So interested in trying green smoothies, but having difficulty finding either recipes that I want to try or finding some basic how-to instructions for creating my own.

I am eating low-fat vegan, and I HATE bananas. It seems every single smoothie recipe I see has either bananas (almost every recipe has bananas, in fact) or non-vegan ingredients that I'm not sure I can remove while still getting a good texture.

I'm hoping that someone with more expertise can give me some pointers or direct me to a good recipe site.

This will help solve my problem of too few calories because of the difficulty of eating a high-volume of low-calorie foods.

I just add Amazing Grass Superfood to some almond milk. Look it up. It comes in plain, berry, and chocolate. It's a concentrated green powder. It's a lot easier for me as a green drink than actually trying to blend up all of the veggies myself. Blending the veggies would be ideal, but this works for me. Sometimes I do put it in smoothies with yogurt, frozen fruit, and juice.

You can do frozen fruit (that's not bananas) and add green veggies, or you can do yogurt made from coconut milk or soy.

I'm vegan too, check out my blog for recipes. link below!

My co-worker and I are planning to start trying green smoothies next week. If, that is, I finally unpack the healthmaster blender I bought back in December; it’s still sitting in the box in a corner of my living room.

Like you, I do NOT like bananas. Here are some recipes without bananas from Victoria Boutenko’s book Green Smoothie Revolution. The number after the name is quarts yielded.

Basic Balance 1:
1 mango
1 cup kale
1 cup water

Morning Zing 2:
½ bunch dandelion greens
2 stalks celery
½ inch fresh gingerroot
2 peaches
½ pineapple

Cantaloupe Parsley 1:
3 cups cantaloupe, cubed
1 bunch fresh parsley

Dent De Lion 2:
1 bunch dandelion greens
2 mangoes
2 cups apple juice
2 pears
1 cup water

Perfectly Peachy 2:
3 peaches
1 head butter lettuce
½ pint raspberries
2 cups water

Pink and Green 2:
1 pink lady apple
1 large d’anjou pear
5 oz. frozen strawberries
3 cups red kale

Apple Green 2:
4 cups romaine lettuce
4 Fuji apples
½ cup dates, pitted
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups water

Yummerific 2:
2 cups dandelion greens
1-2 cups blackberries
2 cups tangelo juice
1 tablespoon honey (optional)

Christmas in June 2:
2 cups spinach, packed
1 mango
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only

Let us know how they turn out.

Beaka - Never heard of it, but found it online. Sounds super-healthy and looks really good. Probably a little too pricey for my single-mother-of-five-children-and-a-full-time-student-who-commutes-80-miles-a-day-without-available-public-transportation budget, but by this time next year, I'll hopefully have a new budget, driven by an actual j-o-b.

Lottie - Thanks for your suggestions. Spent some time on your blog. You're kind of amazing. I love to know that another super-busy vegan is in it with me! (Mandatory disclaimer: I am not yet a vegan - just working toward it.)

Marcia - THANKS SO MUCH for these recipes. They sound so delicious! I bought what looks like a decent blender at the thrift store today, so I think tomorrow will be Day 1 of Green Smoothieness. Hopefully, there will be many days ahead!

MMMmmmmm those smoothie recipes sound good.
I will have to try them..

My fav of the week....
3oz greek yogurt, plain
1/2 cup blueberries
handful of mint
1.5 handful spinach
thumb size piece of ginger (peeled)
10mg Ribose
packet of truvia
vanilla extract

Maybe I'm a bit crazy but I don't use recipes. I just put whatever I think will be good and whatever I have. This morning, I had a medium orange, water, 3 carrots, 1 large handful of spinach and a bit of watermelon. Other days, I'll do raspberries, kale, beets and carrots with some water. I haven't used banana yet....not because I don't like it but just because it seems like something I shouldn't eat that often. I often will put in some apple as my fruit. I've hard pineapple is really great in a green smoothie. If you use beets, you can use some of the leaves from the beets too. I also like to use parsley and fresh ginger. Happy smoothing!

The one I usually make is with a banana, but I don't see why you can't take that out.

2oz baby spinach
3/4 cup water
3oz frozen strawberries
3oz frozen peaches
2oz frozen blueberries (or about a handful)

Blend the spinach and the water first and then add the fruit, that way you don't get chunks of spinach. You can also add ice if you want it thicker. Very good and for all that have not tried a green smoothie, it does not taste like the greens, just like the fruit.

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!!!

Sophronia: I definitely understand being on a budget! I can usually find Amazing grass on amazon for about $17. One container makes 30 drinks. I actually find it more economical than making sure I have lots of frozen/fresh fruits and veggies on hand. If I do have extra stuff on hand, I make smoothies from scratch. Just do what works for you.

I do green smoothies very often. The key is to start slow about the amounts of stronger greens you add in the beginning. It could possibly upset your tummy.

You will enjoy them... so healthy... such a rush of healthy food energy!