By now, I hope my blog expresses my belief that food should taste great and make you feel good. I insist that my recipes meet those qualifications. I’m not the type to stomach a shot of nasty wheatgrass just because it’s nutritious. Why should I let something that doesn’t taste good pass my lips when there are so many delicious, healthy options around?
I took a chance with this smoothie when I found it on Whole Family Fare. I’m not big on smoothies—they always leave me craving a crunchy snack—but I was in the mood for a detoxifying, guilt-free treat. Plus, Megan said it’s the most delicious combination ever. I was intrigued.
I downsized Megan’s recipe, made a few adjustments including the addition of orange juice, and ended up with a green concoction that I crave day and night. Case in point: I drank the smoothie in the top photo as part of a late dinner, and the smoothie in the bottom photo the very next day with breakfast.
I call it the Green Machine. Just cause.
- 1 granny smith apple (preferably organic), cut into big pieces or one pear
- 2 cups of kale (pull leaves from two stalks to make two cups) or 2 cups spinach
- 1 lime (juiced or remove the seeds and add the flesh, too) or one lemon
- 1 small handful of cilantro (pull the leaves from the stalks)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons ginger (mine came from a jar but you can grate fresh ginger instead)
- 1/3 cup chopped frozen banana (entirely optional, add if you want a more creamy texture)
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve with a straw.
- Yields about 12 ounces, so it makes one large smoothie or two small.
The combination of citrus, cilantro and ginger gives this smoothie a refreshing zing. Based on rough calculations, the smoothie comes in at about 200 calories, with 11 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, over 700% of the Vitamin A and 260% of the Vitamin C you need for a day, and a long list of other vitamins.
Soon after becoming a green machine addict, recipes for green smoothies started popping up all over the place. It seems like all my favorite food bloggers are falling for detoxifying miracle juice this spring. Michelle of Une-Deux Senses makes hers with spinach, bosc pear, orange juice and honey. Taylor of Sterling Style loves Joy the Baker‘s version with kale and spinach, pear, frozen banana and almond milk, which was inspired by Shutterbean. If that’s not enough, here’s an entire book full of green smoothies.
How do you feel about green smoothies? Repulsed? Cautious? Addicted? Do tell!
24 Comments
Love the addition of the cilantro! I haven’t done that with my green smoothies or in juicing yet. Terrific idea. How do I feel about green smoothies? Definitely addicted. I’ve been doing pumpkin, strawberry, kale/spinach every morning for like the last two weeks. I throw in some vegan protein/vitamin supplement and whoa. Morning is made!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE green smoothies. I first read about them last year from Angela at Oh She Glows. I haven’t been brave enough to try different recipes yet – mine just calls for spinach, banana, cantaloupe, almond milk, and ice! I’m scared to try kale in it. I love your recipe though so I’ll definitely be trying that soon!
This drink looks so yummy and healthy :)
I just got a Vitamix so I’ve been happily blending away! I haven’t tried kale yet in my smoothies… that will have to be on the list for my next grocery trip. Mine are
slightlymuch less green though bc I’m wussy and add so much fruit. Sometimes they look like mud. Not so pleasant. I also add greek yogurt… it helps make the smoothie more filling.Oh my gosh, thank you SO much for sharing this! I have been in search of a great green smoothie and this is it :) *favoriting this post now!*
All the green goodness enclosed in a lovely smoothie :-)
This looks delicious! I love cilantro but I never thought to but it in my smoothie. What a genius idea!
You have a really beautiful blog going on here! Thanks for stopping by Munchin with Munchkin!
That top photo is perfection! Sadly, I’ve never had more than a sample of a green machine. I really need to get a blender now that summer’s coming up!
I am glad I found this! I have been wanting to try a good green shake! This one looks delish!
:)
I made this today while feeling under the weather, not wanting to cook or drink anything with soy, and it was great! Mine was super lumpy, but I didn’t care. Great flavours and good pick-me-up with the citrus and ginger. :)
Hooray! I’m so glad to hear you like it. Everything’s better with citrus and ginger, if you ask me!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe and post! Can’t wait to try it!
Made this, I can’t even remember where I got the link to this, but it looked amazing. I made it and it was undrinkable.. I mean it was like swallowing foam with small pieces of food. Mine looks the same as above.. Anyway I strained it and it was semi drinkable. Will be sticking to my regular green smoothies.
I’m sorry to hear that! I wonder why it didn’t turn out well. I didn’t like it the first time I tried it because I used too much cilantro, but now I love them.
this looks delicious!! :)
I cannot wait to try this. I have been drinking green smoothies, nearly daily for a couple of years and this looks like a great combo. I am definitely addicted to green smoothies; they give me so much energy!
Cilantro, kale, spinach with mango, papaya, coconut milk and ice. YUM. This one is for mommy. The kids like a blueberry and banana combo with greens. It hides the green color which can kind of turn them off. I’ve started feeding my kids liquid salads daily. What a guilt buster!! My kids are getting so many more greens in their diet now that I finally figured out this fantastic trick.
Oh, your green smoothies all sound great! I’m glad your kids love them. I was an incredibly picky eater when I was little. Definitely would have benefited from some green smoothies!
My favorite is 1/3 – 1/2 a cuke, 1/2 avacado, juice of 1/2 pink grapefruit (or a whole one if small), juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon, any green you want (I do spinach and sometimes kale), and 1/3 can coconut milk. Love it. Once I had a taste for celery and threw some in and it was great.
So I just tried to make this smoothie…maybe you need a vitamix? The flavor combination was delicious but it was a very unfortunate flaky green applesauce texture.
I took a third out and reblended it with more juice and some banana just to try and smooth it out and turn it into a liqued. Still a rather uncomfortable texture but the flavor was great!
Hi Susan, thanks for your input! I agree that frozen banana would be a great addition and lend a creamier texture. I’ll definitely try that next time.
Ice helps.
I love the bottled green juices (Naked, Odwalla), but haven’t tried making a green smoothie at home yet. That will be changing soon ;) Thanks for a great sounding recipe.
Smoothie was yummy!! i added a bit of unflavored yogurt, almond milk, and pineapple…..next time will only add the lime juice…i jst cant stand the lime rind =\
5 Trackbacks
[...] seem like a good fit here. The last time, I traded cilantro for the other herbs (à la the green machine smoothie), and it was just [...]
[...] Green Machine Smoothie by Cookie + Kate [...]
[...] up trolling Pinterest looking for delicious concoctions to make in the morning and I stumbled upon this! A green smoothie with spinich, cilantro, lime and other fun greens. Kale, apple & [...]
[...] http://cookieandkate.com/2011/green-machine-smoothie/ [...]
[...] Lime is the biggest flavor in this one and after I have one of these smoothies I crave more for days. (original recipe from here) [...]