Blueberry Kale Smoothie
Don’t be afraid by the color of this smoothie, I promise it tastes better than it looks! The dark color is from antioxidant rich blueberries and kale (one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet). Black is the new green!
Combined with almond milk, peanut butter, ripe banana and dates, this smoothie is naturally sweet, filling and so good for you!
For those of you on Weight Watchers, I never know if I should count the fruit in my smoothies. Some say no, others say yes. I’ve decided to count the dates, but not the banana and blueberries – your call!
Here’s a helpful tip: When your bananas are brown, freckled and look like they’re ready to be thrown out – peel them, cut them and put them in your freezer, they are perfect in smoothies! Buy organic berries when they go on sale, and freeze them too!
Blueberry Kale Smoothie
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 1 • Size: 1 smoothie • Points +: 5 pts • Smart Points: 5
Calories: 312 • Fat: 12 g • Carb: 51 g • Fiber: 10 g • Protein: 9 g • Sugar: 31 g
Sodium: 241 mg • Cholest: 0 mg
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup organic frozen blueberries
- 1 loose cup baby kale
- 1 tbsp peanut butter (or any nut butter)
- 3/4 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 1/2 frozen ripe banana
- 2 pitted dates
- 1/2 cup ice
Directions:
Place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.
I only share products I use in my own kitchen
on a daily basis. I created this recipe and received compensation to do
so.
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YOU ALWAYS COUNT ALL THE FRUITS IN THE SMOOTHIES AND IN ANY RECIPE. 🙂 It's only when the fruits and veggies are eaten by themselves that they are "free". I'm a former WW leader. LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipes btw. 🙂
Thank you!!
why???? could you explain-Im bummed:) do you think gina these would be good without dates????
I usually have smoothies for a meal and honestly, I count the fruits as zero. The way I look at it, I am eating whole fruits like I normally would and not in excess amounts. Since this is a meal (and not, say, a beverage), it makes sense for me to count the fruit as zero and count points only for the almond milk, dates and peanut butter. This works for me and I have not seen any impact on weight loss when doing it that way. Just my 2 cents. 🙂
Thanks Susan, most people tell me the same, and oddly some smoothie recipes I found on WW didn't count the fruit either.
You do count them if you are following the plan. If you don't want to count the fruits that is your choice, but not a WW plan. The rule is kinda if you can't get it back out count it. Most people will put many servings of fruit(a whole banana is already 2-3 1/2 cup servings) and then put in some berries…not to mention the other things listed. Of course unless you are buying fresh dates and not dried they count. i personally have never seen a fresh date at the store…ever where i live.
Yes if your 2-3 servings of fruit come in the form of a smoothie so be it. But you will not get the same fullness as if you ate them whole. Liquids don't register the same even with all the fiber etc…
Liz
That is ridiculous! A piece of fruit is a piece of fruit, whether eaten whole or liquified in a blender. You must not be on PointsPlus…..how many years since you've been a leader???
Not true – blending fruit into a smoothie removes the fiber benefits you get from eating a whole piece of fruit. In general the WW philosophy of not counting fruit can get you in trouble with the sugar inherent in fruit, but that's another tangent. But the leader is absolutely right to count the fruit in a smoothie (and questioning her credentials in an outraged manner is rather rude).
Here's Weight Watchers answer on counting them in smoothies…
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=108831
Thanks, Crystal, for the web page link. Read the article and saved it to my Pintrest 'Smoothie' Board. I've often wondered about this and I think this article explains in perfectly. It's a 'moderation in all things' concept. I used to have smoothies all the time but stopped because I was afraid there were too many points (if I had to count all the fruit). I plan on incorporating smoothies back into my eating plan and Gina's Skinnytaste web page is the perfect place to start! Smoothies with vegies makes a lot of sense. Keeps it from having too much fruit and a really great way to get extra veggies.
Nice one, the berries + bananas combo is a killer!
