It’s January, people! Which means….
Fat pants – you’re on the bench. Skinny jeans – suit up. ? ? ?
Had a little too much high carb fun the last few weeks?
Panicking now because bathing suit season is only 4 months away? ? ? ?
I feel your pain! (Like REALLY, I do.) ? ? ?
If you’re like me and have been eating carbs like it was your job lately, then you’re probably feeling pretty lousy right now. Bad news is, it gets worse before it gets better. I’m on day 3 of the 3 Day Keto Kickstart Plan and I have no energy and a headache from detoxing all the carbs and gluten I’ve been eating for the past few weeks.
I’ve lost four pounds already though so there’s that at least! AND I know that the detox phase only lasts a couple of days, so I’m ready to gut it out and get back to work! ? ? ?
This low carb green smoothie isn’t on any of my existing Keto Weekly Menu Plans (yet) because I’ve only just FINALLY come up with a healthy green smoothie that isn’t loaded with carb heavy fruits to make it palatable!
Seriously, I’ve been trying to accomplish this for quite awhile with a variety of healthy greens, veggies, and a minimum amount of fruits. I’ve had some major fails – at least in the flavor department, but I’ve soldiered on.
I’m excited to say that this low carb green smoothie that I’m sharing today is everything you’d want a green smoothie to be! It’s creamy, refreshing, and has just enough sweetness to make it perfectly balanced.
So why should you even care? Should you be drinking green smoothies on a low carb diet?
Absolutely YES! ?
One of the downfalls of a low carb diet if you aren’t careful is a lack of Vitamin C and other important nutrients that you get from veggies and the occasional fruit.
You can supplement some things in pill form, but the best way to get vitamins and antioxidants is directly from a food source – and preferably raw. There are many enzymes in raw foods that help your body perform necessary functions – also the fiber is essential to keeping your micro biome of healthy bacteria alive and thriving.
I personally believe that low carb stopped working as well for me a couple of years ago because I wasn’t paying attention and ensuring that I was getting plenty of fiber and vitamins from raw veggies. I think my good gut bacteria died off and I ended up with leaky gut and adult onset food allergies as a result.
Since then, I’ve been focusing on rebuilding my micro biome with lots of healthy fermented foods, and ensuring that the little beasties have plenty to eat in the form of fibrous veggies and leafy greens.
I’m not a huge salad person, so in the past while eating low carb I would tend to eat most of my veggies cooked, and rarely ate leafy greens. A smoothie like this one is perfect for those of us who don’t enjoy a big bowl of salad every day – you get lots of micronutrients and antioxidants, in a tasty format that is easy to slug down with breakfast (or anytime.)
Another benefit of going the smoothie route rather than simply eating the same ingredients in salad form, is that blending them breaks down the cell walls better than chewing them ever could, releasing all of those nutrients into an easy to digest format.
I bought a Vitamix blender years ago and love it for all the many tasks it can perform with ease, but for this particular smoothie it’s not necessary. Any blender or even a magic bullet will be able to make this smoothie, because the romaine and other ingredients break down pretty easily – as opposed to kale which needs the more powerful blender to truly break down.
If you’re using a lower powered blender just be sure to mince your ginger well and cut your pineapple into smaller chunks so that it breaks down nicely and doesn’t leave you with stringy pieces in your smoothie.
If you’ve got family members (especially kids) who aren’t big on vegetables, a smoothie like this one is a great way to get some healthy greens and hydrating fruits and veggies into them without a big fight. Hungry Jr. has been drinking green smoothies since he was a toddler and he loves them!
For your non-low carb family members, feel free to add a little extra fruit to make it even sweeter – whatever it takes to get them to drink it!
I boosted the sweetness slightly in this version with some erythritol but you may not need to. It really depends on how sweet your batch of fruits and veggies is and it varies widely depending the season and the ripeness of what you’re using.
As you get used to drinking green smoothies, I also find that your tolerance for the green flavor will grow, and the need for sweetness to offset it will lessen. But to get you started, feel free to sweeten it with a low carb sweetener to taste!
This low carb green smoothie recipe is also dairy free – it gets healthy fats and a creamy, rich texture from the avocado, which also tones down the greens flavor that some people find hard to get used to.
This healthy and refreshing green smoothie will be a staple for me moving forward, and at only 3g net carbs per cup, I can easily fit it into my carb budget every day! And so can you!
Notes: This recipe makes six 1 cup servings, but you can drink 2 cups per day if you make room in your carb budget, giving you three days worth for one person. If you only want to drink 1 cup per day and don’t have anyone to share it with, I recommend making it in smaller batches as the flavor and health benefits deteriorate the longer you keep it in the fridge.
IBIH Low Carb Green Smoothie – Dairy Free
- Yield: 6 one cup servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This low carb green smoothie is healthy and refreshing, without all of the sugar and carbs of a traditional green smoothie! Keto and Paleo friendly!
