Lemon Green Smoothie

I’m a big fan of cold pressed green juices, but sometimes I want to get my fiber in along with the goodness of greens.

Lately I’ve been making this giant blended green smoothie in the morning and it gives me such good energy. The trick I’ve found to cutting the intense and often bitter flavor of greens like kale and spinach, is to add a whole lemon- skin and all. The tartness of the lemon takes away all the bite of the greens, in my opinion- another random and welcomed side effect I’ve noticed is that the lemon skin in the smoothie makes your mouth feel super fresh and clean.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Big handful of baby spinach

4 leaves of kale ( I usually use tuscan kale)

1 small lemon or 1/2 a large lemon

4 stalks of celery

2 small cucumbers or 1/2 a large cucumber

1/4 green apple

1/2 a banana

1 heaping tablespoon spirulina

2 to 3 cups of water

ice for blending

1. First, add the spinach, kale, and 2 cups of water to your high speed blender and blend on high. I like to get the greens completely blended and pulverized before adding other ingredients so that it doesn’t end up chunky.
2. Next, add in the lemon (wash before and use organic since you’re eating the peel), and blend on high again.
3. Finally, add remaining ingredients: celery, cucumber, green apple, banana, spirulina, and a handful of ice. Feel free to add more water as needed until smoothie is completely blended and at your desired consistency.

*Feel free to omit banana + green apple for a purely green/fruit free smoothie.