The Ugly Smoothie

by Meghan Rodgers

January 12, 2022

We eat with our eyes. It’s true! If someone served you a brown or grey smoothie at your favorite juice bar, you’d quickly question your order.

Yet if you’re able to keep an open mind about less than beautiful beverages, you can make yourself some delicious smoothie recipes that also happen to be packed with protein and tons of other beneficial vitamins and nutrients.

See, it’s usually the spinach or kale that’s the culprit. Spinach + Strawberries = Brown. Add some yogurt or chia seeds and you’re headed into grey territory. But when it comes to smoothies, ugly really is better. A muddy color just means you’ve added some nutritional veggies in there. It’s the pretty yellow or pink drinks you have to watch out for. A picture-perfect bright and sunny smoothie color could mean there’s nothing but sugary fruit filling your cup.

The Ugly Smoothie

This Ugly Smoothie recipe has been a quick and easy favorite delicious and filling breakfast of mine for years. I hadn’t shared the recipe yet simply because it was so ugly, and well, a food blog that posts ugly food all of the time probably won’t have many visitors! But in the spirit of eating healthy in the New Year, I give you The Ugly Smoothie.

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 tbsp chia seeds2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves, or kale (2-3 cups)
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 large banana
4 ounces Greek yogurt plain

Directions

1. In a large blender container, add water, chia and spinach. Blend on high until liquified. Stop blender.
2. Add remainder of ingredients and blend on high. Add a bit more water if needed to achieve desired consistency.
3. Enjoy!

Meghan Rodgers is a media professional and writer covering travel, food and the environment. Find her writing on the food blog EverybodyCraves and her adventures on Instagram.