Hot weather brings on the smoothies! I rarely make them in the winter and this one is so so summery plus I have lots of adaptations for you!

It is a bit sweeter than my usual which I credit to a lemonade. Kids would love this and blueberry based smoothies are ideal for hiding greens. I don’t pretend they’re not there, but you also don’t see them in the finished one.

Blueberry Lemonade Smoothie
Ingredients: (for 2 small servings as snack, or 1.5 large servings as meal)
1 1/2 cups greens (mine is baby spinach, then frozen)
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup lemonade
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
lemon zest

Directions:
Blend together the greens, yogurt, and lemonade. Then add in the blueberries, protein powder, flaxseed, and lemon juice. Blend well and add a splash of water if needed for consistency and pour into cups.
Top with some lemon zest.
Enjoy!

I loved this one and like them to be a breakfast meal – sometimes with a handful of cheerios or 1/2 a granola bar or a hard boiled egg. I often workout in the morning and hate to feel like I’m only on liquids when I’m starving.

Adaptations:
– swap lemonade for: lemon juice + water + honey/agave (doesn’t even have to be mixed- just dump it in!)
– skip the protein powder and/or skip the flaxseed
– increase the yogurt or swap for Greek yogurt
– skip the yogurt all together or substitute banana for creaminess in a dairy free smoothie.
– if using fresh fruit & greens, it won’t be as think/cold but adding in some ice helps.
– if sharing with the kids, I usually water theirs down with whole milk and serve it as a drink, alongside their breakfast (~2 oz smoothie + 2 oz milk).

Since mine are usually a meal, I go for yogurt as a dairy serving and the protein powder to keep it filling (I like this kind best).

The best way to blend the greens is to incorporate with the liquids blending well then adding in other fruits. A high speed blender will blend them all at once. I blend all at once with a Vitamix and used to blend in 2 stages with a Ninja for the best consistency.

I buy baby spinach fresh in a bag and pop the whole thing into the freezer. Pulling out a bunch for the smoothie has such a satisfying splintering effect. Also in real life, I dump into the blender without measuring!

This is a nice twist considering I pretty much only make the Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie anymore. Leftovers are great into popsicle molds!

Happy smoothie-ing!

If the start of 2021 has you feeling crummy and seeking positive choices, this smoothie is perfect! It is DELICIOUS but also full of good stuff. I tend not to make many in the winter, so, enjoy this one!

This one is a meal – I’m going for protein & fiber and wanted to hit fruit and dairy here. This can be downgraded to a snack by skipping the yogurt, adding a bit more water, and serving as 4 smaller portions.

Chocolate Almond Smoothie
Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
1 frozen banana (or 1 cup frozen cauliflower)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (or 1 tablespoon cocoa powder)
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 – 1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup water
a few ice cubes

Directions:
Add frozen banana/cauliflower, yogurt, chocolate protein powder/cocoa powder, ground flaxseed, almond extract, milk, water, and ice to a blender.

Blend & enjoy!

I loved this! I was a bit heavy handed with the almond extract the first time – so use with caution and measure. It totally brings a unique flavor – especially if you don’t loooove protein powder. Mint extract would be a good alternative too! My fav protein powder is Amazing Grass brand, especially peanut butter or vanilla. Any chocolate-ish smoothie could definitely include/hide frozen greens. I almost did but I also wanted to keep it simple. Go for it – you won’t taste or see some frozen baby spinach in there!

My all-time fav smoothie is this PB&J Smoothie so if you got a new blender, this one is a winner and often the only one I make!

This might be the easiest smoothie I’ve ever made yet it feels the most exotic! It only has 3 ingredients! Unlike many of my other smoothies, this one isn’t a meal, but is a great cool fruit serving as a snack or with something else for breakfast.

I buy these frozen dragon fruit puree packs at the grocery store and I went full on tropical for the flavors here: dragon fruit, mango, and coconut!