And sorry to point this up, but is "your bananas are brown" not "you're bananas are brown" 😉
thank you! 🙂
Sorry to be pedantic, "you're" means "you are." You were grammatically correct the first time…your bananas are brown (not you are bananas are brown!). Great recipe by the way, one of my fav smoothies 😀
Skinnytaste Gina…good article. Sorry you have some many trolls on your page. Like the spelling genius Daniela to point out your typos. Its a shame they come on here and try to point out everyone's mistakes. Clearing lacking stability in their real life. lol.
Yea, give Skinnytaste Gina a break… you know what she meant. Why you gotta point out a simple mistake?? Everyone understood exactly what she meant.
Nerd
I don't understand the point of counting the fruit in smoothies, it doesn't make any sense to me. It was explained to me that mixing the fruit up changes the fruit's composition but…it doesn't. Calories are calories.
Mixing fruit and milk up in a blender is no different from drinking a glass of milk and then eating some fruit. They mix up in your stomach just the same.
Counting fruit and veggies in smoothies makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I never do it and I won't, because it's stupid. There is no scientific explanation for it.
I agree totally (see my comment above).
Weight Watchers says "Let your hunger, and your weight loss, be your guide." So use your judgement. It's not the fruit we need to worry about anyway : )
I certainly didn't put on weight from eating too much fruit 🙂
Haha, agreed Beth, I certainly didn't get where I am because I overindulged on carrot sticks and watermelon.
But some fruits like bananas and mangos and pineapple have a ton of sugar and it IS different. If you ate 2-3 lbs of banana i can guarantee you would be stuffed..now put that in a smoothie….see where i am going with this?
I agree with let your weight loss be your guide. I never use more than 1 small banana in my occasional smoothies, and it's part of the fruit that I keep track of through my day. My smoothies are certainly not calorie bombs, and they're nutritious. I think it's different when people are using more fruit in a smoothie than they would eat in 1 sitting. THAT is the difference, IMO.
ok sorry I started this debate-gina keep the recipes coming and I still say you need your own show:) you can make it "simple" to hold to your resolutions….
No worries, it's usually the biggest debate on my site!
All calories are not the same. That is a major myth in our society today. http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/04/10/calories-dont-matter/#close
I just made this with spinach instead of Kale over lunch and it was awesome!!!
Wonderful! So glad you made it!
I have found my breakfast for next week. Looks yummy. Thank you!
Hi Gina! This sounds delicious and I would love to try it, but I'm allergic to almonds and other tree nuts. Is soy milk a good replacement for almond milk in most recipes or do you have another non-dairy recommendation?
Thanks for your incredible recipes–you are my go-to for easy, healthy dinners : )
Sure, that would work fine too. So happy you enjoy my dinners : )
I make a variation on this all the time. Especially in the summer. I detest kale in any other form. 🙂
Is there anything I can sub for the bananas?
Add another date or 2, it's fine without : )
yum! that looks like a delicious combination!!
Perfect timing with this smoothie recipe. Thanks!
Am drinking it right now for lunch. Delicious…especially love the addition of the dates. Thanks!
Sounds good!! will have to try!
Haha, I have made some very ugly and disgusting looking smoothies over the years. Luckily all but one have tasted fantastic. Here is to a healthy new year!
I am also a WW leader…and I don't count the fruit in my smoothies.
Hi Gina. I just found your blog and am starting WW on my own today. I love that all of your recipes are so simple. I had the chia coconut milk pudding this morning with blueberries mixed in. So easy. I've made some really ugly brown smoothie over the years. My fav is using banana, blueberries, frozen sweet cherries, spinach, almond milk and coco powder, with maybe a date or two and ice. I haven't made it in a long time, but it makes a great dessert, like a healthy milkshake.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one that makes ugly smoothies! I've made pretty smoothies that didnt taste good, so you can't judge a book by its cover 🙂
I will definitely be trying this! I love adding greens to a smoothie, such an easy way to hide vegetables 🙂
I have had trouble before blending dates. Is that unusual, or any tips? My blender is not a blendtec or vitamix, but it is a high end Breville one. Thanks for the recipe!