Ingredients
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 cup romaine lettuce
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh pineapple
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup raw cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 Hass avocado (remove pit and scoop flesh out of shell)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (I used Swerve)
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve cold. Leftovers will keep several days in the fridge, shake well before serving.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per one cup serving: 37 calories, 2g fat, 3g net carbs, 1g protein
- Category: Low Carb Smoothie Recipes
- Cuisine: American
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Why the lettuce?! So curious!
Lettuce like Romaine has a lot of nutrition for just a few calories so it is really great food to include in a smoothie.
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Can the lettuce be replaced with Spinach? Do you think this would affect the taste
Yes, and yes it will affect the flavor but not necessarily in a bad way.
I just tried this, very very good!
I added 1 tsp of hemp seeds, 1tsp of MCT Oil and 1/2 cup of unsweetedned almond milk.
Cheers!
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Has anyone tried this without the Swerve? Maybe the fruit is enough to sweeten it?
Trying to cut carbs back anyway I can :)
This looks amazing though. Thank you so much for this blog and all your amazing recipes!!
I had my reservations about buying so many ingredients I normally wouldn’t touch–but other than the pineapple, everything was very affordable. And, more importantly, I absolutely love it! I’d been searching for a smoothie recipe that had flavors similar to a Suja juice I love but can’t drink due to the high carb count, and this hit the spot better than I ever could’ve hoped for! Only small change I made was adding a splash of lemon juice for a little more tartness. Thank you so much!
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I LOVE this smoothie. I hate most green veggies but try so hard to get them in. I used fresh spinach and tripled the amount. I also substituted 1/2 the water for no calorie apply flavored water and the result is absolutely amazing. It is so fresh and delicious. Thank you so much!!!!
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Add me to the list of people wanting an alternative to cucumber. I’m not allergic; I just don’t care for them. Don’t care for pineapple either, but that’s much easier to substitute for.
Can you add unflavored protein powder to this recipe? Will the protein cause it to lose its detoxing effect?
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That should be fine Marietta!
Mellissa – My BFF got me started 2 years ago on LC- i’ve been up and down – my weakness is good beer and Rye — SO to stay strong I started really looking for easy things–I had tried the Keto, but found myself just feeling always yucky- so I’m doing 30g– a few weeks ago I found this smoothie and i am in LOVE
I actually bag up all my ingredients and freeze them (no greens) so all I have to do is pull and blend
I put about 10oz in a shaker bottle with protein powder and Chia seeds. My work schedule changes a bit so i’ve decided to do the smoothie for breakfast and lunch and then salad for dinner with protein. Snacks are going to be exciting with celery and nut butter or egg salad. I need to make my diet simple for a while to kick my self in gear — then I’ll start playing around with your recipes again — I have quite the printed collection. It’s hard to care about dinner when you cook at juvenile hall from 12-8 3 days a week — but cooking is my passion – i just have to light the fire again — my real fav is the Cuban pot roast — I may be doing it with some pork this weekend
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Yumm. Sounds great. Love that it is dairy free. Dairy hurts my stomach. Thanks for this. I would probably replace the sugar as well.
Any suggestion on a cucumber alternative? I’m allergic to cucumbers so that is off limits for me.
hi. This smothie looks great. I love pineapple, but I am allergic to bromelain…. Do you think mangos or oranges would work with the kiwi? Something decadent and citrusy? Or perhaps only a few pieces of pineapple would ruin the recipe? Oh I love pineapple so much I’ll probably down it and have a puffy tongue all day.
Why would you need sweetner? People putting sugar on fruit…. (shakes head)
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Hello,
I came across this searching for low carb juices. I love this one but I would like to know where you get your measurements for fat and net carbs? I have imputed this recipe into 3 other apps and 3 other websites and it comes out to almost 35g of net carbs per cup. I might be doing something wrong here and if so I would like to know we’re I am going wrong. I really want this in my diet because I feel AMAZING when I wake up now but if it is that high in net carbs I will have no choice but to say no and I reallly don’t want to do that.
Thank you for your time,
Tashi
You must not be subtracting the insoluble fiber to get net carbs in your calculations!
on my fitness pal, I got 251 calories, 41 carbs, 11 g. fiber, 18 grams of sugar for the whole recipe. This recipe, she says, makes 6 servings that are one cup each, (41-11=30 30/6= 5) which is 5 net carbs per cup. Not low, but not too bad. I think I can boost this up by adding more fiber to it and maybe some gelatin to increase the protein. I think this is a good base, though the kiwi is out for me because I’m diabetic. It’s fine, there are other good choices, like strawberries, that I can have. Great recipe, thank you.
This sounds very refreshing. I love pineapple. I had not considered using lettuce!
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I love the look of this low-card smoothie! Looks delicious and definitely healthy!