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 dragon fruit puree pack
~1 cup frozen mango
1 cup coconut almond milk
1/2 cup water, as needed

Directions:

Add the dragon fruit. mango, and coconut almond milk into the blender.
Blend and add water as needed for your desired consistency. (I used ~1/2 cup)
Enjoy!

How pretty is THAT??? Dragon fruit = pitaya. I often see both words on the package. Those frozen packs are beautifully pink and a bit of a splurge but this nicely highlights the sweet flavor. The color is even more radiant without any dairy in there- not that I should call almond milk dairy. I really only use it for the flavor. There’s nowhere near the calcium or protein of regular milk but I don’t loooove milk so I can appreciate almond this with a more watery and coconut flavor.

I should have poured some into my popsicle containers! This would be a good one!

I took a different route on this smoothie and made it into a snack-like smoothie versus a breakfast kind of smoothie. It was really good and hit the spot on a coffee-sat-too-long kind of day. It isn’t super sweet so the coffee flavor is for real. Don’t get me wrong, I love a fun coffee drink, but the serving of fruit can’t hurt. Right?

Mocha Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup coffee, chilled
1 1/2 cups frozen pear or banana
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed meal

Directions:

Blend everything together. If it is too thick add in a bit more milk or some water.

Enjoy!

This was the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. A squirt of whipped cream made me fall more in love. I can see this one repeating when it is too hot to think!

Wayyy back, circa 2013 I made a peanut butter and jelly inspired smoothie. Since then, I’ve been drinking a new version with a green base. I made this one several times a week while pregnant with Baby C and my preschooler had some whenever I made it. The greens in the base are totally camouflaged so it is a great green-smoothie starter.

I often use a smoothie to be my breakfast- with something small later, like 1/2 cup Cheerios or a hard boiled egg. It also makes a great snack during this busy, on-the-go season!

PB & J Smoothie, Healthified

Ingredients (for 1-2 servings: 1 meal or 2 snacks)

1 1/2 cups greens (spinach or baby spinach & baby kale mix)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (Greek or regular)
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1-2 tablespoon peanut butter (or 1 scoop peanut butter protein powder)
water

Directions:

Add greens, milk, and yogurt to the blender and blend well. Keep blending once it seems like enough. The more the better!

Then add in the blueberries, ground flaxseed, and peanut butter.
Add small increments of water until desired consistency. (I end up using about 1/2 cup usually)
Blend well and enjoy!

I like it best with regular vanilla yogurt but Greek has more protein (and more tang). I buy this bag of “juicing greens” which is baby spinach and baby kale. Once it has hung around about a week and there is any left, I freeze it an break some off for smoothies.

I add the water to get it to a drinkable consistency. Milk would work too. I keep adding, very slowly, until it splashes on the sides of my blender. Then I know it’ll go through the straw well.

Anyone who grows mint has it in spades. Anyone who buys mint also probably has extra and wants to get their money’s worth. Everyone wins! In the fall, our herb garden goes bananas and I’m seeking all the ways to use the herbs at hand. I hadn’t made a smoothie with mint this whole season, not since last year’s mojito smoothie (which is also a delicious one). The mint flavor is also perfect to go with a green smoothie. Adding the chocolate flavor muddies the color, but it is ohh-so-worth it.

Chocolate Mint Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup spinach/kale
1/2 cup greek vanilla yogurt
1/2 apple, frozen
1/2 banana, frozen
hand-full of fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Directions:

Add greens, vanilla, and milk. Blend throughly.
Then add in the apple, banana, mint, cocoa powder, ground flax seeds.

Blend well.
Enjoy!

I loved this one! It tastes like dessert but starting the day with a fruit and a veggie is the best. The mint is nicely refreshing and the chocolate makes this taste like a total treat. If the color turns you off, pop it into a cup with a cover. This is totally a keeper!

Use your mint for these mojito shrimp and in this zucchini/ricotta/herb pasta and then for this smoothie!