Vitamix Recipe | Kale Apple Green Smoothie
Vitamix's Simply Blending, Quick + Easy Whole-Food Recipes for Every Meal. Kale Apple Green Smoothie. Photo taken by BareTherapi.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Vitamix. I purchased this Vitamix with my own money and the views expressed in this article regarding the Vitamix blender and the recipe are entirely my own. Enjoy!
It's been a long time since I've made a fruit and vegetable green smoothie. I've honestly completely removed them from my diet for six months. That's hard to believe because I was the smoothie queen. As a former vegetarian, smoothies drinking smoothies became a second-nature food option and I would incorporate them any chance I got! But I must admit, within the past two years, I became jaded with smoothies. They no longer excited me, and this could be because I simply got comfortable and started making the same smoothie over and over again, and I eventually removed them from my diet this year.
But I’m ready to start drinking smoothies again! Within the past month, I've been having mad cravings for fresh smoothies and began to miss them. Since I was so bored with my favorite daily smoothie, I decided to try something new. I have many recipe books around the house, especially juice and smoothie recipe books. So, I decided to grab one in an attempt to spark my love for smoothies again!
Photo taken by BareTherapi.
The recipe book I grabbed was Vitamix's Simply Blending, Quick + Easy Whole-Food Recipes for Every Meal. This recipe book was included with my Vitamix Ascent (A3500) when I made the purchase. For smoothie enthusiasts, I recommend this high-powered blender; however, any blender will suffice. But enough about the blender, you came for the recipe!
I wanted to start with a green smoothie that wasn't a complete sugar bomb. So, I chose Vitamix Apple Kale Smoothie. This smoothie has 8 grams of sugar per cup. Since I planned to drink this smoothie throughout the week this sugar amount isn't that bad considering the total amount of sugar I eat per day. This recipe serves 3 with a total prep and blend time of 10 minutes, not bad at all! I specifically chose this smoothie because the ingredients were different from what I typically eat. My tastebuds craved something green, and fresh, but not too sweet. So, let's get to it!
Vitamix' Recipe
1/2 Cup (120 m) water
1 Cup (150g) green grapes
1/2 Orange, peeled and seeded
1/2 green apple, halved and seeded
2 cups (130g) kale
2 cups (260g) ice cubes
Courtney’s Modified Recipe
2 1/2 Cups water, split room temperature and cold
1 1/2 Cup green grapes
1 Orange, peeled (not seeded)
1 large Granny Smith apple
2 Cups
I created a slightly modified version of the smoothie. I increased the quantity of the ingredients and eliminated the ice, as I wanted to have the smoothie throughout the week, and I don't prefer very cold smoothies. So, here's my modified version:
This smoothie tasted delightful. It was a blend of fresh and tart, with a hint of sweetness. The orange added the freshness, the kale and granny smith apple added the tartness and the grapes added just enough sweetness. However, the star of this smoothie was the green grapes, as it's a stand-alone fruit that can give a smoothie both a sweet and tart taste all in one. I may be a bit biased, as red grapes are one of my favorite fruits I often eat. Grapes taste great in a smoothie and pack a nutritional punch, given the amount of antioxidants, water, fiber, and potassium. All of which can help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and relieving constipation. This is a tasty smoothie I used this week to kickstart my day or eat as a mid-day snack.
Due to its nutritional content and limited amounts of sugar per cup, I give this smoothie a 4 out of 5 stars. Since I'm on a quest to add smoothies (and juices) back into my diet, I'll be trying a variety of recipes and sharing them with you all.
If you want tips on how to build your smoothies, check out my blog post 5 Tips for Building a Healthy Nutritional Smoothie.
Until next time, be true, balanced, and well.