Green Sunshine Smoothie

Quick, easy, and delicious, this vibrantly green smoothie features the tropical flavours of mango, pineapple, banana, and fresh orange. Fruity, creamy, and sweet, with the zesty freshness of lime juice, and a subtle zing from fresh ginger, a tall glass of Green Sunshine Smoothie is sure to brighten up a dreary winter’s day (or any day for that matter).

While I love fruit, I find myself eating less fresh fruit during the winter months. I mostly snack on apples and the occasional orange, but find myself consuming much of my fruit intake in smoothie form. So every now and then, when I have an intense fruit craving - which I suppose is my body’s way of telling me that I need more of what fruit has to offer - I blend up a batch of this verdant and lush smoothie.

Featuring frozen fruit and an entire fresh orange, this luscious smoothie satisfies with a bright fruit flavour reminiscent of a tropical creamsicle. If you’re not a fan of green smoothies in general, you won’t find any grassy, green flavour here, and you will be able to happily slurp up all the nutrition that fresh greens have to offer while delighting in a harmoniously sweet and fruity flavour.

When in season, I seek out a cara cara orange for this smoothie as a special treat, which I favour for its sweet, less acidic, and mellow flavour. However, any kind of navel orange that is available to you will certainly do, and that’s what I use most of the time. If I only have unsweetened vanilla oat milk on hand (my family’s favourite), I’ll happily use that, or whatever other kind of plain unsweetened plant milk I have around - macadamia milk is our current other go to.

While this smoothie only calls for a modest amount of fresh lime juice and ginger to add an enlivening zip, I often increase both of those ingredients for an even zingier delight and you can too if you prefer a peppier smoothie, or omit them altogether if you prefer something totally mellow. If I’m in the mood to gather additional ingredients I’ll even add in a few heaping teaspoons of ground flaxseed for added fibre, or a touch of spirulina powder to increase the nutritious green factor even more. 

While making a smoothie is straightforward enough, a few tips can help your blending experience. I find that adding the liquid first, followed by the fresh fruit and spinach, and finally adding the frozen fruit allows for a smoother and continuous blend. The strength of your blender will change how long you need to blend the smoothie - start on a lower speed, increasing to the highest speed once the ingredients start to liquify and make sure you blend long enough that all of the ingredients are completely smooth, creamy, and frothy.

This smoothie contains no additional sweeteners, although you can always add a spoonful of honey or agave to increase the sweetness to your taste; certainly the sweetness of both fresh and frozen fruit can vary from season to season. Once you have blended the smoothie as directed, taste while still in the blender - if you feel the smoothie needs a little more sweetness, or a little more liquid, adjust, blend briefly again, then serve and enjoy.

I have it on recent authority that this smoothie will please even the littlest smoothie drinking connoisseurs (thank you nephew P!) and I’m sure it will add a little bit of sunshine into your life, as it does mine, while we look forward to the warmer days ahead.

Print Recipe

Green Sunshine Smoothie

Quick, easy, and delicious, this vibrantly green smoothie features the tropical flavours of mango, pineapple, banana, and fresh orange. Fruity, creamy, and sweet, with the zesty freshness of lime juice, and a subtle zing from fresh ginger, a tall glass of Green Sunshine Smoothie is sure to brighten up a dreary winter’s day (or any day for that matter).

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Servings: 3 servings approx.

Ingredients

• 2.5-3 cups milkadamia or unsweetened plant milk of preference unsweetened vanilla plant milk works great here too
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 whole orange skin, pith and seeds removed, cut into chunks
• 1 cup banana, heaping sliced, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup frozen pineapple, heaping
• 1 cup frozen mango/and or peaches, heaping
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoon ginger, heaping chopped if you have a high speed blender, or finely grated if your blender might have a little trouble with the fibrous ginger

Instructions

• Add all of the ingredients in the order listed to your blender and blend at high speed until completely smooth. Taste for sweetness, adding a touch of honey or agave if you prefer, blend briefly again and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

When made with 3 cups of plant milk this smoothie makes at least 48oz, enough for 3-4 smoothies depending on how much you like to drink. For my family of three enthusiastic smoothie drinkers, this makes 3 tall glasses of smoothie with no leftovers. Simply halve the recipe if you’re making smoothies for 2, or only want small servings.