By now, I hope my blog expresses my belief that food should taste great and make you feel good. I insist that my recipes meet those qualifications. I’m not the type to stomach a shot of nasty wheatgrass just because it’s nutritious. Why should I let something that doesn’t taste good pass my lips when there are so many delicious, healthy options around?
I took a chance with this smoothie when I found it on Whole Family Fare. I’m not big on smoothies—they always leave me craving a crunchy snack—but I was in the mood for a detoxifying, guilt-free treat. Plus, Megan said it’s the most delicious combination ever. I was intrigued.
I downsized Megan’s recipe, made a few adjustments including the addition of orange juice, and ended up with a green concoction that I crave day and night. Case in point: I drank the smoothie in the top photo as part of a late dinner, and the smoothie in the bottom photo the very next day with breakfast.
I call it the Green Machine. Just cause.
Green Machine Smoothie
- Author:
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blender
- Diet: Vegan
A surprisingly delicious, detoxifying smoothie made with green apple, kale, cilantro and ginger.
Ingredients
- 1 granny smith apple (preferably organic), cut into big pieces or one pear
- 2 cups of kale (pull leaves from two stalks to make two cups) or 2 cups spinach
- 1 lime (juiced or remove the seeds and add the flesh, too) or one lemon
- 1 small handful of cilantro (pull the leaves from the stalks)
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons ginger (mine came from a jar but you can grate fresh ginger instead)
- ⅓ cup chopped frozen banana (entirely optional, add if you want a more creamy texture)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and serve with a straw.
Notes
- Yields about 12 ounces, so it makes one large smoothie or two small.
▸ Nutrition Information
The combination of citrus, cilantro and ginger gives this smoothie a refreshing zing. Based on rough calculations, the smoothie comes in at about 200 calories, with 11 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, over 700% of the Vitamin A and 260% of the Vitamin C you need for a day, and a long list of other vitamins.
Soon after becoming a green machine addict, recipes for green smoothies started popping up all over the place. It seems like all my favorite food bloggers are falling for detoxifying miracle juice this spring. Michelle of Une-Deux Senses makes hers with spinach, bosc pear, orange juice and honey. Taylor of Sterling Style loves Joy the Baker‘s version with kale and spinach, pear, frozen banana and almond milk, which was inspired by Shutterbean. If that’s not enough, here’s an entire book full of green smoothies.
How do you feel about green smoothies? Repulsed? Cautious? Addicted? Do tell!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Kelsey at Happyolks
Love the addition of the cilantro! I haven’t done that with my green smoothies or in juicing yet. Terrific idea. How do I feel about green smoothies? Definitely addicted. I’ve been doing pumpkin, strawberry, kale/spinach every morning for like the last two weeks. I throw in some vegan protein/vitamin supplement and whoa. Morning is made!
Diana
I LOVE LOVE LOVE green smoothies. I first read about them last year from Angela at Oh She Glows. I haven’t been brave enough to try different recipes yet – mine just calls for spinach, banana, cantaloupe, almond milk, and ice! I’m scared to try kale in it. I love your recipe though so I’ll definitely be trying that soon!
Jen
This drink looks so yummy and healthy :)
niki*
I just got a Vitamix so I’ve been happily blending away! I haven’t tried kale yet in my smoothies… that will have to be on the list for my next grocery trip. Mine are
slightlymuch less green though bc I’m wussy and add so much fruit. Sometimes they look like mud. Not so pleasant. I also add greek yogurt… it helps make the smoothie more filling.Mindi
Oh my gosh, thank you SO much for sharing this! I have been in search of a great green smoothie and this is it :) *favoriting this post now!*
Joanna goes vegan
All the green goodness enclosed in a lovely smoothie :-)
Kris
This looks delicious! I love cilantro but I never thought to but it in my smoothie. What a genius idea!
You have a really beautiful blog going on here! Thanks for stopping by Munchin with Munchkin!
Heather
That top photo is perfection! Sadly, I’ve never had more than a sample of a green machine. I really need to get a blender now that summer’s coming up!
Lindsay C
I am glad I found this! I have been wanting to try a good green shake! This one looks delish!
:)
janet
I made this today while feeling under the weather, not wanting to cook or drink anything with soy, and it was great! Mine was super lumpy, but I didn’t care. Great flavours and good pick-me-up with the citrus and ginger. :)
kate
Hooray! I’m so glad to hear you like it. Everything’s better with citrus and ginger, if you ask me!
Adrian
Thank you so much for posting this recipe and post! Can’t wait to try it!
