This tropical kale smoothie, or "tropi-kale" smoothie is full of fruits like pineapple and banana and packed with lots of healthy kale, protein and fiber. It's great to balance blood sugar first thing in the morning and keep you full until lunch.
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Kale Smoothie Health Benefits
Smoothies are a great way to pack so many fruits and veggies into your diet, without having to eat 4 big salads a day. This recipes specifically was designed for extra servings of fruit and veggies.
The kale in this smoothie is full of vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin C and helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Kale is among the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet! And let's not forget all the nutrients from the fruits and the protein and fiber from the milk.
Ingredient Notes
- Frozen Fruit: banana and mango or pineapple.
- Fresh kale: you can use any variety of kale. Wash and dry them well then rip the leaves off the stems. You can also follow these steps about how to freeze kale and have it available whenever you need it.
- Frozen veggies: add frozen cauliflower to every smoothie to help with the thick texture and sneak in extra nutrients while you're at it.
- Protein powder: adding your favorite protein helps balance your blood sugar and keep you full longer. Our favorite is Be Well By Kelly Vanilla Protein.
- Dairy free milk: opt for a nut milk like almond or cashew.
- Nut butter: healthy fats keep you full longer. We love using an almond butter or cashew butter for more mild flavor.
Smoothie Ad-Ins
- Fiber: most people don't get enough fiber in a day, so we love adding it to smoothies any chance we can. My favorite fibers for smoothies are chia seeds, avocado or Acacia powder.
- Ginger: fresh ginger adds a punch of flavor and anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Adaptogenic herbs: calm the nervous system with Ashwaghanda or Maca.
- Hormone and gut healing: Studies show Inositol is great for PCOS and L-glutamine is a powerful supplement to help with gut health.
#1 Tip for Green Smoothies
My fool proof tip for the creamiest green smoothies is to blend the milk and greens together first before adding in any other ingredients. Breaking down the greens ensures there aren't any chunks of kale or spinach in your smoothies.
How to Make a Kale Smoothie
- Blend the nut milk and kale on high speed to break it down completely. It should resemble a green milk texture.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add more nut milk as needed to reach your desired consistency.
FAQs
My favorite things to put in a kale smoothie are fruits that help balance the kale flavor. Because of that, I love adding pineapple and mango. It kind of masks the kale flavor and brightens up the flavor.
Both kale and spinach are full of nutrients so you can't really go wrong! Kale has almost twice as much vitamin C as spinach, white spinach provides more folate and Vitamin A. Both are great for heart health too!
I like kale better in this spinach because it pairs really well with the tropical fruit like mango and pineapple.
It's absolutely okay to put raw kale into a smoothie! In fact, it's great for you. Just make sure you wash your kale thoroughly and dap it dry.
I don't recommend putting the kale stems in smoothies. Once you wash and dry your kale, just quickly pull the leaves off the stem and discard the stems. You can roughly chop the kale leaves or just stick them right in the blender.
Meal Prep Instructions
Meal prep this kale smoothie for the entire week in just a few minutes! Grab 5 plastic bags or stashr bags and fill each one with the banana, mango, pineapple and kale and seal them closed. Pour the prepared ingredients into the blender and add milk and and blend!
You can also make the smoothie from start to finish and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Just add the cubes to the blender with more milk and blend!
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More smoothie recipes:
- Creamy Avocado Smoothie
- Hormone healing green smoothie
- Green smoothie bowl
- Pitaya power smoothie bowl
- Tropical coconut smoothie bowl
- Green juice in the blender
Tropical Kale Smoothie
Ingredients
- ½ frozen banana
- ½ cup frozen pineapple
- 2 cups fresh kale washed, stemmed and chopped
- ½ cup dairy free milk more or less depending on how thick you like it
- 1 tablespoon nut butter optional
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds optional
- 1 serving vanilla protein powder
Optional Add-Ins
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Add the kale and nut milk to a high-speed blender and blend on high until completely combined and the texture resembles a green milk.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until the smoothie is thick and creamy. Add more milk as needed to adjust the consistency to your liking.
Notes
- Meal prep: Fill a plastic bags or stashr bag with all of the ingredients, except the milk. Pour the prepared ingredients into the blender and add milk when you're ready. You can also make the smoothie from start to finish and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Just add the cubes to the blender with more milk and blend!
Lori says
Hi Molly! I don't have kale right now, so do I use the same amount for [baby] spinach? Would this be considered anti-inflammatory? Thank you so much!
Molly Thompson says
Hey Lori! Yes, you can use any type of leafy green. Spinach is a great option and still great for inflammation!
Lori says
This was so good! I used 1 cup of (packed) spinach and it was great. My kids donāt like bananas unfortunately, can I substitute with avocado? Thank you so much!
On the other post, I had asked if most of your recipes are anti-inflammatory? I only noticed that I could sort for AI recipes under dinners. I supposedly have some chest inflammation that I am trying to heal!
Lori says
Thank you so much! Did you happen to see my question on your "MY ANTI INFLAMMATORY DIET" post?
Molly Thompson says
I didn't see a comment by you on that post. I just checked!
Lori says
Are there any books you recommend to read up more on an anti-inflammatory diet?
Kelly Hubbard says
I tried this sauce on turkey meatballs last night and served them to my very picky children and their even pickier cousins. What a HUGE hit! I cannot thank you enough ā youāve added a new staple to their diets .
Kelly Hubbard
Ashley Jones says
By the way- I roasted my squash and a giant sweet potato using your method.
CrazyAsk