Mango Spinach Green Smoothie

This past week I decided to work on some new smoothie creations. I've been wanting to try green smoothies for awhile now because I keep seeing photos of them on instagram and in magazines that look delicious. I have tried throwing a handful of kale into my blender before, and the taste was  overwhelmingly not good, so my expectations were not high for this experiment. 

A few things I've learned:

1. I just don't like kale. Not in a salad, blender, steamed, sauteed. Do not like.

2. Green smoothies have a lot of texture - add coconut as a topping/garnish instead of blending.

3. You only need a tiny bit of ginger...1 thin lil slice will do it! 

*The two ingredients I knew I wanted to include for sure were mangos and spinach. Typically I use lots of berries in my smoothies but I wanted to try something different. Also, I'm on a big ginger and coconut kick, so I was hoping to incorporate those as well. 

1. My first one turned out delicious which is probably why I continued making variations of it all week. It was sweet, rich, and had a LOT of texture. I've blended apples before and when the skin is left on, it leaves little bits in the smoothie which normally I don't like, but I didn't mind it in this. I used 1/2 apple, 1/2 banana, 1 cup spinach, too much coconut and ginger, 1 cup almond milk, 2 TBSP PB, sprinkled cinnamon on top. I liked it but new it could be better!

 2.Had to throw in some kale. I've been determined to like it, but it leaves a weird, hot, fuzzy feeling in my mouth EVERY TIME. Even in smoothie form. I thought maybe frozen kale would be good because I use frozen fruit and it turns out delicious....bleh. This version would have been great otherwise - I swapped the apple for kiwi and a few strawberries.

3. My favorite Mango Green Smoothie to date! 3/4 cup frozen mango and pineapple, 1/2 a pear, 1 cup spinach, 1/4 of a large green bell pepper, 1/2 banana, 1 tiny slice of ginger, 1 cup almond milk, 2 TBSP PB. It was a little thick so I added 2 ice cubes and cold water until it was the perfect consistency for me. Topped with 1 TBSP cinnamon coconut flakes. This had a very mild taste - sweet, peanutbuttery, not too much texture....really delicious. If you're new to green smoothies---start with this one!

This smoothie packs in a LOT of fuits/veggies and in my opinion is best for a meal replacement, vs suppliment. You'll be plenty full, trust me!

Enjoy!!!