Simple Green smoothie Diet Recipes for Weight Loss

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At first sight you may not like the look or sound of a green smoothie. We totally get it, as they often conjure up images of dark green, bitter veggies like kale and cabbage, or foul tasting green powders such as spirulina and chlorella.

But you can make smoothies and smoothie bowls taste totally delicious with a little imagination. Yes, they still contain all those nutritious greens, but you’ll never know they’re in there, and this is the way forward.

In this post we will give you some simple green smoothie diet recipes for weight loss to will help bring bring you the fat burning results you desire.

Of course, you will need to eat them in place of your regular meals and snacks, and not on top of if you wish to see great results. But, they are filling and satiating and should keep you going until your next meal, so no need to worry about being hungry.

A meal in one!

woman drinking smoothie

We LOVE green smoothies and think you should have at least one a day as either a snack or a complete meal. If you add the right ingredients they can become a low calorie, highly nutrient dense meal in themselves that will fill you up for hours.

And, this is why they are just SO great on a smoothie weight loss diet. There is no time consuming cooking involved, you simply chop up and throw all the ingredients into a blender. Simple!

What Happens If You Drink Green Smoothies Everyday?

Drinking a green smoothie every day is not harmful. In fact, you will get a myriad of health benefits from doing this.

These include:-

  1. THEY’RE FULL OF FIBRE Fibre keeps you fuller for longer. Unlike juicing, you are blending the WHOLE fruits and vegetables and not extracting the filling fibres like you do when using a masticating juicer. This is what makes a smoothie much lower GI and more filling than a juice, because fiber keeps you full.
  2. THEY KEEP YOU FULL – Due to their high fibre content, a smoothie will help fill you up and stop cravings for junk foods.
  3. HIGH IN NUTRIENTS – The high nutrient content of a green smoothie helps to stop food cravings. This is because your body will be receiving all the nutrients it needs to be satisfied.
  4. ANTIOXIDANTS – The antioxidants in green vegetables not only boost weight loss, but are highly anti aging and will literally make your skin glow and help to slow down the aging process in general.
  5. RAW ENZYMES – Blending fruits and vegetables in their raw state keeps all their enzymes, vitamins and minerals in tact. Cooking foods can often destroy delicate nutrients, therefore eating as many raw foods as possible is a fantastic health boost.
  6. DETOXIFICATION – Raw greens, along with all their fibers and antioxidants, are powerful detoxifyers. Keeping your body detoxifying itself adequately means your fat cells will start shrinking, ultimately leading to weight loss. This is because harmful toxins that your body can’t break down can often end up being stored for safe keeping in your fat cells. They will then keep swelling larger and larger the more the body keeps getting bombarded with junk foods, sugar, tobacco, alcohol, and other environmental toxins, and unfortunately, you get larger with it.

How to use Green Smoothies

smoothie bowl

The great thing about a smoothie is you can have it any time of day. Although, maybe not so much in the evening if you are adding superfood powders as they can be stimulating. Other than that, in terms of weight loss, you should have up to 2 a day in place of your normal meals or snacks.

There are different ways you can construct a smoothie. Some will have more calories and are more filling than others. This makes some better as snacks and others better as meal replacements. Be sure to know the difference if you don’t wish to go hungry!

How to construct your smoothie

constructing smoothie

You will want your smoothie to have the 3 main macro nutrient elements of HEALTHY FATS, CARBOHYDRATES, AND PROTEIN. Plus FRUITS and VEGETABLES for lots of fibre, vitamins and minerals. Having these 5 elements will ensure that you are getting a filling and ‘complete’ meal or snack. But be sure to keep to your portions under control (especially the fats) if you wish to lose weight.

The 3 main food groups

Pick one each from the protein, carbohydrates and fats, but unlimited from the vegetables and low sugar fruits.

Blitz together in your blender and enjoy. It’s good to whizz for at least 30 seconds if you like a really frothy and smooth smoothie.

TIP:- Frozen sliced bananas, and frozen fruits in general, work best as they will not only make your smoothie nice and cold, but will also add a frothy, gooey milkshake texture too.

