Pear Crisp Green Smoothie

Last week I was in Denver, filming our next 30-day challenge and I stayed in an adorable little cottage that I found on Airbnb. It turned out the cottage was owned by some friends of friends, which was a total bonus! They were absolutely awesome people, and they loaned me their Vitamix to use while I was there – which as you can see I made good use of!

If you love pears and apples and Fall and Winter flavors, you are going to love this green smoothie.

If you’re wondering what the best blender to buy is, I can definitely say that the Vitamix or the Blendtec will allow you to create the most smooth and creamy blends out of the things you never thought you would drink (green smoothies) and also be a powerful, versatile kitchen tool you can use for all kinds of other recipes (the links I provided are for the refurbished blenders, which is an awesome way to save some money, and get a great machine)!

Pear Crisp Green Smoothie

Yield: 1 serving
You will need: blender, knife, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons

• 2 cups mixed baby kale and spinach (or any dark, leafy green)
• 1 pear
• 1 apple
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 1 – 1/2 cups almond milk – plain, unsweetened
• Garnish: hemp seeds and raspberries

So why are these ingredients so great together, and what can they do for your body?

I talk a lot about the health benefits of the phytonutrients found in our ingredients, but today I want to tell you why I generally opt for smoothies over juice.

Drinking green smoothies is an excellent way to get a dose of healthy fiber. This particular recipe will give you a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber – both an important part of a healthy digestive system.

Fiber will help you:

1. Maintain healthy and regular bowel movements – including fiber in your diet will decrease constipation and improve your bowel health and function.
2. Lower cholesterol levels – and check out my post about eating whole eggs. If you were one of the people who was worried about your cholesterol, that’s a good post to read! Soluble fiber – found in apples, citrus, oats, peas, beans, barley, psyllium, and carrots  – can help lower our total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein (the LDL, or bad cholesterol) levels.
3.  Improve your heart health: fiber consumption has been shown to reduce blood pressure and inflammation. I want a healthy heart!
4. Control blood sugar levels by slowing down how quickly your body absorbs the sugar. A healthy diet that includes fiber can help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. This is so important to know – because controlling your blood sugar is a great way to prevent unnecessary weight gain. Knowing that including fiber in your diet daily can help maintain blood sugar levels and prevent sneaky weight gain is an awesome motivator for getting that daily green smoothie in!
5. Maintain and achieve a healthy weight: this is kind of awesome. And when I say “healthy weight” that’s totally subjective to your goals. It will help you dump excess fat from your body.

Here’s how that works: your green smoothies are just bursting with healthy nutrients and fiber, and will make you feel full longer. The energy from them will last longer and be more steady than drinking espresso.

A lot of people ask me “is your recipe for one serving or two?” It’s for ONE.

If you dumped all the smoothie ingredients on a  plate, you’d have a decent sized salad, right? Add a scoop of protein powder or nutrient dense hemp seeds and you’ve got a complete meal that will keep you satisfied and full for a few hours. Eat half of it, and you’ve got half the energy.

Another note about high-fiber smoothies – they’re going to help you reduce your calorie intake (if you’re trying to lose weight) without having to worry about the calorie count because they have fewer calories for the same volume of food – since their composition is made up largely of fiber.

Blending your greens and whole fruit helps pulverize the stalks, leaves, and skin of the plants so you can get all the benefits of fiber in your system,  but still enjoy the texture and taste of your smoothie – win, win, win!

Be sure to pick up a copy of  the 30-Day Challenge Meal Plan, with 2 new delicious smoothies every week!