Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie

Name: Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk; 1 ripe banana, frozen; 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen; 1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach; 1/4 cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds); 2 tbsp (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds); optional: 1/2 scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + 1/4 cup (60ml) water

A large glass of Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie surrounded by key ingredients: spinach, pumpkin seeds, bananas, hemp seeds.

This Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie is the perfect morning pick-me-up to get the day started off right. The mix of natural sugars, vitamins, and minerals from the banana + mango + spinach combo really help to perk you up while the healthy fats and protein from the pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts keep you feeling satiated.

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🥬 Nutrition
🧾 Ingredients
🔪 Directions
🔀 Substitutions
📖 Recipe

I used to be a total oatmeal girl when it came to breakfast. If you follow Garden of Vegan on tumblr, you might remember that I ate oatmeal all the time, like pretty much every single day.

While I still love oatmeal, for some reason I just don't have much of an appetite first thing in the morning anymore. Since skipping breakfast is simply not an option for me (it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll be starving and grumpy 2 hours later) green smoothies have become my everyday go-to breakfast. Green smoothies are seriously the perfect early breakfast meal.

Not only has this Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie saved my breakfasts, they've also taken the place of my morning caffeine addiction. I used to drink 1-2 cups of coffee with my breakfast every morning. But now I've found that this green smoothie gives me the same sort of boost that caffeine does, without any negative side effects.

I absolutely love having a big green smoothie first thing in the morning, it makes me feel awake and energized for the day without the crash a couple of hours later. I mean, how can you not feel good after downing 2+ servings of fruits and vegetables before 10am? Not to mention the loads of wonderful nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Another awesome thing about green smoothies? They don't have to be all about fruits and vegetables. Adding other foods like nuts, seeds, and grains creates a smoothie that can hold it's own as a meal and is truly satisfying. Pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts add a nice boost of protein and fat to this quick and healthy breakfast. Give it a try and see how you feel!

Green smoothie ingredients layered in a glass. — This powerful green smoothie is high in calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C, and E.

🥬 Nutrition

Almond milk: Unfortified almond milk is a good source of vitamin E & calcium, many varieties are often fortified with vitamins A, D, & B12, riboflavin, & zinc.

Banana: A great source of vitamin B6, bananas also contain moderate amounts of potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.

Mango: High in vitamin C & A and contains moderate amounts of vitamins E, K, B6 & B9 in addition to potassium and copper.

Baby spinach: Loaded with vitamin K (1 cup provides over 180% of your recommended daily intake) as well as vitamins A & C.

Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium.

Hemp hearts: Packed with high quality protein and a great source of essential fatty acids.

Source: nutritiondata.self.com and wikipedia.org

🧾 Ingredients

1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk
1 ripe banana, frozen
½ cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen
1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (Pepita seeds)
2 tablespoon (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
optional: ½ scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + ¼ cup (60ml) water

Supplies: a blender or an immersion blender + tumbler

Dietary Requirements: Gluten free, Soy free, Nut free option, No sugar added, Raw

🔪 Directions

In a blender (or large tumbler if you're using an immersion blender) layer the spinach, banana, mango, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Add the almond milk and blend until smooth. I use a cheap 15$ immersion blender and I blend this smoothie for about 2 minutes (long enough to blend the pumpkin seeds really really smooth.) This recipe makes 1 large smoothie (2 cups - 500ml).

Left: Smoothie ingredients layered in a glass. Right: Smoothie after blending. — The Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie: before and after blending. This smoothie provides a big dose of brightly coloured orange and green fruits and vegetables.

🔀 Substitutions

For a nut free option, substitute the almond milk with a certified nut free oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.

For a higher protein option: Add a scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder and/or substitute the almond milk with a high protein non-dairy milk such as soy or hemp milk. This smoothie contains approx. 13g of protein when made with almond milk, substituting it with soy milk will add an additional 6g of protein. Adding protein powder will add about 6-15g of protein (depending on the brand and amount of protein powder you use.)

To make a variation of this green smoothie without banana, substitute the banana with ⅔ cup of frozen mango or frozen peaches.

Smoothie in a glass surrounded by key ingredients: spinach, pumpkin seeds, bananas, hemp seeds. — 13 grams protein | 9 grams fibre (when made with almond milk)

As with any smoothie recipe, feel free to experiment with the ingredients.

When it comes to smoothies there's rarely a mistake that you couldn't fix by playing around with the ratios a little bit. If your smoothie's too thin, add more frozen fruit. If it's too thick, add more liquid.

If it's too sweet, add a splash of water. If not sweet enough, blend in a couple of pitted dates or your favourite natural sweetener. Happy blending!

Love smoothies? Here are some of our favourites: The Best Green Smoothie, Carrot Sunshine Smoothie, and our PB & Banana Iced Mocha Smoothie.

📖 Recipe