PROTEIN ELEMENTS

  • Protein powders (up to 30 grams total protein)
  • 1 Tablespoon of sugar free peanut or almond butter
  • Soya milk

CARBOHYDRATE ELEMENTS

  • 1 x banana
  • 2 x rings of pineapple
  • Half a mango
  • Half a cup of oats
  • Half a mango

FAT ELEMENTS

  • Half a medium avocado
  • 1 x tablespoon of flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower or hemp seeds
  • Teaspoon of coconut oil
  • 1 x tablespoon of nuts or seeds

meal plans

VEGETABLE AND LOW SUGAR FRUIT ELEMENTS

ADDED EXTRAS

You may want to use these added extras for taste, but use only in moderation:-

  • Cacao nibs
  • Cacao powder
  • Carob powder
  • Xylitol
  • Stevia
  • 1 Teaspoon of agave nectar, date syrup or brown rice syrup.

SNACK GREEN SMOOTHIES

  • Large handful of greens such as spinach, kale, or watercress, sugar free nut milk, half teaspoon of spirulina, small ripe banana, half a small avocado. 250 calories approx
    Large handful of dark leafy greens, tablespoon of flax seeds, sugar free nut milk, small ripe banana. 200 calories approx
  • Large handful of dark leafy greens, blueberries, sugar free nut milk, half a small avocado. 200 calories approx
  • Large handful of dark leafy greens, half teaspoon of spirulina, sugar free nut milk, half a small avocado, dessert spoon of raw cacao nibs. 200 calories approx
  • 1 whole avocado, oat milk (simple, but outrageously creamy and delicious). 250 calories approx

MEAL REPLACEMENT GREEN SMOOTHIES

  • Large handful of any raw greens, half a medium avocado, 1 ripe banana, 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds, organic unsweetened soya milk, teaspoon of any super green powder. 350 calories approx
  • Large handful of dark leafy greens, ripe banana, teaspoon of green superfood powder, half an avocado, tablespoon of walnuts, unsweetened soya milk. 350 calories approx
  • Large handful of dark leafy greens, 30 grams (total weight) of plant based protein powder, sugar free nut milk, half an avocado, 1 tablespoon of carob or cacao powder. 450 calories approx
  • 30 grams (total weight) of plant based protein powder, dessertspoon of barley grass powder, 1 ripe banana, half an avocado, unsweetened nut milk. 450 calories approx
  • Mint, choc chip – Half an avocado,  1 frozen banana, a few sprigs of fresh mint leaves, plant milk, a few drops of mint flavouring (optional), 1 x teaspoon of spirulina, a couple of chunks of dark chocolate.

Avocados And Weight Loss

avocado smoothie

It isn’t for no reason that we add avocado to almost every smoothie. It’s because they are on this list of known metabolism boosting foods.

Whether you like them or not, you should try to add them to your smoothies. You really can’t taste them when they are mixed in with all the other flavours, plus they give your smoothie a lovely, palatable silky texture.

Other reasons to add avocado to your green smoothie:-

  1. FAT BURNING – Avocados help burn belly fat SPECIFICALLY! Yes they really do, and one reason for this is they help keep your blood sugar stable all day. It is fluctuations in blood sugar that causes your insulin to spike, thus promoting belly fat storage. Therefore, stable blood sugar means extra belly fat burning. The second reason is they contain high levels of oleic fatty acids. These fatty acids were shown in this Penn State study to lower belly fat by 1.6% when eaten at the equivalent of 3 tablespoons a day instead of other fats.
  2. HIGH IN MONOUNSATURATED FATS – Avocados are high in the fats that may keep your heart healthy and strong.
  3. LOW GI – Low GI foods help to keep your blood sugar on an even keel, in turn helping to bust those dreaded sugar cravings. Ending the continual cycle of sugar cravings will also help keep your weight under control.
  4. HEALTHY FATS – Not only are the avocado’s fats good for your heart, but eating some kind of fat with your greens, be it avocado, nuts or seeds is essential for the uptake of the fat soluble nutrients A, E, and K in your green vegetables and your green superfood powders. There’s no point in going to all this green eating effort in the first place if you’re not absorbing all the nutrients to maximum capacity, and whole, healthy fats may help this.
  5. FILLING – Lastly, avocados, due to their high fibre and stabilising effect on blood sugar, really do fill you up. Studies show that those who ate the equivalent of one avocado a day (as high calorie as they may be) still ate FEWER calories overall throughout the day.

