It is hard to believe that the 2-year anniversary of the Green Monster is coming up on January 20th!
In January 2009, I felt a huge void in my life. I was unhappy with my career and I was often up late at night until 3 or 4 in the morning worrying about work. I dragged all day long and I was turning into someone I didn’t recognize anymore. I started blending green vegetables in my blender after reading about Kris Carr’s green juices. While I didn’t have a juicer, I did have a blender, and I was excited to blend my green ‘juice’ any way that I could.
In my Story of the Green Monster post, I explained:
Determined to feel alive once again, I crammed the healthiest foods into my blender and I blended my little heart out. Of course, the first few attempts looked horrific and they tasted no better. But, I didn’t care. I drank every last drop of those green monsters before I made the long commute to work each morning. The green monster not only gave me energy, but it represented something much deeper than that- inner peace and self-love. I knew that the stress I had put myself through over the past few years was nothing short of damaging to every cell in my body. I created the Green Monsters as a way to take time out for my health. Even if I knew it was going to be a hellish day, drinking my Green Monster in the morning provided me with a sense of calm in my life.
This was one of my first concoctions:
No almond milk, just kale, an English cucumber, and baby carrots. lol. It was scary to say the least!
Thankfully, my Green Monsters have improved greatly since those initial days.
On January 26, 2009, I gave my two weeks notice at my job. It was a very, very bad week for me and I was at an all-time low in my life. I drank those green monsters every single morning despite everything going on. I imagined that I was Popeye with superhuman strength. And boy did I need it.
I still receive a lot of emails and tweets from people who have just tried their first green monster. Many people have challenged themselves to drink Green Monsters in 2011 and I’m always excited to hear about other’s experiences! The most frequent message I receive is, ‘I thought they looked so gross, but they actually taste so delicious! Now I am hooked.’
I am also asked a lot what my classic go-to recipe is so I thought it would be fun to do a post on my most frequently enjoyed Green Monster recipe.
This is a recipe that I keep coming back to again and again and it never fails me.
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Classic Green Monster Smoothie
Yield
2 cups (500 mL)
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
To this day, Green Monsters are one of my favourite drinks for glowing skin and increased energy. If you are newbie, feel free to start off with baby spinach since its taste is undetectable, but I encourage you to experiment with kale, romaine lettuce, or other leafy greens as well. Just be sure to use a sturdy high-speed blender that can handle the task of blending thick greens. If your blender is on the weaker side, stick with spinach as it blends more easily.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 mL) almond milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 cup destemmed kale leaves or baby spinach
- 1 large ripe frozen banana, chopped into chunks
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 scoop of your favourite protein powder (optional)
- 2 to 3 ice cubes
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
When I am feeling a little frisky, I love to add in some powders too! I keep Navitas Maca powder, Vega Shake & Go, and Amazing Grass Wheat Grass on hand whenever the budget allows.
Yesterday I added into the classic mix: 1 tsp Maca, 1 tbsp Vanilla Almond Shake & Go, and 1/2 scoop wheatgrass powder. It was my first time trying Vega Vanilla Almond and I thought it was pretty good, but I greatly prefer the Choc-O-lot flavour. I love making a Chocolate-Mint GM using Vega’s Choc-O-Lot and some fresh mint leaves.
Add your liquid in first. This just helps the blender do its job better.
Next add in your powders, chia seeds or ground flax, and your nut butter:
Now add the greens. I use two handfuls of whatever green I have on hand. I most often use spinach, but I also like to use red or green kale now that my Vita-Mix can handle it.
Finally, add the banana. The weight helps pack all the ingredients down!
Blend away until smooth!
I added in 2 large ice cubes and blended some more.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!
I love my Glass Dharma straw.
Mmm, this one is absolutely delicious. Creamy, sweet, smooth, and loaded with nutrients!
I’m always asked how I can drink smoothies during the cold winter months and my answer is easy:
I often drink Green Monsters following my workout when I am often craving something liquid and cold.
I’m also always asked if you can taste the spinach and the answer is no. =) Kale, on the other hand…YES (unless you make it super sweet to overpower the bitter quality of the kale).
Good to the last drop!
