In the spirit of St Patrick’s day a little while ago, I’ve found myself making all manners of green themed recipes lately; from cakes to granola.. and even green frosted brownies. Who knew that so many delicious foods could feature a vibrant green colour?! I thought I would take things back to basics with this recipe and create a spin on the classic green smoothie. Green smoothies and juices were all the rage a year or two ago and to be honest, I always thought that some of them tasted a bit too similar to pond water for my likings! I think that they were very much one of those things that people drank because they were seen as being ‘super heathy’ and ‘detoxifying’.. rather than something that was actually remotely tasty! This smoothie however, is not claiming to cleanse your body of all impurities and instantly turn you into a green goddess.. but it does contain some nutritious ingredients and is really tasty!
My diet is generally pretty healthy and whole-food based and I try to nourish my body as best I can, but flavour and taste of food is also something that I consider to be VERY important. I think that there’s common misconception when it comes to healthy eating, that you have to either chose one or the other of the above. I think that a lot of people worry that eating healthy food, means food that’s lacking in variety and flavour.. however I strongly believe that this does NOT have to be the case. In fact, that’s probably one of the main philosophies behind my blog and recipe creation; I wanted to create food that contained lots of nutritious & natural ingredients, tasted delicious and allowed people to really embrace the creativity of cooking.
So, after that little side tracked note there.. I’m actually going to start talking about the recipe that we’re here for. I wanted to create a green smoothie that was crammed full of fresh and nutrient dense ingredients, but also tastes really sweet and delicious. The green colour comes from the spinach, avocado and a new smoothie addition for me; barley grass powder. I’ve never really used barley grass before and I’m really enjoying it in this recipe. I find it to be one of the milder greens powders, in comparison to spirulina and wheatgrass which can have quite bitter tastes. Bananas are such an amazing ingredient to add into smoothies, as they provide lots of natural sweetness and a really creamy texture- without having to add any additional sugar or sweeteners. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with peppermint and mint chocolate chip flavoured treats at the moment and to me, this smoothie tastes like a peppermint cream! You could always experiment with adding some cacao powder or nibs if you wanted to create a mint chocolate flavour combo.
Another great thing about smoothies, that I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, is how quick and easy they are to prepare. You literally just need to pop all of the ingredients into a blender and whizz everything up until it’s smooth and creamy.. I mean, I hardly need to write any instructions for the recipe do I really?! So they’re the perfect thing to make in the morning if you always find yourself rushing around, or you could even prep it in the evening, so it’s ready and waiting for you to grab and go the next day. I also think that this would make a rather scrumptious dessert or afternoon snack, as it’s so sweet and indulgent tasting.. yet still full of fruit and veggies!