Green Superfood Powders And Weight Loss

green superfood powder

You should be having at least one shot of green superfood powder a day just for the simple fact that they are bursting with life giving nutrition. And those nutrients can get into your cells fast, giving you a noticeable boost of energy within 20-30 minutes.

These specific nutrients are also a metabolism boosting food that can help you burn more belly fat over time.

You can choose from spirulina, barley grass, chlorella, moringa; or simply buy a blend of all of them. This is much more preferable as you will get a good array of the key nutrients from all of them.

Be sure to either add a shot to your green smoothie with the other ingredients, or have alone.

Other facts about green superfood:-

  1. DETOXIFICATION – Keeping your body detoxifying well is one of the key elements in long-term weight loss. The more toxins you can eliminate, the more your fat cells will shrink. This only works alongside a general, antioxidant rich healthy diet. You just can’t eat junk and expect the same results!
  2. ANTI AGING – Green superfood is so high in antioxidants that it will literally make your skin glow. They can also slow down, or in some cases, even REVERSE the aging process on both the inside and out.
  3. ANTI INFLAMMATORY – As green superfood is highly alkaline it helps to lower chronic inflammation in the body. Long term inflammation is now thought to be among one of the root causes underpinning many modern day diseases. This inflammation can be caused by such things as under par detoxification, junk foods, SUGAR, smoking, alcohol. Also by the barrage of environmental toxins that we are all exposed to on a daily basis.
  4. SLEEP – Green superfood, when taken daily, helps you get a good night’s kip. This is more than likely due to a combination of its super high antioxidant content, along with its effects on lowering blood sugar. You always sleep better when your blood sugar is under control, because any spikes and troughs can wake you through the night.
  5. LOWER BLOOD SUGAR – Which means fewer cravings and sugar spikes, therefore weight loss.
  6. STRONGER IMMUNE SYSTEM – Green superfood powder may help to neutralise the free radicals that harm your immune cells, thus allowing them to flourish and become stronger.

The Role Of Protein Powder In Weight Loss

drinking protein shake

Protein powders are easy to take and ideal to use in a smoothie. They help you obtain your protein needs (especially on a plant based or vegan diet) and they also keep your muscle mass high, which can be another challenging thing to do when you’re cutting calories.

Other benefits of protein powder:-

  1. MUSCLE MASS – The more muscle you can keep a hold of whilst dieting, the more calories you will burn. This is because muscle in itself is a calorie burner! Protein powders are excellent at helping you maintain your requirements without too many extra calories, just pure protein.
  2. WEIGHT LOSS – A high protein diet will automatically help boost weight loss, mainly due to the fact that you will be filling up on protein rather than carbohydrates. Also because protein is thermogenic, meaning it boosts metabolism. It’s filling too, so that helps.
  3. LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX – Protein has a low Glycemic Index (GI). This is yet another weight loss advantage because it will help to keep your blood sugar stable. And, as explained previously, this too helps with weight loss.
  4. COMPLETE MEAL – Many of the advanced protein powders available on the market today come with added enzymes, nutrients, fibre, greens and even probiotics – all of which can make them a complete meal in themselves. Protein powders are also great just for adding to your smoothie to bulk them out and make them more filling.

TOP WEIGHT LOSS TIP!

meal plans

It’s good to get a good hit of protein in first thing in the morning to keep your metabolism stoked after your night’s sleep.

Try to have just protein with no carbs until lunch for the best affect. This will really help boost weight loss as it will keep your body in fat burning mode and is not dangerous when you do it like this, rather than keto all day.

How to make your smoothie pudding

  • Use 30 grams of protein powder (that is 30 grams total protein). This will usually work out more in actual weight as most protein powders are around 50% protein. Therefore you would need 60 grams of the powder to get 30 grams of protein.
  • Blend this with half an avocado, xylitol for sweetness (if the protein doesn’t have added sweeteners), a tablespoon of carob or cacao, and some nut milk. Carob is higher carb than cacao powder, so beware of this.
  • The secret is to use a good quality blender for smoothness, plus use as little milk as possible so it’s really thick like a pudding. You can then just eat it straight out of the blender cup to save washing up and waste. Smoothies are more filling the thicker they are, and this one will fill you up for at least 4 hours.

Green Smoothie Detox

Detoxifiying smoothies will help keep your body in a high state of detoxification. This can ultimately will help boost weight loss, get your skin glowing, give you high levels of energy, and most importantly give you a strong immune system, therefore less chance of catching bugs and viruses.

