This Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie is the perfect morning pick-me-up to get the day started off right. The mix of natural sugars, vitamins, and minerals from the banana + mango + spinach combo really help to perk you up while the healthy fats and protein from the pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts keep you feeling satiated.
I used to be a total oatmeal girl when it came to breakfast. If you follow Garden of Vegan on tumblr, you might remember that I ate oatmeal all the time, like pretty much every single day.
While I still love oatmeal, for some reason I just don’t have much of an appetite first thing in the morning anymore. Since skipping breakfast is simply not an option for me (it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be starving and grumpy 2 hours later) green smoothies have become my everyday go-to breakfast. Green smoothies are seriously the perfect early breakfast meal.
Not only has this Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie saved my breakfasts, they’ve also taken the place of my morning caffeine addiction. I used to drink 1-2 cups of coffee with my breakfast every morning. But now I’ve found that this green smoothie gives me the same sort of boost that caffeine does, without any negative side effects.
I absolutely love having a big green smoothie first thing in the morning, it makes me feel awake and energized for the day without the crash a couple of hours later. I mean, how can you not feel good after downing 2+ servings of fruits and vegetables before 10am? Not to mention the loads of wonderful nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Another awesome thing about green smoothies? They don’t have to be all about fruits and vegetables. Adding other foods like nuts, seeds, and grains creates a smoothie that can hold it’s own as a meal and is truly satisfying. Pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts add a nice boost of protein and fat to this quick and healthy breakfast. Give it a try and see how you feel!
This powerful green smoothie is high in calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C, and E.
Nutrition Info:
Almond milk: Unfortified almond milk is a good source of vitamin E & calcium, many varieties are often fortified with vitamins A, D, & B12, riboflavin, & zinc.
Banana: A great source of vitamin B6, bananas also contain moderate amounts of potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.
Mango: High in vitamin C & A and contains moderate amounts of vitamins E, K, B6 & B9 in addition to potassium and copper.
Baby spinach: Loaded with vitamin K (1 cup provides over 180% of your recommended daily intake) as well as vitamins A & C.
Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium.
Hemp hearts: Packed with high quality protein and a great source of essential fatty acids.
Source: nutritiondata.self.com and wikipedia.org
Clockwise from left: Frozen mango chunks, unsweetened almond milk, baby spinach, banana, hemp hearts, and raw pumpkin seeds.
What You’ll Need:
- 1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 ripe banana, frozen
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen
- 1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (Pepita seeds)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
- optional: 1/2 scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + 1/4 cup (60ml) water
Supplies: a blender or an immersion blender + tumbler
Dietary Requirements: Gluten free, Soy free, Nut free option, No sugar added, Raw
Directions:
In a blender (or large tumbler if you’re using an immersion blender) layer the spinach, banana, mango, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Add the almond milk and blend until smooth. I use a cheap 15$ immersion blender and I blend this smoothie for about 2 minutes (long enough to blend the pumpkin seeds really really smooth.) This recipe makes 1 large smoothie (2 cups – 500ml).
The Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie: before and after blending. This smoothie provides a big dose of brightly coloured orange and green fruits and vegetables.
Substitutions:
For a nut free option, substitute the almond milk with a certified nut free oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.
For a higher protein option: Add a scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder and/or substitute the almond milk with a high protein non-dairy milk such as soy or hemp milk. This smoothie contains approx. 13g of protein when made with almond milk, substituting it with soy milk will add an additional 6g of protein. Adding protein powder will add about 6-15g of protein (depending on the brand and amount of protein powder you use.)
To make a variation of this green smoothie without banana, substitute the banana with 2/3 cup of frozen mango or frozen peaches.
13 grams protein | 9 grams fibre (when made with almond milk)
As with any smoothie recipe, feel free to experiment with the ingredients.
When it comes to smoothies there’s rarely a mistake that you couldn’t fix by playing around with the ratios a little bit. If your smoothie’s too thin, add more frozen fruit. If it’s too thick, add more liquid.
If it’s too sweet, add a splash of water. If not sweet enough, blend in a couple of pitted dates or your favourite natural sweetener. Happy blending!
Love smoothies? Here are some of our favourites: The Best Green Smoothie, Carrot Sunshine Smoothie, and our PB & Banana Iced Mocha Smoothie.
Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie
Prep
Total
Yield 2 cups
This green smoothie is the perfect morning pick-me-up to get the day started off right. The mix of natural sugars, vitamins, and minerals from the banana + mango + spinach combo really help to perk you up while the healthy fats and protein from the pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts keep you feeling satiated.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 ripe banana, frozen
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen
- 1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
- optional: 1/2 scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + 1/4 cup (60ml) water
Instructions
- In a blender (or large tumbler if you’re using an immersion blender) layer the spinach, banana, mango, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Add the almond milk and blend until the pumpkin seeds are really really smooth. This recipe makes 1 large smoothie (2 cups - 500ml).
Notes
For a nut free option, substitute the almond milk with a certified nut free oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.For a higher protein option: Add a scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder and/or substitute the almond milk with a high protein non-dairy milk such as soy or hemp milk. This smoothie contains approx. 13g of protein when made with almond milk, substituting it with soy milk will add an additional 6g of protein. Adding protein powder will add about 6-15g of protein (depending on the brand and amount of protein powder you use.)To make a variation of this smoothie without banana, substitute the banana with 2/3 cup of frozen mango or frozen peaches.
Courses Smoothie, Breakfast, Snack, Pre/Post Workout
Cuisine Vegan
Love these photos with the recipe —really helps motivate me to eat well.
Thanks Cheryl!
Hi Brittany. Beautiful pictures – you really have a knack for capturing the deliciousness of the ingredients.
I wanted to let you know that I used your recipe on my danish blog at http://www.nope.dk/smoothies-morgenmad.html (after translating) and a pictures. I remembered to credit you with a link back, so really hope you don’t mind. Otherwise, just let me know. Thanks again
Thanks Christine! What a lovely roundup 🙂 Thanks for including me!
I’m still learning how to transition to a Vegan lifestyle. Of all the places I’ve visited on the web, this place is simply put, beautiful. I’m having my firstgreen protein power breakfast smoothie tomorrow morning. Also, the name of this website is easy to remember. Thank you. I’ll be back frequently.
Ah, that’s so lovely to hear, thank you Carole! Thank you so much for visiting, I hope you love the smoothie!
About how’s many calories are in this smoothie?
I love green smoothie or cocktails! Spinach, avocado, arugula and so on.. many vitamins and great taste! Love your recipe, pumpkin seeds forever 🙂
Oooh! Arugula in a green smoothie, that sounds awesome! Thanks so much Caroll!
Thanks this is a magnificent tasting smoothie, simple with easy to find ingredients (the hardest being hemp seeds but you can get a big bag at Amazon or Holland and Barrett if not at the supermarket). This will definitely be replacing the weetabix
Wonderful to hear! This smoothie is such a great way to start your day 😀 Thanks for commenting!!
I have never made such a delicious smoothie before (and I’ve tried a BUNCH). Plus, it kept me completely full for more than 4 hours. This is my new daily lunch. Thank you!
Yaya!! That’s great to hear Ainsley, I’m SO glad you like this smoothie so much 😀 🙂 Thanks for commenting, I REALLY appreciate it!!
I LOVE this smoothie! I have been drinking it every morning for over a year and still love the taste! Thank you so much!! I was just wondering if you knew about how many calories were in the smoothie? Thanks again!! 😊😊😊
I’m so happy to hear that Shannon! It’s a wonderfully nutritious breakfast 😀 This smoothie contains approx. 600 calories, 26g of protein, and 10g fibre.
Love this recipe Brittany, so much so that I’ve included it in my list of favorite protein smoothie recipes!
Donna.
Thanks so much Donna!
This looks great! I have a question about combining the nuts/fats/fruits/greens and powder. I read on another site that certain foods are not supposed to be combined because they won’t digest properly. Is that not the case? This looks like a more appetizing smoothie compared to some that just have greens/vegetables/fruit combos. Also, this seems like it would keep you satiated longer. Thanks!
Thanks Nigel! I totally understand your concern. Personally, unless I’m suffering digestive issues, I don’t worry about proper food combining. If drinking this smoothie doesn’t cause any digestive upset for you I wouldn’t worry about it! And yes, this smoothie will definitely keep you feeling satiating longer. 🙂
Love this smoothie. However I have a question. I have made this my breakfast. But it makes me feel funny. Like my heart is racing But my blood pressure is good. Just wondering why.
Great tasting smoothie. However I have to use twice the amount t if almond milk to get it a smoothie texture.
This recipe made the perfect smoothie. I have tried so many smoothie recipes and nothing really works for me. This was the first one that I finally loved. I will make it again of course. I added the vanilla protein powder/water that you suggested as optional. Beautiful pictures too. Thank you so much!
Hi!
Made this, this morning and I’m loving it!!!
Thank you!!!
Yay! I’m so glad! Thanks for commenting! ♥