A dairy free strawberry orange green smoothie perfect for breakfast on the go or a sneaky veggie infused side dish for kids at meal time.
If your kids are like mine, they turn their noses up at vegetables. Every chance I get, I sneak veggies to them without their knowledge. My favorite, most liked way to do that is with a smoothie. This strawberry orange smoothie recipe (much like all smoothie recipes on this site) came to me during hot dog dinner night. I needed something as a quick side dish that would be received with happiness.
A banana free green smoothie
There’s no hate for bananas here. It’s just that they fly off the counter like hot cakes in this house so they are never around. By replacing the banana with an avocado and a natural sweetener (honey or maple syrup), you can achieve a creamy sweet smoothie without a banana.
Is this green smoothie good for you?
Not all green smoothies are created equal. If you are drinking a smoothie full of refined sugar, the line gets a little blurred when you start throwing around the word healthy. But this smoothie recipe is refined sugar free and loaded with vegetables and simple ingredients.
- Carrots: Carrots include a healthy dose of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium to name a few. Though carrots have a reputation (or a wive’s tale) for improving vision, they also may help regulate blood sugar (source), which is pretty neat.
- Celery: Celery is all the rage right now. And with good reason. It’s full of fiber and includes generous amounts of vitamins A, K and C and includes minerals such as iron and magnesium to name a few. Celery has over 20 anti-inflammatory compounds (source).
- Avocado: Avocado contains healthy fats (oleic acid) thought to reduce inflammation, more potassium than a banana, includes a good dose of fiber, comes with folate and a bunch of vitamins like B5, B6, E and K.
- Strawberries: Strawberries are loaded with vitamin C and fiber and include a nice dose of potassium. They are also anti-inflammatory.
- Oranges: Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C as well as fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
- Spinach: Spinach is a great source of iron, calcium, fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A. It works so well in smoothies because it generally isn’t noticed other than it’s bright green color.
How to make this smoothie into a protein shake
The best way is to add a scoop or two of Vital Proteins Collegen Peptides. Costco recently started carrying this a bit cheaper than Amazon. It’s full of amino acids and protein and doesn’t alter the flavor of whatever you are adding it to.
How to make a smoothie into a dinner side dish
The first step is to ignore the rules for normal. This is a totally acceptable thing. Most kids (and adults) love smoothies and let’s be real, not every night we can make our family meals with lavish edible vegetables full of nutrition that everyone is excited to eat. Sometimes, it’s back up meal night and while that hot dog is heating, just throw all your smoothie ingredients in the blender. Blend it up, pour it out, add water and soap to the blender, blend that up, rinse and leave to dry. Super easy.
How do I get my kids to drink green smoothies?
The trick is to hide the fact that it’s green. If your kids won’t drink drink things, these reusable squeeze pouches are the best. Your kids won’t be able to see the liquid inside. So they start drinking and keep going without noticing they are drinking something green. If there are leftovers, you can freeze the smoothie inside the squeasy and just leave it out to thaw a bit before drinking. My kids love to do this in the summer. Squeasies also don’t spill. My four year old drinks his water all day from the 16 oz size.
Or add the smoothie to Popsicle molds and freeze!
Do you ever feed your family a smoothie as a side dish? What’s your favorite smoothie recipe?
Strawberry Orange Green Smoothie
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A dairy free strawberry orange green smoothie that’s paleo, vegan and perfect for breakfast on the go or a sneaky veggie infused side dish for kids at meal time.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 small carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 handful of spinach (about 1–1.5 cups)
- 1/2 large avocado or 1 full small avocado
- 2 tablespoons cashews
- 1 Navel orange
- 2 cups frozen strawberries (about 16 whole strawberries)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup for vegan)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high speed blender in order listed.
- Blend for 60-90 seconds, until smooth and enjoy!
Notes
If there is any smoothie leftover, pour into Popsicle molds and freeze for healthy Popsicles (my kids’ favorite) or add to an ice cube tray, freeze and add to blender with some almond milk the next time you want a quick smoothie.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: high speed blender
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 255
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.5 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: dairy free strawberry orange smoothie, vegetable smoothie, green smoothie, dairy free smoothie, vegan green smoothie
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