Plant based protein is best

Whether you’re a plant based eater or not, vegan protein powders are the best way to go as they are a ‘cleaner’, more anti inflammatory protein than animal and cause less chronic inflammation in the body. This means less muscle aches after exercise and quicker recovery.

There are many vegan protein powders on the market these days. These include, pea, rice, potato, hemp, sunflower, quinoa, pumpkin, almond and many more. You should be able to find something that you like and suits you out of so many to choose from.

Which Protein Powder Should I Choose?

Here’s the tricky bit: some plant proteins don’t have all the amino acids of animal proteins, or they may be higher in some and lower in others. This is by no means a problem, because their benefits are higher in other ways. You just need to be sure you either buy one that is either already a complete protein, OR buy a couple and mix them up or rotate them.

You may also find it much more convenient to buy a blend. Manufacturers of the blends have already mixed them up into their perfect amino acid ratios, plus they have often added other nutrients into the bargain.

The Plant Based Diet

As well as your green smoothies, you should stick to a whole food plant based eating plan with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds as this will help to boost weight loss and antioxidant intake even more. I

f you still wish to eat animal products, then eat them in smaller portions and load up on all the other plant foods as much as possible.

Potential benefits of the plant based diet:-

  • More ENERGY
  • Clearer, brighter skin
  • LESS brain fog
  • Higher memory and learning capabilities
  • Less PMT and other hormonal problems
  • Less aches and pains after exercise
  • Ability to push harder during exercise, and to train for longer periods
  • Higher fitness levels
  • Thicker hair
  • Stronger teeth and gums due to less inflammation.

 

Thank you for visiting us today!

We hope we have given you some delicious ways to lose weight from green superfood smoothies.

Why not try our special, weight loss spice mix that you can make for yourself at home. You can have this alongside your smoothies for an even better weight loss boost.

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18 thoughts on “Simple Green smoothie Diet Recipes for Weight Loss”

    1. Hi, glad you like a smoothie! They really are a healthy and low calorie way to start your day and I love the fact you can literally use any ingredients you have in your fridge. They all taste good as long as there’s some sweetness in there from some fruits.

  1. Hi Stephanie,
    Your post is as jammed packed as the smoothies you write about.
    We normally have a fruit smoothie around lunch time and have only on occasion tried the green stuff (we don’t keep at it because of the taste). I noted the recipes you suggested here and will give them a try.
    I was intrigued by the information you provide on avocados. We live in Nicaragua and have a bunch of avocado trees on our property. I eat lots of them as a side dish with meals when they are in season but never thought of using them in a smoothie. When they come around again, I’ll have to try it out (likely tastes better than cold avocado soup).

    1. Hi there, wow, you don’t know how much I’d absolutely love to have an avocado tree in my garden. This just seems like a far off dream considering I live in a flat in England (not sure it’s even possible to grow avocados in this climate).

      Putting avocado in your smoothies will rock your world and I can’t believe you haven’t tried it! ha ha. Make sure they are really nice ripe and creamy ones and they will give your smoothie a texture of silk. Seriously, everything tastes better with the addition of fats as they carry flavour, and avocados have some seriously good fats. I hope you enjoy my suggestion.

  2. I do love smoothies, and you have some great ideas for putting together some delicious ones. I have just spent a month visiting my dad in Alaska. I always gain weight when I visit him. Problem is I leave for a cruise in 3 weeks so I will be working over time to get back into shape before I leave. I am going to give these a try as I am sure they will help speed up the weight loss process. Thanks!

    1. Hey, I’m pretty envious about the cruise, sounds great! I reckon if you replaced your breakfast and lunch with a green smoothie then had a low calorie dinner you could easily drop half a stone before your cruise and look fantastic. Remember to make your morning one very HIGH protein, but LOW carb. This will really get your body burning fat and boost your metabolism. Good luck, and I’d love to know how you get on.

  3. Thank you so much for clearly laying out everything that’s good for you and why you should be putting greens in your smoothies.

    You have definitely reminded me that I have some spinach in the fridge that needs to be consumed and I will be putting it in my morning smoothie tomorrow actually.

    I used to juice all of the time and I really enjoyed it but yes, after a while I found that I wasn’t feeling as full and I really wanted to get all of the nutrients out of the fruits and veggies I was consuming.