I love smoothies and this sounds ðelicious and healthy.
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Love this one
I don’t use kiwi, parsley or cucumber in it often but it is my go to!!
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what if Kiwi is not in season can something else low carb be substituted?
This is a minor niggle, but it would be incredibly useful to have the quantities in weight (grams) rather than just cups.
Volume is a notoriously inaccurate method of measurement when it comes to cooking, and I can imagine the macros could change quite a lot depending on how finely something is chopped or how efficiently packed into the measuring cup.
It would also make it much easier to divide or multiply the quantities.
The recipe itself is awesome, but please, please add weights!
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Hi Melissa,
I have been a fan of your Blog and website (not to mention I have purchased two of your recipe books.
Unfortunately, I have had to change to a Vegan diet (boy do I miss my Bacon) so I am trying to find Vegan Low Carb recipes and this one works well…THANK You !!
Have you thought of trying to pull together Vegan Low Carb recipes to add to your monthly blog or maybe even a recipe book ?
Well Cheers to you and your adventures in Belize !
Becca
★★★★★
Would this work well with an orange flavor? After gallbladder surgery I have not been able to tolerate a low carb diet (fiber and protein both are killing me). My doctor and I are certain that low carb is the only thing that will help me lose weight and stabilize blood sugars, so we’re trying multiple methods to help get me back on the wagon.
He’s proscribed this nasty medicine which has to be drunk and the flavor can best be described as tang with grit/jello in it. It’s terrible. I was hoping blending it throughly with a low-carb smoothie would help it be tolerable and thought this might be a good place to start. What do you think?
I’m sure it would be fine with an orange flavor added Amber!
It works great! I’ve been using it for four days and haven’t once had a problem taking this medicine! You rock!
When you get a chance, a low-carb smoothie series would be muchly appreciated. Most of the ones floating around the Internet clock in at 15-20g of carbs (almost a whole day’s worth)!
Thank you for all your great recipes. :)
How about taking bile salts to break up fats? Especially necessary without a gallbladdder. Dr Berg offers a great one .
I have just started on green smoothies & can’t believe how much I love them ( even crave them).
I hope my smoothie is healthy & low carb.
A handful of frozen mixed berries or just blueberrys.
A handful of baby spinach.
A handful of kale.
A stick of celery
1/4 avocado
Fresh mint leaves, fresh parsley, fresh brahmie
200ml coconut water.
1tbs of coconut oil
1/4 cucumber ( if I have it )
& sometimes 1 tbs of chia (when I remember)
Blended together.
Can you tell me if this is low carb.
I would just check the carb content on your coconut water, one I had the other day was 16g per 8oz, which is a bummer if you’re keto. I like to smuggle coconut water into the movies with me when I go to keep myself away from soda, as part of an “indulgence” meal :D Your recipe sounds great though, as does the one posted! I’ve been doing romaine and/or spinach, cellery, cucumber, half a green apple, 1tbsp coconut oil and 6oz strong brewed green tea – major energy!! The idea of kiwi, pineapple, and avocado sounds awesome and I can’t wait to try it, thanks Melissa!
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You talk about low carbs. But I thought fruits like pineapple and kiwi were very high on carbs ?? On the beginning stages of low carb diets aren’t we suppose to stay away from high sugar fruits like pinnaple ?
If you eat an entire pineapple yes it will cause you a problem. But the small amounts in this smoothie are accounted for in the carb count per serving. As long as you stay at 20-30g net carbs per day it doesn’t matter where those carbs come from to stay in ketosis. But fruit is certainly a more healthy carb option than say beer or pizza – which you can also technically have if you keep your total net carbs per day within the keto limit.
I wanted to know how many is okay to drink a day and do I just drink that and nothing else. Can I have one for breakfast then a small snacks have one for lunch small snacks then have dinner and then a small snack just after dinner I’ve been on a low carb diet since June of last year lost 60 lbs since then just looking for something on the go i can crab and go.
Ok – very very good. I froze some in jars and took to work for afternoon “snack” Super pick me up. thaw, shake and enjoy. As if you just made it.
I made this today & was pleasantly surprised at how good it is, but it was a little bit gritty from the kiwi seeds and perhaps the parsley. If I strain it, will I lose any valuable nutrients? Perhaps I need a different blender??
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I just made this smoothie, and just a word of caution – the 4 cups of water may be a bit much. It seemed watery to me, and overflowed my average-size smoothie blender once the other ingredients were added and I started blending it. (It’s a Hamilton Beach, and is the size of a regular blender, not a small bullet blender or anything like that). I think I’ll adjust the water down a bit next time…after I clean up the mess.
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Good point Sue, thanks – my vitamix has a 64oz capacity and I never considered that a regular sized blender might be less. I would caution that if you reduce the water you also reduce some of the fruits because you’ll be concentrating those carbs into a smaller amount of liquid increasing the overall carb count per cup – only a concern if you are on keto.
