and WOW a new detox smoothie thanks 👍
Perfect! I am SO glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you
I made this with regular milk, lovely taste. Added some ground flaxseeds as well. Will definitely make it again; thanks for the recipe 👍🏻
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed 🙂