    Thanks for the great recipes!
    Kahlua

    1. Hi Kahlua, spinach is actually one of my favorite greens to put into a smoothie; not only is it full of iron but it also blends up really well and doesn’t have a bitter taste like some greens do.

      Yes, juices don’t fill you up as much as there is no fiber in there. In fact, unless you’re just juicing pure greens then they can actually have a high GI which isn’t that good if you are trying to lose weight. That’s why I advocate the green smoothie instead for weight loss purposes.

      I hope you enjoy your green smoothie tomorrow morning. You should totally try the avocado, banana, and spinach one as it is just SO tasty and one of my all time favorites.

  4. I love green smoothies and have been making them for years. They are such a healthy treat. Actually, I never thought about replacing a meal with a green smoothie. I am trying to loose a few pounds, so I will definitely start doing this. Do I still need a salad with greens after having a green smoothie? I have been struggling with this for awhile.

    1. Hi Carol, that’s great you regularly have a green smoothie! And yes, I often always have a very high protein one for breakfast every single day and then often have one as an afternoon or post workout snack too.They really give you a boost, and the more greens the better.

      I would say that if you’re not enjoying salad that much then you don’t need to worry too much if you are having at least one smoothie a day. You probably should get some other maybe lightly steamed veggies in with your main meal to be sure you are keeping things mixed up and getting a good array of nutrients.

  5. I haven’t tried avocado in my smoothie, great idea! And I do need to do this for a few days. I love your blog, it’s seriously great to feel better and you have some ideas to get healthy. Keep it up!

    1. Hi Brian, I’m actually quite surprised how many people have said they haven’t tried avocado in their smoothies. It’s just the best and really makes them creamy and smooth like a milkshake. I love it, plus they are super healthy! Please give it a go and let me know your thoughts.

  6. I am interested in more green smoothie recipes. I only have 10 pounds to lose, though. It shouldn’t be that hard to lose 10 pounds. I believe 1 pound a week is pretty doable.

    However, which juicer do you recommend mine has quit working. I had it for 4 years and the motor completely burnt out last night.

    Also, have you ever heard of powdered peanut butter? I haven’t ever tried it, but was thinking about trying it. Do you think it’s more healthy? I saw the recipe with protein powder, soya milk, and sugar-free peanut butter.

    1. Hi Garen, yes I use powdered peanut butter, I have just discovered it and it’s called PBFIT! What a great invention it is as it tastes delicious without the fat, it’s my new favorite food haha. You just have to be sure to buy the plain one as I made the mistake of buying the chocolate one and not only is it much lower in protein but it also has added sugar, so no benefits there.

      I’ve been adding it to my protein shakes, porridge, and also just mixing it with water and using it on toast like I would with normal peanut butter.

      Congratulations on only having 10 lbs to lose, sounds like you have been working hard. I myself use either a nutri bullet or nutri ninja for my smoothies. A juicer is a different thing as it literally just juices and takes out all the fiber, where as a blender you just put the whole fruit and veg in and it blends it with all the fibers, making it much thicker with no wastage. This is my preferred method as I find them much more filling, therefore better for weight loss.

  7. I really love smoothies and have one almost every morning. I usually make it with banana, but also like your idea to make it with avocado. The chocolate protein pudding also looks delicious, cannot wait to try it. What is your No.1 recommendation for plant protein powder when it comes to weight loss?

    1. Hi Blanka, that’s great you have a healthy smoothie every morning. You so need to try it with avocado as it just makes it so creamy and delicious! When it comes to weight loss I would go for higher fiber protein powders, hemp and pumpkin seem to be good for this but I’m sure there are others if you check the labels. This is good because fiber keeps you full but has NO calories, how great is that? So the higher fiber the better!

  8. Another good read! I agree that vegan protein powders are better than whey protein powders! They seem to digest better and not make me as bloated, so I can carry on with a busy day! I’ve rarely made my own smoothies or protein shakes but I now have more knowledge in how to go about it, thank you!

    1. Hi Nick, yes I used to get bloated on whey protein back when I used to eat dairy, in fact, I can’t tolerate dairy at all which I finally realised after I went fully plant based. I no longer ever get bloated on this way of eating and it has changed my life, hence the reason for this website.

      Smoothies are particularly good for weight loss as they have all their fibers still in them so they fill you up. You should definitely have a go at making your own.

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