Other Mentionables:
1) Need more encouragement to eat your veggies? Check out this article: ‘Want a Golden Glow? Don’t Bother with a Suntan- Eat Your Greens Instead.’
2) My Winter 2011 training plan is now up on my Races page. I will be talking about this in more detail soon!
3) Check out these 30 new Green Monster reader recipes on GMM.
Are you a smoothie or ‘Green Monster’ fan? What’s your favourite go-to recipe?
I drink a green monster every weekday morning on my way to work..but i add 1/2 avocado for my base since I’m allergic to banana’s and add juice instead of milk. Spinach is my greens of choice.
well congrats on the upcoming 2 year anniversary! i love your green monsters and started drinking them about a year ago because of your blog. now i cant even imagine not having greens in my smoothie! i just love them! i have one almost every morning paired with a bowl of oats!
My go-to green monster is almond milk, spinach, banana, chia seeds, and frozen berries. Yummy :).
I love your straw! Where did you find it?
I want a green monster right now!
I love green monsters- my typical ( which I have not had time to play around with yet ) is simply 1 cup almond milk, banana, and 2 handfuls of spinach. I am excited to put some PB in it! and maybe some carob??? ;)
I just found this blog through stumble upon and I have to say I cannot wait to try the Green Monster! I’ve been down for quite awhile now about my weight and want to change– better self-esteem, better ways of looking at food as a friend and not an enemy. Thank you so much for sharing your story– I watched the video “Goodbye to Obsession” and I thank for you making it. I needed to watch it– and so do so many others.
Keep up the great work! This blog has definitely become one of my faves:)
I’ve tried GM a variety of ways now (protein powders, different fruits, etc.) but the classic is still my favorite too. Even my veggie-hatin’ husband loves it.
Oh Vita Mix. How I yearn for you. Someday you will be mine.
The classics are always the best. I need to get back into the green groove!
I never thought GMs looked gross per se, but now I can honestly say that I love them so much. I even got my family to drink them. I don’t feel like my day has really started until I’ve had one. This is pretty crazy considering I used to start my day with 2 cups of coffee. Thanks Ang!
hehe, love this. i want to go back to my daily green smoothie again like last year!!
There are some really good Green Monster recipes on here, thanks guys – I want to try them all!!
GM has come a long way :)
I love Green Monsters and so do my kids (ages 6 & 2). We have them for an afternoon snack all the time in the summer. I love adding a spoonful of cocoa powder to it. We have some Chocolate Mint that I can’t kill, so we are going adding that this summer. Thanks for the idea and the great recipe!
I’m so glad you wrote this post – I’ve been meaning to try GMs but I’ve put it off because my blender is not so great… I’m going to try it now anyway! Who knows, maybe it will come out fine. Got my spinach ready to go! Or glow? ;-)
Ok ok that’s it I’m gonna make my own. We always get the store bought ones, odwalla or another brand. Been reading your blog for a couple of years & it’s high time I finally make one!
Perfect timing! I’ve been wanted to try your GM for some time, but couldn’t get past the banana (sadly, it’s my very least favorite food). This morning I finally made my first one with mango for the fruit and hemp seeds for the nut butter, and it was delightful! I added some lemon and lime juice to make it a little brighter, and tossed some sunflower seeds on top since I was eating it with a spoon. Now I get what everyone’s been raving about…
I’ve always been scared of spinach but I think I’m going to take the plunge and try this!
I’ve never made a green monster but I’ve been hearing about them for awhile now! Not gonna lie…they kind of intimidate me. I love veggies…but spinach in a smoothie? Not sure I’m tough enough for that! Haha but I’m gonna give this a shot anyway. It looks yummy…in a weird thiscouldbeawesome kind of way.
New reader by the way! I love your site. Thanks for all the great recipes and encouragement.
I just made my first Green Monster following this recipe, and it was amazing! I will definitely be consuming these regularly. :)
I used iced decaf green tea in mine (homemade) in place of milk, and LOVE it.
I absolutely Love green monsters! I have them ALL the time! i have recently been on a kick and have to drink them with some hot tea to stay warm! Adding Frozen cherries is my favorite addition by far with some chocolate protein powder! But classic and simple GM’s make me feel so clean and healthy! <3