Drink Your Greens: Double Green Tea Smoothie Recipe

By: A Guest Writer

Green smoothies are having something of a moment. There’s a reason why these brightly hued drinks have been dominating your social media feeds: they’re an easy way to increase your intake of green vegetables (and the corresponding nutrients that come with them). Smoothies are easy breakfasts for those of us on the go, and by blending greens with more traditional breakfast foods like fruit, consuming greens for breakfast becomes instantly more palatable.

What’s the Health Hype?

Meanwhile, in the same corner of the rainbow, green tea has also been enjoying the spotlight. High in flavonoids and catechins, both of which function as antioxidants, green tea is rapidly becoming the drink of choice for the health conscious. Antioxidants can prevent free radicals from forming in your body, and can therefore slow or even prevent cell damage. Catechins in particular have been linked to anti-cancer activity, but more research is needed to determine the extent of their use.
Green tea has also been linked to heart-health benefits and boosting the immune system. There has been discussion that consuming green tea has a correlation with reduced weight gain, but more research is needed to fully explore the potential link.
I love both green smoothies and green tea, and inspiration struck when I realized that I could combine the two. Because some might find green tea just a touch bitter, the trick is to combine the drink with sweeter fruit. The kind of fruit you use depends on your personal preference, and how married you are to the smoothie remaining green. If you like the green color, try honeydew melon. If the color is less important to you, enjoy berries (blueberries are my personal favorite) or mango.

Double Green Tea Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brewed green tea (chilled or room temperature)
1 tablespoon nut butter of choice
2 cups spinach, loosely packed
1 medium to large banana, frozen (note: prior to freezing banana, remove peel and break into chunks for easier blending)
1/2 cup fruit of choice

Preparation:
You’re probably thinking, it’s a smoothie recipe, how much method can there really be? Well, there’s not much -- but don’t go just tossing everything in the blender. First, pour the tea inside the blender. This is done so that you can use your blender’s measurement markings. Nothing throws a smoothie off faster than the wrong amount of liquid!
Next, toss in the nut butter. Add the spinach. Finally, on top of everything, add the frozen banana and other fruit. The weight of the fruit will help keep the spinach from flying around the blender and evading the blades.
Blend up and enjoy!

Photos are courtesy of the author.