By America’s Test Kitchen

To some, a super greens smoothie is the epitome of healthy. To make sure our recipe delivered on that, we loaded ours with six beneficial greens. For a nutritious smoothie that was fresh and pleasantly vegetal, we carefully chose spinach and parsley, bitter (but not too bitter) greens with plenty of fiber; broccoli, which is actually quite sweet; refreshing cucumber; and avocado as an emulsifier and creamy thickener that held the smoothie together. Our final “green” came from the superfood spirulina, a plant-based blue-green algae high in omega-3 acids with strong antioxidant properties. Because all those greens can taste intense, we wanted a natural sweetener. Orange juice was too acidic against the greens, but unsweetened apple juice was a perfect neutral sweetener that balanced out the bitterness and rounded out the drink’s flavor. Blending the ingredients with 2 cups of ice added some light aeration and broke up all the fibrous vegetables for a smooth, drinkable texture. Either blue or green spirulina can be used in this recipe, but blue spirulina will affect the color of your smoothie. 

Super Greens Smoothie

Serves 2

1 cup baby spinach

2 cups ice

4 ounces cucumber, cut into 2-inch pieces (1 cup)

3 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)

½ ripe avocado

¼ cup fresh parsley leaves

2 teaspoons spirulina (optional)

1 cup unsweetened apple juice, plus extra as needed

In order listed, add all ingredients to blender and process on low speed until mixture is combined but still coarse in texture, about 10 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Gradually increase speed to high and process until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Adjust consistency with extra apple juice as needed. Serve.

Used, with permission, from The Complete Guide to Healthy Drinks: Powerhouse Ingredients, Endless Combinations (America’s Test Kitchen, 2022), americastestkitchen.com.