I created this smoothie when I was doing Whole 30 for the second time. 

I love doing Whole 30 because I feel like it is one of the few eating plans that really makes you feel like you are in control of your eating.

I tried Jenny Craig for a while and I had success with losing weight with it, but it can be super expensive and you are really just focusing on losing weight with Jenny Craig not as much on healthy eating -although you obviously do some of that with the Jenny Craig plan.    The food on Jenny Craig is actually really tasty and it was a manageable plan to do.

I also tried Nutrisystem which is similar to Jenny Craig in that almost all of your food is prepared for you and sent to you in pre-packaged, pre-portioned units. While I definitely preferred the taste of the food on Jenny Craig, I found Nutrisystem to be significantly cheaper and still pretty decent so I have done it a few times and had success with it. This time though I wanted more than just losing weight.  I really want to be healthy, and that is why I gave Whole 30 a try in the first place.

If you’re not that familiar with Whole 30, I definitely recommend reading Dallas and Melissa Hartwig’s book, It Starts with Food.  Buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Starts-Food-Discover-Whole30-Unexpected/dp/1628600543?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I read this book before doing Whole 30 the first time and while I don’t agree with every premise they have, I definitely gained a desire for a healthier lifestyle than the one I was living and I thought Whole 30 would be a great place to start. 

Whole 30 is an entirely different beast from diet plans, especially ones like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig.  Whole 30 requires total commitment- no cheating- and it prohibits some pretty common foods that most of us eat everyday like breads, grains, dairy, beans, peanut butter, honey and other sweeteners such as agave syrup and Splenda.  While the “no eat” list can be quite a bit to overcome, I have actually found a ton of freedom with Whole 30 and actually love how you can eat as much as you want of any of the approved foods  fruits, vegetables and meats).  I love that I can eat how much I want and never have to feel hungry or feel like I can’t eat.  I love that. 

One of the other benefits of Whole 30 is that it makes me have to get creative with my cooking and eating.  I honestly don’t have a ton of go-to recipes that are truly healthy, so Whole 30 forces you to cook and figure that out.  Many people don’t like Whole 30 because you do have to cook.  You basically can’t eat any prepackaged food, so you have to cook, and cook, and cook, and cook.  For that reason, if you’re thinking of doing it, I suggest you order or check out Melissa Hartwig’s cookbook, The Whole 30 The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom, to get some ideas for recipes because, believe me, recipes that align with the strict Whole 30 “no eat” list are a bit hard to come by.  Buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Whole30-30-Day-Guide-Health-Freedom/dp/0544609719/ref=asc_df_0544609719/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312178271755&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7622325043429323160&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030159&hvtargid=pla-450195540651&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258871377&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312178271755&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7622325043429323160&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030159&hvtargid=pla-450195540651

I would have probably had an easier time doing Whole 30 if I enjoyed eating green salads, but I just honestly don’t enjoy eating salads.  They do nothing for me- mentally that is, they are probably doing great things for my body and overall physical health, but if I had to think of a whole month of eating salad after salad, I’d probably just give up now.  Green smoothies, however, are my workaround for not liking salads.  Green smoothies aren’t exactly 100% Whole 30 approved . There is an argument about how the body doesn’t process liquid food the same way it would process food that we chew; however, I am a realist and am not going to split hairs on the to chew or not to chew argument.  I honestly found that green smoothies were my saving grace when I was doing Whole 30 because sometimes I just didn’t have the time and or the desire to cook anything or cut anything up.  Green smoothies allow you to eat on the go if you need to which we all need at least at times.  So here is a smoothie that I found that I love that tastes good, has all Whole 30 ingredients, and tides me through a long period of time, so here are my tips for making it.

Use Coconut Milk

There are very few liquids that you can use in smoothies while on Whole 30 since many smoothie recipes call for milk, almond milk (which usually has added sugar) or fruit juice of some kind (this also usually has added sugar).  Coconut milk is approved and it’s great for adding a little sweetness and flavor.  I used Simple Truth Organic Coconut Milk. I found that it wasn’t super expensive and met all the Whole 30 criteria.

Blend the Spinach First

The first thing you should do when making this smoothie is blend the spinach and the coconut milk.  (Blend it for a long time until there are absolutely no pieces of spinach visible no matter how small.) If you have a Vitamix blender or other high power blender, blend on high speeds. 

Make Sure to Get The Oils from the Almond Butter

Almond butter doesn’t have a smooth consistency like we’re used to with most peanut butters we see in the stores, so when you’re adding the almond butter make sure that you get the nut part of the almond but, but most importantly make sure that you get the oily part too! That will help to make the smoothie smooth and creamy. I used Simple Truth Smooth Almond Butter.

Use Frozen Bananas

Using frozen bananas really does a way better job than using room temperature bananas and ice.  Make sure to blend in the bananas last and make sure to not over blend them. 

Almond Butter Green Smoothie

This is a smoothie that will tide you over for a long time and keep you feeling full.  It’s deliciously creamy and hides the spinach taste well!

• 1 Cup Spinach

• ¾ Cup Coconut Milk

• 2 Tablespoons of Almond Butter

Make sure to include the oily part of the almond butter

• ½ of a Banana (frozen in small slices)

Directions:

Add all the spinach and all the coconut milk to a blender. Blend spinach and coconut milk on high speed until pieces of the spinach are no longer visible in the blender.  Add in the almond butter and blend on high speed.  Lastly, add the frozen slices of banana to the mixture and blend on low speed only as long as necessary so that there are no longer chunks of banana.  Do no over blend the banana or the smoothie will become slimy.