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When I make green smoothies, I’m looking for a big hit of nutrition in an easy-to-drink, tasty package. I want an ultra-smooth, creamy consistency with a flavor that is sweet but not too sweet, and I need (more of a “want”, really) them to take very little time to make. These Beet Green Smoothies check all those boxes and help me get the day off to a healthful start when I whip them up for breakfast.
When it comes to green smoothies, I’m kind of picky. I like the idea of packing all that healthful nutrition into a quick and easy drink, don’t get me wrong, but so often they either taste too grassy, are overly sweet (because that can easily happen when you’re trying to cover up the taste of the greens) or the texture is not smooth and creamy like I want. Anyone have the same trouble? I have finally nailed down my favorite green smoothie recipe, and I hope you’ll give this Beet Green Smoothies recipe a try even if you’ve written off green smoothies in the past.
Kid-Approved
Before I tell you the main ingredients (I’m sure you can figure out at least one of them by looking at the title!), I have to share what my son (age 6+) said about these smoothies. To set the background up, we were at Whole Foods and they were giving out samples of a green smoothie they had made; he tried one and made me promise to make them at home. (score 1 for the Whole Foods marketing team; of course I had to pick up the ingredients for said green smoothies while we were there). After drinking them willingly several times, he got to the point where he started thinking they tasted too much like “grass” (his word) and then he watched me make them once and was more convinced than ever that I actually did add grass, so I took a green smoothie break for a while.
Enter January, 2017, when I was forced to get a new blender (yes, forced, because my former blender stopped working after a good long run of serving my heavy blending needs for 7+ years!), and I finally took the plunge and bought this blender
, which had been on my wish list for TOO LONG (but I was holding out until I truly NEEDED it)!
Naturally, when I get a new kitchen gadget, I get a little obsessed and want to use it all the time. The good thing with this Vitamix blender is that you can use it for almost any task in the kitchen. From chopping veggies, to making almond milk (check out my recipe for Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk; one sip and you’ll never want to go back to store-bought almond milk!), pureeing silky smooth soups (which you can do while the soup is still hot, by the way – big time-saving bonus! – try this 5 Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup), to all the smoothies you could ever drink, this blender is living up to my expectations (and then some!).
I went back to green smoothies and played around with different greens, different fruits, and different liquid amounts, and finally settled on a recipe I love. Turns out my little guy likes them too. Here’s what he said as he was slurping up the last of his half of the Beet Green Smoothies (yes, he drank HALF the recipe, which is about 1 ½ cups!):
“Mom, will you make these for me every day?”
“It doesn’t taste like grass” (said to his little sister to encourage her to try some; good endorsement, buddy)
He’s right, these Beet Green Smoothie do not taste like grass because beet greens have a naturally milder flavor than some other greens. Plus, they have fewer ribs (which can be tough) throughout the leaf compared to some greens, and the leaves are naturally quite tender, which helps them blend super smoothly.
Health Benefits
Besides the beet greens (which are super high in the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene, both of which protect against vision problems and boost skin health), these Beet Green Smoothies contain grapefruit, avocado, dates and milk (I use unsweetened flax milk, but you can use your favorite milk or milk alternative). The dates add natural sweetness, and the avocado boosts the staying power of these smoothies (because avocado is high in fat – the good kind that is heart-healthy, so don’t shy away from avocado!).
The grapefruit…well, all I can say is that grapefruit hits the top two on my list of favorite fruits. I just love the sweet-tart flavor of it, and besides the fact that is blends really smoothly, the flavor tastes great with the other ingredients. Try it once, and if you don’t care for these with grapefruit, swap in orange sections, a banana (if you like banana-flavored smoothies) or even pineapple (which won’t blend as smoothly but is a fruit that is often used in green smoothies).
By the way, each serving of these Beet Green Smoothies contains…
- 82% of Vitamin A
- 59% of Vitamin C
- 9% of Iron needs
- 21% calcium
- almost ¼ of fiber needs
…to name just a few of the major nutritional highlights! They are also high in thiamin, riboflavin, folate, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin B6 – all of vitamins are from the B Vitamin family, which helps the body convert the food we eat into energy. I like the idea of my body being able to give me more energy. You?
P.S. Next time you’re cooking with fresh beets, and are tempted to toss the leafy greens you’ve trimmed off the tops of the beets, use them to make these Beet Green Smoothies instead.
Beet Green Smoothies How-To Photos:
Add ingredients to a blender. Greens on top to help the blender get going more easily.
Blend until really smooth. That’s all there is to it!
This is the flax milk I prefer. Locals, I find this in the health market at my local Hy-Vee.
- 2 whole pitted dates
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 red or pink grapefruit, peeled, seeded, and segments removed*
- ½ avocado, peeled and pitted if necessary**
- 1 cup unsweetened flax milk
- 2 cups torn fresh beet greens (large stem part removed) or 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- Ice cubes
- In a small bowl combine dates and boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. While dates are standing, add the grapefruit, avocado, milk, and beet greens to a blender. Add undrained dates.
- Cover; blend until very smooth. If desired, blend in a few ice cubes. Or, serve in tall glasses with a few ice cubes in each glass.***
- * I scoop the sections of grapefruit out of the peel over the blender so all the juice from the grapefruit drops into the blender too.
- ** Check out my video (on the “Video” page of my blog) for how to best save a leftover avocado half.
- *** Personal preference…I do not like to blend ice into my smoothies. Instead, I serve my smoothies with ice in the glass to keep them nice and cold without making them get as watered down. Do what you like here though!
- 2 servings (1 ½ cups per serving)
- 148 cals, 3 g pro, 23 g carb, 7 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g sat fat, 6 g fiber, 129 mg sodium
