Glowing Green Protein Smoothie (21g)

Get glowing with this easy, nutrient-dense green protein smoothie. Creamy and easy to love, it’s packed with spinach, pineapple and orange and a whopping 21g of protein without protein powder!

It’s a little weird being a dietitian on the internet. Because OF COURSE I’m thrilled when folks take an interest in nutrition…but I am equally mortified when I see it go off the rails.

Like this whole current protein craze we’re currently marinating in: while most of us are not protein deficient, I also know that (in particular) women kind of underestimate the power of consistently adding protein to their meals.

What does the internet do with this information? Try to convince us that we should all be eating gobs of meat or that we can’t possibly survive without protein powder. Neither of which, dear reader, is even close to accurate.

Take this green protein smoothie, for example. Are you wondering where the heck the protein is even coming from? Let me break it down for you: the soy milk adds 8g, the hemp hearts add 7g, and the almond butter adds 3.5g. And the rest comes from the fruit + veg.

So yup, 21 grams of protein…with no protein powder. Which is plenty for some folks. But if you personally need more than 20g at a meal, you could easily boost the protein to 30 or 40 grams by adding some protein powder. You do you. Nutrition is individual.

But even MORE importantly: this vegan protein smoothie also packs in 8 grams of fibre. Which is a nutrient most of us ARE actually deficient in. If you want to feel more full, satisfied and energized, protein plus fiber together is IT. And if you like a little something to go with your smoothie, bake up my easy Banana Bran Muffins to go with it!

Eating more whole plant foods can really help you feel your best…my latest cookbook, Plant Magic, is filled with flavourful and healthy plant-based recipes you’ll LOVE!

Let’s whip up this easy peasy green protein smoothie, shall we?

A smoothie is the perfect way to hit the reset button if you’re feeling sluggish. Pop a bunch of nutrient-dense plant foods into the blender and it’s ready in 3 minutes.

If you’re new to green smoothies, take it from someone who’s been a recipe developer for a looooong time: baby spinach is the way to go. It’s a great base for a green smoothie as spinach is pretty neutral in flavour and blends easily.

More energizing, dairy free green smoothies and juices:

• 5 Minute Turmeric Ginger Smoothie with Greens
• Cucumber Smoothie with Kiwi and Mint
• Protein Power Kale Smoothie (21g)
• 5 Minute Green Blender Juice

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Glowing Green Protein Smoothie (21g)

Get glowing with this easy, nutrient-dense green protein smoothie. Creamy and easy to love, it’s packed with spinach, pineapple and orange and a whopping 21g of protein without protein powder!

Course Breakfast, smoothie

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword green smoothie, hemp hearts, orange, pineapple, spinach

Dietary Preference dairy free, Gluten-Free, low FODMAP, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 minutes minutes

Servings 1 serving

Author Desiree Nielsen, RD

Equipment

• High Speed Blender

Ingredients

• 1 lightly packed cup baby spinach
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 medium orange peeled, but reserve a 2 inch piece of peel!
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or another high protein milk (see below for low FODMAP swap!)
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Imperial – Metric

Instructions

• Place the spinach, pineapple, orange, peel, soy milk, hemp hearts, almond butter, and vanilla in a high speed blender and blend on high 30-45 seconds until smooth.

Notes

Hey low FODMAP friends, this smoothie is low FODMAP if you swap the soy milk for almond or macadamia milk…but you lose 8g of protein! So add a half scoop of a low FODMAP protein powder to keep the protein high.

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