Designed by: Chef Mark Allison, Director of Culinary Nutrition at Dole Nutrition Institute.
Green Smoothie
serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of almond milk or water
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 2 cups mango, peeled and diced
- 2 cups pineapple, peeled and diced
- 2 bananas, peeled and diced
- 1 avocado, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup of almonds
Preparation:
- Place the liquid into blender. Turn on a slow setting, then add all the remaining ingredients.
- Process on the highest speed until a well-blended puree forms, about 20-30 seconds. Stop the blender and scrape down the sides.
- Blend once more for 20-30 seconds. Serve.
Nutrition Facts of Featured Ingredients:
Spinach
Dark leafy greens like spinach are important for skin, hair and bone health, and provide protein, iron, vitamins and minerals. Health benefits from spinach include improving blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer, lowering blood pressure, improving bone health and lowering the risk of developing asthma.
Banana
Bananas contain vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. The combination of nutrients in bananas makes them particularly heart healthy. In addition consumption has been linked to a lower risk of leukemia, colorectal and kidney cancer. A University of Colorado study found that resistant starch (found in bananas) may increase fat-burning metabolism.
Pineapple
Pineapple, whether fresh or frozen, is the only known source of bromeliad, a protein-digesting enzyme that research shows to have anti-inflammatory properties, which may alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis, sinusitis and asthma; help heal injuries; and inhibit the growth of malignant lung- and breast-cancer cells. Pineapple is also a great source of vitamin C.
This post brought to you by Dole and UNC Nutrition Research Institute.
