The first seven days of the Green Smoothie April Challenge are behind us! It’s been so fun to see all of your tags on Instagram and Twitter. Keep them coming!!! Remember to use the hashtag #GreenSmoothieApril and tag me @jdecurtins.
Y’all have made some really great looking and sounding smoothies and I’m definitely going to do a round up of some of the most interesting (check out that salt rimmed one in the first row above!).
Here’s a recap of my first week of green! I had my smoothie for breakfast every morning. I know there’s a better chance of getting it in if I just knock it out first thing. Also, it’s such a refreshing way to start the day and light enough not to sit heavy in your stomach if you have a workout planned (or perfect post-workout recovery!).
Day 1
– Almond milk
– Banana
– Plain Greek yogurt
– Frozen strawberry/mango/peach blend
– Spinach
– Bolthouse Farms Green Goddess Juice
Day 2
PB & J inspired and purple thanks to lots of blueberries.
– Almond milk
– Banana
– Blueberries
– Peanut butter
– Spinach
– Plain Greek yogurt
Day 3
I restocked on some of my most favorite smoothie ingredients at Whole Foods on Wednesday so Thursday’s smoothie was extra delicious.
– Almond milk
– Banana
– Frozen mango and peaches
– Dates
– Freshly ground almond butter
– Plain Greek yogurt
– Spinach
Day 4
Same combo as Wednesday but I dressed it up in a mason jar.
Day 5
I have been dying to try fresh ginger in my smoothies because I love it so much in my green juice. It was awesome! I loved this smoothie and it was almost more like juice than smoothie. Recipe coming soon! 🙂
Day 6
Day 5’s ginger smoothie was so good I had to repeat it again.
Day 7
Rainy Monday smoothie to wrap up day 7. I went back to the date and almond butter combo from days 3 and 4 but used kale instead of spinach.
My goal for the next 7 days is to continue to mix it up and try new recipes and ingredients. Some things I’m considering include…
– Matcha powder
– Protein powder
– Spirulina
– Cinnamon
– Chocolate variation
– Lime juice
– Avocado
Let me know if you have any questions or special requests. I love playing around and making new recipes and flavor combos.
What was your best smoothie of the first seven days? What is an ingredient you haven’t used that you’d like to try?
One of my new favorite additions to smoothies is goji berries! my favorite combo with them is kale, spinach, banana, pineapple, mango, chia seeds, vanilla protein powder & coconut water– so tropical!
i haven’t tried goji berries yet but i’ve seen them around blog world. i’ll have to give them a shot. they’re expensive!!!!
I’ve been wanting to try ginger in my smoothies and I recall a recipe in Cooking Light that I think is going to happen soon. Berries, oats and ginger are the major ingredients. Obviously I’ll be adding some green in there, too. Along with some healthy fat and protein. Thanks again for the inspiration!
that sounds awesome. try it and report back! 🙂
I actually really love the combo of avocado, kale, coconut yogurt/milk, and honey. Avocado with pineapple also goes really well together!
sounds yummy and tropical!
I would love to know more about Matcha powder, anything and everything!
me too! i’ll get on it! 🙂
Day 3 & 4 sound delish!
I would love to try ginger in my smoothie! Sounds so good for the tummy 🙂
Haha love that chimp mug 😀
I had a green smoothie for lunch today after my workouts. I added Vega protein powder, blue berries, spinach, almond milk, and raspberries. Not the prettiest smoothie, but it hit the spot.
I haven’t tried spirulina. I love a combo of maca, cocoa powder or cocoa nibs, almond butter, dates, banana, spinach, and coconut milk. So good! I’ve been rocking creamsicle flavors with clementines and also a carrot cake flavor. Mmm!
Thanks for the ideas above 🙂
oh that sounds like a really good combo. thanks for the idea. also…carrot cake!? yum!
Loving the use of avocado and mint (but not together).
i love coconut milk and pineapple in my green smoothies!
I’ve been curious about incorporating fresh ginger into my smoothie but nervous about how to prepare it. Do you just shave off some pieces?
i’ve been using my microplane and grating it in.
Yum – a PB&J smoothie is my absolute favorite. Do you use coconut milk often, or coconut water in smoothies? I’ve tried coconut water and it was delicious, but not coconut milk. I know it’s quite high in fat but wanted to see what you thought!
i use the coconut milk that comes in a half gallon and not a can so it’s more similar to almond milk in nutritional makeup. i think using a creamy canned version would be awesome though! maybe the lite?
mmm all those smoothies look amazing! i’ve never put almond butter or dates in my smoothie before. do you have to have a high powered blender to get the dates to blend in?
I don’t have a “high tech” blender so I soak the date(s) in warm water for about 10 minutes before adding them to the blender!!! If not, you have some chewy pieces which I didn’t mind but some people might not like that texture.
I would be interested in seeing you use cocao nibs!! I’ve had some delicious smoothies with them in it but can’t figure out how to create a smoothie at home with them:) -Brittany Lee
i have never even bought any! good challenge!
I always put 1/2 an avocado in my green smoothie along with Goji berries, Maca & chia seeds. My fruit of choice is blueberries. Greens are usually spinach or kale. Sometimes a scoop of Sun Warrior protein and Amazing Meal. So good! Great way to start my day! Love this challenge!
Have you ever tried adding coffee to your smoothie? I found a ton of recipes way back when but never tried them because I’m attached to my go-to recipes.
When I visited Austin, TX, I went to Juiceland and they had a coconut oil + almonds + date + cayenne pepper that I have been trying to re-create. The cayenne is actually really good in it! I am trying to also find ways to add more protein without using protein powder like greek yogurt… egg whites perhaps???
that sounds AWESOME! i want to try!
i’ve tried pasteurized egg whites in smoothies and it works well! i also do greek yogurt on the regular but not a lot of it because it gets too tangy.
My favorite so far (light and fluffy) is: 2 green apples, 4 celery stalks, the juice and some of the pulp of a big lemon and a handful of ice.
yum! thanks for the idea! sounds different and delicious!
I was going to ask which was your favorite, but it sounds like the ginger one was it! Can’t wait to see the recipe! I almost always add cacao powder to my green smoothies and often Amazing Grass superfood powder 🙂
def the ginger. i’ve never tried adding cocoa powder. thanks for the idea!
today i had a smoothie with some greek yogurt, spinach, pb, almond milk, flax, and tons of frozen strawberries. the strawberries really came through and it was super pink so it was a nice change form my normal blueberries !
I would love to try some smoothies, but I find them really time consuming. Does anyone have any advice on making a great green smoothie with a small amount of time?
prep them all at one time and make little freezer bags with individual servings so that all you have to do is add milk and blend! i made some recently for a client with spinach, banana and other frozen fruit so all he had to do was dump and go. i’m sure you could even go ahead and add peanut butter or almond butter too.
I love all of these ideas! My favorite always includes peanut butter…. I’m obsessed! Last night I added pear and kiwi (no pb though) to spinach, ice, almond milk, banana and peaches,,,,,,delish!!!!
🙂
I made one the other day with Coconut Almond milk, mangoes, pineapple, and banana. It tasted like a pina colada! Yummy.