A low sugar green vegetable smoothie bowl made without fruit and packed with protein. It’s surprisingly sweet and delicious! Dairy free, vegan, paleo.
One of the best things about whipping up a smoothie is that generally, it’s a pretty forgiving thing to create. It’s not like making a cake; if you’re out of something for your typical smoothie you can find a substitute pretty easy. No spinach? Got some leftover kale. No berries? Chopped up a plum. Frozen peas – why not? (I’ve tried them, really they work pretty well!). But, experimentation aside, it’s nice to have a go-to, a default option. One that you know doesn’t run the risk of turning out like swamp juice.
THIS ONE is mine. I adore it. I eat this green vegetable smoothie more than any other smoothie, by far. I almost always have everything I need for this smoothie ready to go, so I know that when I’m pressed for time, I can easily whip this up for a quick meal.
As this green vegetable smoothie recipe is fruit-free (unless you add fruit on top), you do need to use a sweet-tasting liquid and/or protein powder to give the recipe a little sweetness. Coconut milk or coconut water are ideal for the liquid, but you could also use rice, oat or a nut milk. For the protein, my default for this smoothie is usually a vanilla-flavoured protein powder e.g. SunWarrior Warrior Blend Vanilla Protein but you could use any brand that you prefer the flavour of. Please look for an organic, natural protein that doesn’t contain a lot of weird chemical additives. (If you do normally use a neutral-flavoured protein, you can add a few drops of stevia to balance the flavour.) A few more ace green vegetable smoothie tips:
- Keep chopped up zucchini and/or cucumber in zip lock bags in the freezer for easy smoothie-making, which is what I do – some frozen veg is actually better because it makes the smoothie thicker, cooler and creamier. I’ve also used store-bought frozen spinach in this.
- Tip: pre-prep individual freezer bags (i.e. one bag per serve of smoothie veggies) so you can blitz this up in no time.
- If you are eating this as a meal, which I often do, it really does pay to add some quality carbohydrates on top to keep you fuller for longer and make this a macronutrient-balanced dish. If you need some muesli or granola inspiration try out one of these: Cinnamon and Ginger Granola, Double Buckwheat Toasted Muesli, Grainfree Cacao and Hazelnut Granola or Festive Chocolate Buckwheat Granola.
Green Vegetable Smoothie Bowl (no fruit)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or water (carton, not canned)
- 1 cup zucchini, copped (ideally frozen)
- 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
- 1 handful baby spinach
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I like Sunwarrior Warrior Blend)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2-3 tsp almond butter (or any variety)
- 1 tsp maca powder (optional)
- Granola, muesli, or banana (to provide carbs)
- Chopped nuts and/or seeds (to provide crunch and fats)
- Berries, cacao nibs, bee pollen, etc. (for toppings)
Instructions
- Pop the chia seeds into a glass or mug and pour over the coconut milk/coconut water, then give it a little stir. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to absorb some of the liquid and form a gel.
- Place all other smoothie ingredients into the jug of your blender. Pour over the chia gel mix.
- Blend until you have a thick, creamy smoothie. If your blender won't pulse, add in a splash more liquid just to get it going (you can use more coconut milk/water or just add water).
- Scoop the smoothie in to a bowl and top with some crunchy, chewy carbohydrates, seeds and whatever else you like.
Notes
Don’t kid yourself… this is a “sweet” smoothie. It has banana, coconut milk, and even berries if you use the topping. There’s GOT to be a smoothie recipe somewhere that has no sweetener in it… if only I could find it.
Peter Piper
Why “carton” coconut milk as opposed to “canned”?
Hi Debbie, I recommend ‘carton’ as in the type of coconut milk you would use in coffee, smoothies, for a drink in some form. The canned coconut milk is usually much thicker and heavier and when you use a lot of that I think it isn’t as nice in a smoothie as you need so much of it and it throws the balance of the smoothie off. 🙂
This is really a great recipe for a fruit free smoothie.
Tastes pleasant, even without any nut butter.
Thank you
Thanks so much for your positive feedback Mia! This is still a favourite of mine too 🙂
Are the cucumberd & Zucchini suppose to be peeled?
I don’t peel them Lydia, but you could peel them if you prefer! 🙂
Hi Lydia, no I don’t peel either of them!
Thank you so much, I am doing an anti-candida/Sibo diet and cannot have fruit – I miss these types of foods so I’m actually looking forward to breakfast (or anytime) for the first time in a while. I’m sure it will be delicious (I’ll add stevia or monk fruit sugar if necessary).
Thanks for your lovely comment Lynn! Stevia or monk fruit is a good choice to sweeten things up if you are going fully sugar free 🙂 Lots of protein powders use stevia which is what makes this smoothie bowl sweet.
I am so hooked on this amazing smoothie!!! It makes me feel incredible every single time I have it. I am allergic to bananas, so it really could not be more perfect for me. Thank you for sharing your wonderful, nutritious, delicious, and creative mix… I surely would not have come up with it on my own 🙂
Dear Laura – thank you SO much for this wonderful comment! I have this smoothie a few times a week at least, it’s one of my absolute favourite things. To know that you feel so good from it makes me so happy 🙂 I am so glad you like it!
This looks amazing!
Thank you so much James! This smoothie is one of my all time favourites 🙂
I’ve been making veggie smoothies for years. Here are my tips http://earthlychow.com/ultimate-guide-making-fresh-healthy-smoothies
Thank you for sharing Anita 🙂
Love the look of this smoothie bowl! Those colours. Bookmarked for tomorrow’s breakfast 🙂
Thank you so much, Sus! This is honestly my favourite smoothie bowl ever, I never get tired of it 🙂 I hope you enjoy it! Monique x