Yet Another Clean Eating, Dairy-Free Way to Drink Your Greens This Summer
It’s no secret: I’ve been on vacation with the kids for five days, and I kid you not: A vegetable touched my lips exactly one time during that five days. Who do I think I am — Sawyer??
What did touch my lips: A billion Goldfish, pretzels, and grahams. More fruit snacks than I want to admit to. Frozen custard on a daily basis. And bacon. Everything in St. Louis has bacon in it.
I’m home and I’m ready to lighten up, starting with the introduction of actual vegetables back into my diet. Starting with this Peachy Green Energy Smoothie.
Another dairy-free creation that uses chia seeds for protein (similar to my Green Detox Smoothie, which will also be in heavy rotation this week), this refreshing smoothie has a base of green tea instead of water, for a little extra flavor, metabolism boost, and energy. Green tea has so many benefits, and I’m trying to introduce more of it into my diet instead of coffee. (Who doesn’t need a little metabolism boost??)
Uh … starting tomorrow, because today is the first day AFTER vacation and let’s be real: Coffee is the only thing getting me through.
But the mid-afternoon lift of green tea-powered energy can’t hurt either. I will have at least six more loads of laundry to do, so Peachy Green Energy Smoothie for lunch it is.
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Peachy Green Energy Smoothie
Vegan | Dairy-Free | Clean | No added sugar | Metabolism booster
Ingredients
- 12 ounces brewed green tea
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds, soaked in 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 peach (fresh, with skin on) sliced
- 1 cup frozen peach slices
- 4 cups frozen baby spinach
- Ice cubes (optional)
Instructions
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Brew 12 ounces of green tea. If you can ice it or cool it after brewing, it's preferable; otherwise, add extra ice cubes at the end.
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In a small dish, soak 2 Tbsp chia seeds in 1/2 cup water. (You will add entire contents to blender, including water.)
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Slice fresh peach, leaving the skin on. This is where all the nutrients are.
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In a blender or high-powered food processor, add brewed green tea, chia seeds, fresh peach, lemon juice and 1/2 the frozen baby spinach.
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Blend until smooth, gradually increasing the blender speed.
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Add frozen peaches, remaining half of frozen baby spinach, and extra ice cubes (if desired). Blend again, starting on low speed until frozen peaches and ice cubes are chopped. Then increase speed for smooth texture.
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Pour into glasses and serve. Makes 2 16-ounce servings.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t do caffeine, decaffeinated green tea is a great option. You’ll get the same flavor and antioxidants.
- Planning ahead and having your green tea brewed and iced before you begin would be preferable, but I never plan ahead. I brewed the tea while I soaked the chia, prepped the other ingredients, and sliced the peach. Then I added an extra handful of ice cubes at the end.
- Don’t peel the skin off your fresh peach! All of the fiber and so many extra nutrients are included in the skin. The blender will take care of the skin so you won’t notice it.
- When blending fruits and veggies into smoothies, a high-powered blender is preferable to a food processor because the resulting texture is smoother and silkier with fewer vegetable “chunks”.
- Now that I’ve converted to my entry-level Vitamix model, I can’t use anything else. You can also get one refurbished on Amazon!
- When I use my Vitamix, I start on the lowest setting (1-2) to chop the frozen chunks more finely. Then I slowly increase the speed to achieve my preferred texture, depending on the ingredients. This recipe only needed a max speed of 7 for that smooth texture.
- I’ve started pouring my smoothies into mason jars for easy transport. That way, I can put a secure lid on if I’m on the go and not worry about any spills. I use the jars with plastic lids instead of the 2-piece canning ring and band setup that comes with the jars. I find those rust and are a pain to clean. I bought this set on Amazon that includes 6 regular lids and 6 wide-mouth lids – for under $9. And I can testify they are spill-proof on my 16-ounce Ball jars as well as the wide-mouth 32- ounce Ball jars I use for salads.
Summer is the perfect time to experiment with smoothies because there is so much delicious fruit available, and lots of farm-fresh veggies too. I hit up the farmers market on Saturday morning after I work out for a selection of what looks best to me. Spoiler alert: It’s always peaches. But also a variety of greens, berries, and other local goodies.
What’s your favorite way to get veggies into your diet? Send me your best tips in the comments below or on social media with #NeverDoneWithFun! Keep following along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration for food, fitness, family and fun.
Try my green detox smoothie for a real powerhouse of vegetables! The flavor is so good, you won’t even realize you’re drinking spinach and cucumber.
Or try my watermelon-chia detox recipe for another summer-perfect detox smoothie — without the veggies! 😉