I put my dates in a food processor first and then into the smoothie already all chopped up. I also don't have any sort of fancy blender. Hope that helps!
I blended it twice, but I do have a fancy Blendtec. Some people soak the dates first.
I have a smoothie every morning for breakfast. I've tried a lot of "weird" combinations that tasted really great. But think of the color wheel: red plus green equals brown. So strawberries plus spinach…. But tastes super. I also often add carrots. They are sweet and so healthy! Just cut them up in chunks. (I do have a Blendtec blender, so it can handle the hard carrots easily.)
When making a "weird" smoothie, it helps a lot to have an opaque glass to put it in — then you don't see the color!
Why do you peel and cut up your bananas before freezing? Just put them in the freezer whole in their peel. Then you don't have to repackage them. Even if you only need half, it's not that hard to cut through a frozen banana.
Great recipe!
I totally freeze mine whole also!! Just chuck them in the freezer as is… works perfect… they peel so easy 🙂
I personally find peeling frozen bananas a huge pain in the butt. I don't chop them, but i peel and freeze whole.
Totally agree that peeling frozen bananas is a big pain! Not forgetting the skin is very hard to get off after being frozen, so that's why it's much easier to peel them BEFORE chucking them into the freezer. 🙂
Blueberries smoothies are one of my favorites! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks to you, I have discovered PB2! Using PB2 would shave about 50 calories, but do you think it would taste as good?
I like to use PB2 in my green smoothies. I think it tastes great and it doesn't gunk up the blender as much as peanut butter.
Sure if you like the taste use it : )
Sorry but what is PB2??
Looks delicious! Can't wait to try it out!
I add Chia and Flax seeds to mine and I don't use the Dates- too sweet for me, and I use Coconut water instead of Almond milk and Almond butter instead of Peanut butter 🙂
perfect!
If the color is a turn off use a opaque insulated travel mug. Some even have colorful straws. The color does not bother me but it helps to eliminate the negative comments from the naysayers in our lives. I found a 3-pc scrub brush set on amazon that has a extra-long handle for getting to the bottom of the glass & bottles. It has a straw brush too. That was the hardest thing for me about the reusable straws, now it is not a problem. The third brush is to get into those little spaces on the lid. Makes me happy!
Great idea Andra!
Ever since I tried this smoothie I can't get enough of it. I added spinach to the kale and used sweetened vanilla almond milk and it was still amazing. I am 6 months pregnant and feel good knowing that not only am I able to satisfy my cravings for sweets but also do something healthy for my baby. Thank you for always posting such great recipes 🙂
Wonderful!! I am so happy you are enjoying it, and took a chance despite it's color!
This shake is amazing! Even my kids love it :0)!
I made this for breakfast this morning and loved it. I can't deal with the taste of bananas, so I substituted about a third of a cup of fat free Greek yogurt and it was great. I also forgot to get the vanilla almond milk and bought plain unsweetened instead. I was worried the smoothie would turn out too "healthy" tasting, but the combination of the peanut butter and the blueberries pretty much killed any overwhelming kale-y flavor. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This is a delicious sounding smoothie! Am def gonna try it soon.
One question though, just coz I've been following your healthy blog and some posts here from people who are Weight Watchers or just trying to lose weight- don't peanut butter, dates and bananas contain a high content of sugar (peanut butter has quite a bit of fat too) and therefore not good for those watching their weight? Just curious. What could I substitute in place of peanut butter, dates and bananas btw? Thank you for this lovely recipe btw! 🙂
Carbs and fats are both good for you when they come from whole foods such as fruits and nuts. Packaged inside of raw fruit or a nut, the fiber and protein fills you up so you get a healthy portion of the sugars and fats instead of overeating. This recipe uses PB, dates, and banana as texture and flavor. You're eating relatively small amounts of them.
Does anyone else have problems with nausea after these types of breakfast smoothies? I just started having green monster type smoothies with greek yogurt, spinach, fruit and PB2 but every time I've done it I feel nauseous shortly thereafter. I do fine with all of the individual ingredients on their own. Nervous to try this one with kale, but need to figure out a way to get some kale in my diet. Advice?
