Creating Whole30 recipes with the Whole30 food list is a bit of a challenge because a ton of green smoothie recipes call for yogurt, milk, peanut butter, fruit juices, or other non-Whole 30 compliant ingredients; however, I am continuing to try to create easy smoothie recipes that comply with the Whole30 food list, and this smoothie is another great example of a green smoothie recipe with spinach as well as a green smoothie recipe without bananas. 

Smoothie Recipes without Bananas

 I’ve tried to create some smoothies that avoid bananas as bananas are fairly calorie dense and have a hefty dose of carbohydrates and sugar (There are approximately 22 carbohydrates and 12 grams of sugar for a medium-ripe banana according to Healthline.com.) so I would like to find smoothies that taste amazing, but that are really intentional about the amount of fruit sugar and carbohydrates they utilize. 

What is Whole30 Anyways?

If you’re not familiar with Whole30 or the Whole30 food list, Whole30 is an eating plan that focuses on changing your food cravings and your eating habits for life.  Whole30 seeks to help people break their sugar dependence and helps to give people control of their eating habits. 

If you’re not familiar with Whole 30, I would definitely recommend reading Dallas and Melissa Urban Hartwig’s book, It Starts with Food.  This book really made me really want to live a healthier lifestyle and to start that healthier lifestyle by trying Whole30.

            The Whole30 food list can seem pretty extreme and is the reason why many people find it to be a really hard program to complete.  You can’t eat grains, dairy, beans, peanut butter, and any sort of sweetener such honey, agave syrup, or Splenda.  See the Whole30 website for the official Whole30 food list.

            Trying to get creative in the kitchen while adhering to the Whole 30 food list took me an extra level of creativity. I love variety and wanted to have something new and exciting to eat everyday, so I started thinking about foods that have intense flavor and I immediately thought of cherries with their tart, burst of flavor and sweetness.  I knew I needed to try to make a smoothie with them! I created this Whole30 Recipe: Cherry-Almond Butter- Chia Seed Green Smoothie, but I’ve also used cherries in my  Cherry- Apple Green Smoothie as well. (The Cherry-Apple Green smoothie is one of the best Whole30 recipes I’ve made!)

Are Smoothies Allowed on Whole30?

            While smoothies are allowed on Whole 30, they are not particularly encouraged.   The argument is that smoothies often have you eating way more fruit than you would probably do if you sat down and ate a meal.  Green smoothies are a good workaround for this because you’re still getting in a decent amount of greens with just a little bit of fruit. I definitely understand the argument against smoothies, but honestly, I really don’t think they understand just exactly how terrible my eating habits actually were and how crazy my life actually is.  Sometimes I just need be better, not perfect.  Green smoothies help me do that.  I can whip them up in a couple of minutes and I know I’m giving my body something worthwhile. Some of my favorite green smoothie recipes I have created are my Cherry- Apple Green Smoothie and my Almond Butter Green Smoothie. 

Do Smoothies Fill You Up?

Another one of the arguments against drinking smoothies is that our bodies do not process food the same way if we drink them than if we had chewed them. Chewing signals to our brains that we are eating while drinking your food doesn’t have that same impact.  So what can you do about this and how can you make green smoothies work for you? I have noticed that I don’t immediately feel full after drinking my green smoothie.  It takes about 15 minutes to really feel like I’ve eaten.  For me, as long as I know that, I don’t feel like I have to continue eating.  It took me a little while to figure this out, and I thought the smoothie wasn’t filling me up.  That wasn’t the case though.  I have found that green smoothie recipes such as this one really do fill you up like eating any other meal would.  I find that these smoothies usually fill me up for around 4-5 hours depending on my activity level. 

What Makes This Smoothie So Special?

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are definitely a food that deserves our attention.  Chia seeds have a ton of fiber according to WebMD which will help fill you up during your day and keep you going.  Two table spoons of these tiny seeds will give you 10 grams of fiber which is about 40% of the recommended daily amount.   I used the Simple Truth Black Chia Seeds, but any brand would work just fine.

Spinach

Spinach has loads of health benefits and has an incredibly low calorie count.   One cup of spinach has less than 10 calories in it!

Cherries

Some research has shown that cherries can be a great food to eat if you’re exercising.  In the study, those who drank tart cherry juice had reduced pain after exercising according to WebMD.  I used Simple Truth Organic Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries, but any brand would work well.

Coconut Milk

The coconut milk I used in this smoothie, Simple Truth Organic Coconut Milk, is really calorie, fat, and sugar conscious. 

For an 8 ounces which is 1 cup, it contains 90 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 4 grams protein! It has all of these benefits while only having 4 grams of sugar for each cup. 

Cherry-Almond Butter- Chia Seed Green Smoothie Whole30 Recipe

The cherries make this green smoothie taste like a decadent treat! The chia seeds make this smoothie super filling.   This recipe only yields a small smoothie, so if you want this to be a full meal, doubling the recipe would be a good idea. 

• 1 Cup Spinach

• ¾ Cup Coconut Milk

• ¼ Cup Frozen Tart Red Cherries

• 1 Tablespoon Almond Butter

• 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds (Plumped overnight in liquid.  I used coconut milk to plump mine.)

Directions:

Plump your chia seeds the day before (or at least a few hours before) by placing the chia seeds in a container with a liquid of your choice. (I used coconut milk to plump mine.) Make sure you fully cover the chia seeds with liquid. Mix the chia seeds so that no chia seeds are stuck in the side of the container.

Add all the spinach, chia seeds, frozen cherries, almond butter, coconut milk to a blender. Blend on a high speed until pieces of the spinach and are no longer visible in the blender.  You’ve blended enough when you no longer see any little green flecks in the blender. (Tip: Pull the cherries directly out of the freezer right before you use them. It will make the smoothie taste better.)