Skinny Green Monster Smoothie
A vitamin packed smoothie, perfect for breakfast or lunch on the go!
Ok, so I’ll admit, first time trying a green monster smoothie… and quite honestly I was not prepared to like it!
I mean, spinach in a smoothie?? Even though green may be my favorite color, it sounded way too healthy even for my taste! But it’s January, a month of new beginnings, resolutions and cleaning our bodies so I was willing to take a chance.
So, after someone recently sent me their recipe I took a chance and tried it for myself. What’s the worst that could happen? If I don’t like it, I’ll just toss it, right?
I had all the ingredients on hand and put them in my blender. Myself, my teenager and my aunt just watched as the blender ran and the smoothie turned into a shade of bright green.
I was the first to test it out, and not bad! Good actually! All I really tasted was the peanut butter and banana, nothing else really stood out. I could get used to this! They all agreed, even my picky teenager thought it was good!
So, why should you try a GREEN MONSTER?? Vitamins!! A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, lutein, magnesium, potassium, protein and calcium! Give it a try and see what you think!
You can really make this so many ways, add flax seeds, add protein powder, throw in blueberries, etc. Start with this basic recipe and play around with variations. Give it a try!
Skinny Green Monster Smoothie
Ok, so I’ll admit, first time trying a green monster smoothie… and quite honestly I was not prepared to like it!
Ingredients:
- 1 small frozen ripe banana, peeled
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 tbsp Better n Peanut Butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
Directions:
Place all the ingredients into the blender, add ice (optional) and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 1 servings, Serving Size: about 2 cups
- Amount Per Serving:
- Freestyle Points: 7
- Points +: 6
- Calories: 253.5 calories
- Total Fat: 4g
- Saturated Fat: g
- Cholesterol: mg
- Sodium: 236.5mg
- Carbohydrates: 38.5g
- Fiber: 5.5g
- Sugar: 18.5g
- Protein: 17.5g
Adapted from Oh She Glows
All images and text ©
Gina, add 1.5 T Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa to this and you will not believe how good and chocolately it is!!
Quick question on the Better than Peanut Butter, when unused in the smoothie do you add the dry powder or do you add liquid to the powder first?
I’m allergic to banana. Any suggestions on a substitution? This is where I get stuck on making smoothies… Banana is usually used to cover the veggie taste.
I too can not eat banana, wondering if there was an answer to this post?
You can leave it out and sub another fruit, the peanut butter helps cover the veggie taste.
Avocado is the best banana replacement. Sounds weird, but is really good (not 0 points though). I just hate bananas and can detect them in any smoothie!
Do you have any nut-free alternatives to substitute the peanut butter with? I am allergic to nuts.
Use sunflower butter
Does anyone know how many freestyle points this is?
7
How long can it be kept on the fridge if making a big batch?
Hey! Can you let me know where you got the Smart Points value of 3? I plugged this into my points calculator and I'm getting 8. Thanks!
Hi Gina,
I noticed this recipe has been updated with smart points and it's worth 3. I used the weight watchers recipe builder site to build the recipe and add it to my log but it counts this recipe as 10 points. Which one is right?
Same but I got 8, not 10. I asked also!
I just built in the WW site and got 3 points until I hit the “this is a drink” box. My sister inquired about the whole banana adding to shakes and smoothies at the WW meeting a couple weeks ago (I’m online only), they said that when we “blend” our veggies/fruits it changes the consistency of the fiber for our bodies which in turn makes it higher in points.
Just starting back on WW this is a huge bummer….lol Guess it’s gonna be fitpoints to fill in the gaps for smoothies 🙁
I'm REALLY curious to know where you got your nutrition info. I use this recipe calculator: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp , and when I plugged in your ingredients, it's WAY off.
Somehow, the kids and the vegetables just don't get along too well. But I've tried your recipe (added blueberries as you suggested and use sweetened instead of unsweetened milk) and my girl finished her green smoothies in one fell swoop. It is for reason such as this that parents should be putting their best smoothie blenders to good use.
Just had one for breakfast before going to school, so easy to prepare and taste delicious. Im going to be checking your page more often just found it and at least this recipe has what im looking for! Thank u
delicious!
wouldn't the yogurt block the iron absorption from the spinach? what could be a good non dairy substitute?
Sure would. Science, folks! You need to skip the milk products if you want the iron from the greens.
Try subbing Vanilla Coconut Milk, I like the So Delicious kind! Thanks, Gina! This was good! 🙂
best green smoothie EVER!!! Thank you sooo much!!
I make a Chocolate Green smoothie daily. I use 10oz cold coffee, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, a shake or 2 of cinnamon, 2 cups baby organic spinach, handful of ice cubes and 1/4 tsp of zantham gum. I like it thicker and it stays mixed with the zanthum gum. I make hubby a fruit smoothie with 2 C frozen fruit, non fat greek yogurt, unsweetened almond vanilla milk, and a cup of baby spinach. Such a good start to the day.
I make this several times a week and my pickiest eaters gulp it down. I smoosh chunks of banana into an ice cube tray whenever my bananas get nice and ripe – when they're frozen I pop them out and into a freezer bag. This one step makes the whole thing so much easier. My kids have tried variations and like this simple version best:
a little over 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 cups fresh spinach leaves on top
5 frozen banana "cubes" on top of that.
All blended in my cheapy blender (no ice). Makes a tall glass of simple goodness.