Maybe it's the temperature. Smoothies are usually frozen, and I'm guessing you don't normally freeze those things before eating them on their own 🙂
Is it important to use baby kale? I haven't seen that where I shop, but I have tons of regular kale on hand…
Uh…YUM! I just tried this….sooooo tasty! Thank you thank you thank you!
I used regular kale this morning and it was the best smoothie I've ever had! I subbed Better'n Peanut Butter and fig butter instead of dates. Also used almond coconut milk. Sooooo yummy!
What if you don't like dates? Could I substitute something else or just leave them out?
Surprisingly tasty! mmm, think I'm going to start a smoothie trend this year.
This recipe is really tasty! Unfortunately, when I entered it into WW's recipe builder program, I found out that it equals 9 WW Points Plus instead of 5. I get the same total whether I enter the ingredients as listed or whether I just enter the fat, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber into the points tracker app.
I love smoothies and it's a great way to get in some healthy veges. However, there are 31 grams of sugar in this – that's way more than an adult should be eating in a day!
I don't think the color looks bad at all. Great recipe!
I'm having a tough time coming up with the calories for this smoothie. I am counting 413, versus the 312 listed in the recipe.
Using myfitnesspal:
1/2 medium banana – 52
3/4c unsweetened almond milk – 45
2 pitted dates – 133
3/4 c frozen blueberries – 59
1 c chopped kale – 34
1 tbsp peanut butter – 90
Please help!
Where did you get your information? Pitted dates are approximately 20 calories each. According to your calculations they are about 66 calories each!!
I love this smoothie! It's an interesting and delicious combination. I think the dates make it superb.
Gina – what would you suggest to substitute for the banana? I just can't stand bananas and I feel like the ruin any smoothie that I make with them included.
It's not easy for me to get almond milk (it's pretty expensive if I do find it)… is there any other suitable substitute?
Yummmmmy! I've been all about the Kale smoothies lately. Thanks for the recipe, here's one of my faves: https://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/01/blueberry-kale-smoothie.html
I made this today, substituting almond butter, soy milk, and prunes, instead of peanut butter, almond milk, and dates, because it is what I had at home. It was a great smoothie! Thanks!
Wife hooked up with a Vitamix recently, gonna give this one a shot.
Hi Gina,
I love your recipes. I made the famous Crock Pot Santa Fe yesterday and wow, amazing!! as I expected! I made this smoothie a few minutes ago for my breakfast. I gave some to my picky 3 year old, who loved it!!! He had a big smile on his face! My 2 year old loves it! and my Husband also tried it and I had to make a second smoothie for everyone!! The peanut butter is awesome for the taste factor while concealing the greens! I didn't have pitted dates so I used Stevia packets..this recipe is amazing! My four year old agreed to have this as an after dinner desert! a healthy treat! whoo hoo! Thank you Gina! – Jenna
Why do you use Almond Milk rather than regular milk? Just curious?
A lot of us can not tolerate dairy. Almond, soy, walnut milk is stomach friendly.
I made this today and was thrilled to see that it turned out a lot purpler than I expected. Thanks, frozen blueberries! My 12-year-old loves kale, but the idea of a green smoothie just turns her off. I'm pretty sure I can get her to drink this one! (I also didn't use dates, as I don't have any on hand, and didn't miss them. I used PB2 instead of peanut butter, and it worked well.)
Anonymous, the peanut butter is 90 calories for two tablespoons, the recipe calls for one tablespoon.
I didn't have blueberries or dates on hand, so I substituted fresh strawberries, a little blue agave and extra ice (since strawberries weren't frozen). Really like this recipe. The peanut butter added a nice touch. Thanks for sharing!! I'll give it another try with the blueberries and dates next time. Also, I've been freezing bananas since my 7 year old was a baby….it makes a great healthy frozen treat to snack on anytime.
I made this yesterday with spinach instead of kale (hard to find here in Mexico) and natural oranje juice instead of almond milk, very delicious & nutricious!