You can put pretty much anything that you want into a smoothie, however, you should always try to consider the nutrition inside the result.
So, how do you watch your nutrition levels in your smoothies, and how do you make an apple, cucumber, and spinach smoothie?
Stick around for us to give you a heads-up on everything to do with Paleo smoothies!
What Is A Smoothie?
Smoothies are on the rise, but there are still plenty of people out there who are not familiar with them. Smoothies are delicious, fresh beverages that are made by puréeing ingredients together in a blender.
Smoothies will have a liquid base, often milk, water, yogurt, or fruit juices. While you could use ice cream, this would make the smoothie more like a milkshake.
Smoothies are different from milkshakes and normal shakes, as they are fresh, and are generally the healthiest option of the three. They are fully customizable, and you can put whatever you want in them.
However, smoothies are traditionally made with fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sometimes grains (such as oats).
Pre-made smoothies will usually contain additional sugars, however, smoothies made at home will only contain the natural sugars from the ingredients you include, unless you choose to put additional sugars into the smoothie.
What Is A Green Smoothie?
Green smoothies are a bit different from regular smoothies. At its absolute most basic, a green smoothie will contain leafy greens such as kale, or spinach with a liquid base which is often water.
They will be made with leafy greens and fruits. They are probably considered to be the healthiest of all smoothies, as they are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and protein. They are often used on detox diets or for meal replacements.
If you were to drink a green smoothie every day then this can increase the overall amount of vitamin K and iron in your body, which can help your cell production and bone health, they can also help boost your immune system too!
What Are The Health Benefits Of Green Smoothies?
We’ve looked at the overall benefits of a green smoothie, but let’s look at the individual ingredients of this specific smoothie!
It should also be noted that pretty much 100% of green smoothies will be paleo-friendly, however, it is always best to make your own at home, and that way you can always ensure your smoothies are paleo.
Benefits Of Apples
Apples contain a lot of fiber which will help your digestive system. They can also detoxify your liver, reduce your cholesterol, and help you to control your weight better, which makes them an awesome ingredient for green smoothies intended to help on a weight loss journey.
Benefits Of Spinach
Spinach contains iron and potassium which are great for bone health and your heart and blood. It also has high levels of vitamin A which can help to make your skin and hair healthier too.
Spinach is considered to be one of the best and most accessible superfoods around!
Benefits Of Cucumber
Cucumbers might just seem like water in the form of a vegetable, however, they are actually high in nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, and vitamins C and K. They are also really low in calories as well.
Their high water content also helps you to stay extra hydrated as well.
As you can see, these smoothies contain a lot of fiber vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals that will help your body cleanse from toxins, which is a part of being on a paleo diet. What smoothie would be better?
Ingredients
These are the ingredients to make a single serving for one person.
Cucumber, x1.
Medium Sized apples, x2.
Spinach, 1 cup.
Water, 2 cups.
You can also add a thickening agent if you want the smoothie to be thicker, for this we would suggest banana or avocado.
If you choose a banana, we would suggest 1 medium-sized banana. However, if you use avocado, choose half of a medium-sized avocado.
How To Make It: Step-By-Step
Step 1
Before we start blending, you need to chop up the ingredients into pieces that are easier to blend. Chop up the apple, and slice the cucumber into pieces.
If using a banana or avocado to thicken the smoothie, also chop these up.
Step 2
Make sure you have a good blender, set it up, and plug it into a power source. Then you will want to put the spinach and apple in first, these will be the hardest to blend, so start with them and one cup of water. Blend these first for a minute, or until they have combined.
Step 3
Once the spinach, apple, and first cup of water have blended, you can now add in the cucumber and the other cup of water as well as whichever thickening agent you have chosen (if you choose to put one in).
Step 4
Once all ingredients are in your blender, blend again for 1 to 2 minutes, or until all ingredients have combined and you have a consistent mixture.
Note:If you wanted to add some additional protein to your smoothie, you could include some nuts or seeds, such as flaxseeds, or chia seeds!
Overall
Green smoothies are some of the healthiest smoothies there are. They are fantastic for you and give your body all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
This apple, cucumber, and spinach smoothie is super easy to make and can be easily altered to fit your tastes.
Whether you are strict on your paleo diet, or you are more lenient, this smoothie will work brilliantly for you, and will be just the boost you need in the morning!
Hi, my name is Justin Roberts and I like to live by one major rule in life – health is wealth. And where does all health stem from? The food choices we make.
I grew up in a not-so-wealthy household that often struggled to get food on the table.
The food we did eat was cheap, holding no nutritional value at all. I’m talking frozen foods, carbs, fats, and very little fresh produce.
I am fortunate enough to have made a life for myself where the money for food is no longer an issue, and I have spent the majority of it looking into healthy foods and different diets to try.
The most notable is keto and paleo. I am also interested in only using whole foods wherever possible – call it trauma!
As a professional chef, I now create recipes surrounding these diets every day. My family are my tasters, and I strive to make my recipes as budget-friendly as possible.
I hope that you’ll find some inspiration for healthier meals from my website. I want to create a catalog of recipes that you can come back to time and time again. Enjoy!
