No Added Sugar Green Smoothie
This is simplicity itself: chuck some ingredients in a blender and have yourself a healthy, filling drink. With only a fraction of the sugar found in shop-bought smoothies, juices and most other cold drinks, this no added sugar green smoothie will be a hit with the whole house (and get a helping of greens into them, too).
Sometimes it can feel like as parents our only option to get our kids to eat veg is by smuggling vegetables into things we don’t normally expect to contain them. Yes, I’m talking about you, sweet-potato-black-bean-chickpea-spinach-brownies!
Now don’t get me wrong, I love finding ways to increase mine and my family’s veggie intake, and given the choice between veggies on their own or disguised in a brownie, I know which one this chocoholic would go for.
No, I’m not against the recipes. In fact, I quite enjoy some of them. What I am not totally on board with is the idea behind them: why are we hiding vegetables from our kids in the first place?
Yes, I know, veggies can be hard for some kids. But I’m constantly surprised by what my children and other kids around me will eat, especially if I put aside my own assumptions and let them give it a go without a commentary or face-pulling from me! And sometimes, it simply takes time. It took my daughter at least a dozen tries to like mushrooms (and it took me nearly 3 decades to!).
I don’t think it is bad to add extra nutrition into foods – I do it all the time (chia seeds in yogurt before bedtime is my standard extra-protein-to-keep-you-going-til-breakfast food). And there’s nothing wrong with blitzing in some hidden veg as an added bonus every now and then. But when my toddler and I make this smoothie, I let her put in the greens and we name all of the ingredients as they go in the blender. She is well aware of what goes in it, but she happily gulps it down, muttering “kale, nana” to herself as she drinks.
To be honest, this smoothie recipe is also pretty much zero effort for me – I may need to peel a bit of fruit if my daughter can’t, but she can chuck everything in the blender and press the Start button. In fact, I get told off if I try to!
And it’s a great introduction for kids (or adults) who aren’t that keen on greens – you don’t taste them at all, even though you know they are in there. And for those parents who are try to keep juice to a bare minimum, as in our household, this is such a great alternative that contains much more fibre and much less sugar! Plus all of these other benefits of kale and other greens!
So make sure to get your kids involved with this one so they see what goes into it. They can:
- use a butter/kid’s knife to chop the soft banana
- add the prepped ingredients to the blender
- choose to mix it up a little by picking out a different green or fruit or extras
- push the blender button
- taste as they go!
SO easy and quick - a perfect pick me up that is infinitely adaptable! Contains no juice or other free sugars and is vegan as well.
- 1 cup (250g) whatever greens you have on hand (spinach, lamb's lettuce, chard, kale...)
- 1 cup (250ml) liquid (water, coconut water, milk, coconut milk...)
- 1/2 banana (or keep the fruit to a minimum and swap for 1/2 an avocado for a not-so-sweet but extra creamy smoothie)
- 1 frozen chopped kiwi (or use a handful of frozen berries or other frozen fruit)
- 1 tsp coconut oil or nut butter, optional, but it adds some good fat to help absorb the nutrients from the greens and fruit, so I think it's well worth it!
- extra additions, optional (we sometimes add a tsp of chia seeds, a few pinches of ground flaxseed and/or 2 tbsp of oats, but feel free to chuck in whatever nutritious extra you want!)
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Blend the greens and liquid until smooth, then add in the rest of the ingredients with it. Serve immediately.
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Repeat with variations the next time to find your favourite blend!
Need some other healthy snack ideas? Why not have a browse of our FREE e-book: A Week’s Worth of Quick Healthy Snacks That Anyone Can Make.
Green smoothie, that one is a good start for the day
I thought this was a sugar fee green smoothie!? Its loaded with sugar! Bananas, qiwi, berries!
This is not sugar free!
Hi Sean,
I appreciate what you mean, and am sorry if you find the title of the smoothie misleading, but I repeatedly state on my website and recipes that I work with the World Health Organisation’s definition of “free sugars” for the most part (I also include dried fruit and dates for our family), making this a “sugar free” drink in that there are no “free sugars” (no added sugar, pure fruit juice, honey or syrups). I appreciate that people differ on the subject, but I also believe in the health benefits and just plain enjoyment of eating fruit on a regular basis, so we tend to eat 1-2 (3 maximum) portions of fruit every day and focus the rest of our 8-10 a day on vegetables. I have also made the effort to include good fats (coconut oil) and used whole fruits and greens for added fibre to ensure the sugars from the fruit are released more slowly into the body. Sorry if you felt misled, I do include a note to let people know of this above the recipe! You are more than welcome to try swapping out the banana for avocado and skipping the kiwi or berries and maybe sweeten with a little liquid stevia if it is too bitter as a result? Thanks for your feedback.
This is absolutely deceiving your readers. Change the title if you have any sort of conscience.
By no standards is this sugar free
Hi Angela, I’m sorry you feel deceived. I do state often on my website (and in my food philosophy) that we as a family use the word “sugar” to refer to the World Health Organisation’s 6 tsp daily recommended maximum of “free sugars”, which include sugar, syrups, honey and fruit juice (none of which are used in this smoothie). We personally also include dried fruit and dates in this, although not everyone will. We consider fresh or frozen fruit, along with all its fibre-y goodness and vitamins, to be a great thing to have a couple of portions of each day, and although it does release some natural sugar into the body, it is slowed down by the fibre and good fats in the smoothie. It is a similar scenario with carbohydrates and wholegrains, dairy, and even vegetables, which contain sugar, too. In fact, it would be hard to make anything at all that is completely “sugar free”, since some glucose is necessary for the body’s survival and so most foods are broken down into it. So anything on this website that says “sugar free” or “low sugar” is always referring to the World Health Organisation’s “free sugars” recommendations, as I let my readers know often in posts, recipes and static pages. I am sorry that you feel that has not been made clear enough in this recipe, and I will change it to read “no added sugar” to help make it clearer for you and other new readers, as I like to be transparent with my readers at all times. I hope this answers your question, and that you can better understand the labels on this website. Thanks for your feedback Angela. 🙂