Pixie
Made this, I can’t even remember where I got the link to this, but it looked amazing. I made it and it was undrinkable.. I mean it was like swallowing foam with small pieces of food. Mine looks the same as above.. Anyway I strained it and it was semi drinkable. Will be sticking to my regular green smoothies.
kate
I’m sorry to hear that! I wonder why it didn’t turn out well. I didn’t like it the first time I tried it because I used too much cilantro, but now I love them.
Jeanette
this looks delicious!! :)
Christine
I cannot wait to try this. I have been drinking green smoothies, nearly daily for a couple of years and this looks like a great combo. I am definitely addicted to green smoothies; they give me so much energy!
Amy
Cilantro, kale, spinach with mango, papaya, coconut milk and ice. YUM. This one is for mommy. The kids like a blueberry and banana combo with greens. It hides the green color which can kind of turn them off. I’ve started feeding my kids liquid salads daily. What a guilt buster!! My kids are getting so many more greens in their diet now that I finally figured out this fantastic trick.
kate
Oh, your green smoothies all sound great! I’m glad your kids love them. I was an incredibly picky eater when I was little. Definitely would have benefited from some green smoothies!
Patricia
My favorite is 1/3 – 1/2 a cuke, 1/2 avacado, juice of 1/2 pink grapefruit (or a whole one if small), juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon, any green you want (I do spinach and sometimes kale), and 1/3 can coconut milk. Love it. Once I had a taste for celery and threw some in and it was great.
Susan
So I just tried to make this smoothie…maybe you need a vitamix? The flavor combination was delicious but it was a very unfortunate flaky green applesauce texture.
I took a third out and reblended it with more juice and some banana just to try and smooth it out and turn it into a liqued. Still a rather uncomfortable texture but the flavor was great!
kate
Hi Susan, thanks for your input! I agree that frozen banana would be a great addition and lend a creamier texture. I’ll definitely try that next time.
Genna
Ice helps.
Rainy Kaye
I love the bottled green juices (Naked, Odwalla), but haven’t tried making a green smoothie at home yet. That will be changing soon ;) Thanks for a great sounding recipe.
laura
Smoothie was yummy!! i added a bit of unflavored yogurt, almond milk, and pineapple…..next time will only add the lime juice…i jst cant stand the lime rind =\
Nicole
Yummy! This is a great green smoothie! I added 5 fresh leaves of mint to the recipe and it enhanced the freshness! It is fantastic. Thanks
Chase
This smoothie is really yummy! Even my husband likes it which is rare when kale is involved. I added a whole banana and coconut water and have made it every day for a week. Thanks for another great recipe!
Kate
Awesome! Glad you’re enjoying this smoothie, Chase!
Nkechi Esan
I just made your smoothie today. It was delicious!! My 9 month old daughter seemed interested and when I offered her some, she drained a third of my cup! Her first taste of kale and cilantro! Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
Wow, that is awesome! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Ellie Macdonald
Yummy! This is green smoothie awesome! My favorite green smoothie material is all kinds! thanks for sharing…
★★★★★
Von
This smoothie looks interesting, never thought of using cilantro, I also have not tried kale in a smoothie yet (very hard to find in Chile) so I would need to use spinach. My favourite green smoothie to start the day with is 1/2 cucumber, 1 apple (or pear), 1 medium carrot, 1 big handful of spinach, 1/2 avocado, 1 Tspn chai seeds and 120ml cold water. Yummy start to each day!!!!
Kate
Thank you, Von! Your smoothie sounds tasty!
Melissa R
Just tried this but with some adjustments. Instead of orange juice I put in chunks of pineapple and mint replaced the cilantro. It came out thicker than the picture, but that’s cause I know I added extra banana to the recipe. I might thin it out with some almond milk or coconut water next time. Very delicious especially after the holidays!
Thank you!
Melissa
Carole
Hi Kate. Thanks for a perfectly balanced green sommthie recipe. I just made it and love it.
Kate
Great, Carole! Thanks for the comment.
Kim
Good healthy smoothie. I added a few frozen strawberries and a couple ice cubes for extra flavor and to make it cold!
★★★★
Aidan
Do any of these ingredients freeze well? I’m wondering if I can buy a bunch of these and then just freeze them ahead of time.
Abigail
If I were to make this again, I’d omit the cilantro entirely, and halve the amount of lime—I’m not particularly sensitive to those flavors or picky about green smoothies, but phew, this was hard to drink. We used a very small amount of cilantro, and followed the directions about using the lime flesh, and both flavors were overpowering.
★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing! I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Abigail.
Jen
This was refreshing, delicious and invigorating. I had it as an afternoon snack and felt amazing afterwards!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it!
Chase
I have made this multiple times. So good! Even my two year old loved it!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Chase! Thank you for your review.