Just made this and it… is… YUM!! I absolutely love the kick that the ginger gives it. Makes me think Japanese.
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Hi Melissa. Was really attracted to some of the smoothies above but am puzzled by banana, pineapple and kiwi. As a newbie, I thought that these were off limits to Keto people? Could you quickly explain? Thanks a lot.
Hi Adam – there is no banana in my smoothie recipe so not sure what other smoothies you mean, but as far as keto is concerned nothing is technically off limits. Whatever you can fit into your 20g net carb budget per day is fine – it’s the amount of carbs that matters for staying in ketosis, not the source of them. Hope that helps!
This looks really yummy!! Hubby bought me a smoothie blender for Christmas and I have been on the lookout for a smoothie that actually looks tasty! Must try! Thanks!
replace some water with coconut milk to add some mellowing flavor, esp if you dont like avocado in it.
a pinch of salt mellows the green taste too. and lowcarbers need extra salt, yup!
Thanks so much for this comment. I don’t really like the green, grassy flavor, but I wanted to give this recipe a go anyway. That pinch of salt suggestion took this from “I’m only drinking this because I paid money for it.” to “This is acceptable.” Thank you again!
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grate the ginger with a microplaner. freese little mounds to have ready to go. add some eggs to have protein with ur breakfast. i use stevia glycerite, few drops is all thats needed, but u can add some erythritol too for flavor balance. i use no fruit and use higher carb greens, just blend 3 min in the water before adding rest.
Great ideas Helene, thanks!
Hi Melissa,
I enjoy your recipes but find your understanding of nutrition to be out-dated. You must take the time to up-date your knowledge, including, for example that you can get all the vitamins and minerals that you need from eating red meat. Really. We have absolutely no biological need for carbohydrates as our body can manufacture the small amount of glucose that might be needed for some functions. Excellent starting point is Death by Food Pyramid written by Denise Minger and the Ketogenic information published by Maria Emmerich.
Keep up the good work!
Linda
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Thank you Linda. I’m well aware of the body’s ability to provide glucose to the bloodstream for energy from protein – and that a ketogenic diet with 20g or less carbs per day is optimal for many, including myself when it comes to weight loss. There are other factors at play though, and many recent studies have shown that the micro biome in our guts that is the foundation of our immune system and a major factor in hormone production is key to overall health. Resistant starches, probiotics, and high fiber veggies should make up the majority of our 20g of carbs, and if we can consume some of them raw, even better. As far as your statement that we can get everything our bodies need from red meat, that is not strictly true. Vitamin C is found in limited amounts in red meat but mostly in the liver which a lot of people don’t eat. Strict human carnivores have to eat it raw or lightly cooked to get enough to prevent scurvy (not to mention whatever other issues come from being deficient) – and even then many of them have had to admit defeat and start supplementing with Vitamin C because their teeth are loosening, amid other scurvy symptoms. So the bottom line is, if you’re eating your beef raw, and it’s mostly liver and other organs, as well as grass fed to ensure the animal itself is getting enough nutrients first, you MIGHT be getting enough vitamin C just to avoid scurvy. Since most of us on a Ketogenic diet aren’t eating raw, grass fed, beef liver on a daily basis – I’m certainly not – I prefer to get my vitamin C and fiber from veggies and leafy greens. This smoothie lets me do that in a delicious and healthy way for 3g net carbs per cup – allowing me to stay in Ketosis and nourish my gut at the same time.
well stated!!!
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perfect response.
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This looks tasty and I can’t wait to make it! I love your site so much. Mainly because, you fall off the wagon & get back on. A lot of the low carb sites I follow are written by people who are so far from ever falling off the wagon that it’s hard to relate to them. I know some are diabetics (and truly can’t afford to fall off the wagon) & the others are so well adapted to this lifestyle change that they would never go “carb crazy”. So, I find you so relatable- thank you for sharing your “cheats”. Every single recipe of yours that I have tried has been so tasty. It’s rare – trust me. Thank you! Thank you!
BTW – you have a small typo regarding kickstarting your weightloss for “2015” . (Mentioned after the recipe) I’m still in last year’s mode, as well. I thought you might like to know.
Thanks so much Kim, I appreciate the feedback and I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes! Also thanks for the head’s up on the typo – all fixed now! :)
I just love this blog!
Thanks so much Mika! ?
Looks delicious! I consider pineapple such a decadent treat, so it sounds exciting to be able to have a little along with all these other healthy ingredients and still have it be low in carbs. Using fresh ginger will be new to me, but I’m sure it’s worth it, and I can’t wait to try it!
The fresh ginger is anti-inflammatory and adds a really great punch of flavor to brighten up the smoothie Tracey – hope you like it!!