There are so many reasons to learn how to make smoothies. One is that they can be the perfect meal. Healthy, fast and economic. They can fill you up and provide amazing nutritional value while tasting great. What you might not know is that there are certain tips and tricks that can help you make your smoothie delicious and also the right texture as well as the proper combinations to get you on your way.

We tend to have smoothies in the morning because they can fuel us throughout the day, and again are easy to prep, make and clean. They are truly an excellent choice for an easy healthy breakfast and perfect for fuelling up before or after yoga practice.

What we’ve created here is the simple, green smoothie guide for beginners. Three ways to look at making smoothies as well as an amazing recipe to get you started.

Once you start making green smoothies you’ll wonder why you waited to so long to make it a regular habit. We’ve put together a green smoothie guide that will have you blending up healthy breakfast drinks in no time.

What is a green smoothie?

Green smoothie are a healthy mix of leafy greens, veggies, fruit and water, nut milk or juice. They are different from a shake in that they are usually comprised of mostly vegetables and specific to ‘green smoothies’ – the base of the drink is comprised of some sort of leafy vegetable.

Often people will also add a supplemental powder to give the smoothie additional nutritional value. We like to add superfoods (maca, camu camu, hemp seeds, chia seeds, etc.), protein powder and/or a healthy fat (flax oil, nut butter or coconut oil) to create a perfect meal in minutes.

Tips for the green smoothie beginner to keep it simple.

As we look at the perfect green smoothies recipe for beginners, we know there a lot of fruits, veggies and superfoods just waiting for you to give them a whirl in the blender, but we suggest keeping it simple to start. For example – did you know that organic spinach is the best starter green? Its mild flavor makes it practically tasteless in green smoothies – making it a great option for kids.

One of the simplest smoothie recipes to start you off?

2 cups of organic spinach,

1 cup or so of water

Half a banana and an organic apple.

Done — you’ve just made your first green smoothie.

Blend it and BAM – easy green smoothie for beginners! Which might have just moved you into the category of green smoothies for non-beginners. When you’re ready to move on to other greens (like kale, collards and dandelions), here’s a great nutrition info guide for dark leafy greens.

Ready to blend

A good blender makes a world of difference for a great green smoothie. For no chunks and lumps, a high-powered blender like a Vitamix is great. Yes, it’s an expensive piece of equipment, but it will change your life (seriously).  If it’s just not in your budget at the moment, we know a few people who’ve had luck with the Magic Bullet and Ninja blender and they make amazing green smoothies.

Cherry Vanilla Green Smoothie recipe

This is a quick and easy green smoothie recipe that we love for breakfast or after yoga. Try to keep peeled and frozen ripe bananas handy to add instant creaminess to your green smoothies.

Cherry Vanilla Green Smoothie (makes 1 large or 2 smaller servings)

  • 1 ½ c. pure water or nut milk
  • ½ c. frozen or fresh organic cherries, pitted
  • 1 scoop (serving suggestion) vanilla protein powder, we like Sunwarrior Classic Brown Rice Protein or Vega Sport French Vanilla Protein (both vegan, gluten and soy-free)
  • 2-3 LARGE handfuls (approx. 2-3 cups) of organic spinach, kale or a blend of the two greens
  • ½-1 ripe frozen banana (make sure you peel before you freeze!)
  • 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (optional)
  • 1 tsp. spirulina or blue green algae (optional)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite glass or to-go cup and enjoy.

For more recipes and tips:

If you’re ready to give green smoothies a go, try Kimberly Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS) it’s a little more labor-intensive but well worth it and Kimberly’s got great tips on how to make amazing smoothies every time.

If you get bored easy and need to mix it up, check out the recipes and articles on Incredible Smoothies.