Sour Apple Smoothie

This Sour Apple Smoothie is healthy, easy to make and a perfect combination of sweet and tart! This green apple smoothie recipe is made with apple, spinach, lemon, banana, mango, protein powder and dairy-free milk. 

Sour Apple Smoothie

I love good healthy smoothies; I’ve been making some sort of green smoothie almost every day for the past 10 years. This sour apple smoothie is one of my favorite smoothie recipes, as it’s packed with nutrients, it does not contain any added sugar, and yet it doesn't taste like a typical chalky and often bland ‘green smoothie’.

You can enjoy this apple smoothie alongside your breakfast or for a midday snack. You can also adapt the recipe as needed to meet your dietary needs. 

Benefits Of Drinking Smoothies

• Increases your consumption of fruits and vegetables.
• Can be used as a healthy snack when you have a sweet craving.
• Can be a great way to incorporate vitamins and minerals from nutrient dense real foods.
• Can help increase fiber intake.

Sour Apple Smoothie Ingredients

• Dairy-Free Milk: You can use any type of milk that you’d like, almond milk, cashew milk or regular milk will be great. You can even use water or coconut water in a pinch. I typically use Oat Milk, however if it’s fat you want to add to your smoothie, Coconut Milk is delicious, and adds additional sweetness.
• Collagen Peptides: I’m a big fan of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. Alternatively, you can also use plain Grass Fed Whey protein.
• Fresh Spinach: Baby spinach is best for this green smoothie recipe, but you could use any leafy greens you have on hand.
• Granny Smith Apple: This is the star of the show! You will want to use an organic Granny Smith Apple, but if you can’t find Granny Smith specifically, you can use an organic Pink Lady Apple. 
• Frozen Banana: You will want to use frozen bananas for this healthy green smoothie recipe. The banana adds a layer of creaminess to the smoothie, and the fact they are frozen will help to make the smoothie thicker and creamier. 
• Frozen Mango: Frozen mangos are great in this smoothie recipe. They add some extra tartness, a touch of sweetness, and more thickness since we are using the frozen variety. If you don’t like frozen mango, feel free to swap it out for frozen pineapple (Fun Fact: pineapple contains Bromaline, a natural anti-inflammatory). 
• Lemon Juice: You will need fresh squeezed lemon juice for this apple smoothie recipe. Please don’t use the stuff out of the jar, as it’s just not the same. The fresh lemon juice helps bring out the sour flavor in this drink. If you don’t have lemon on hand, feel free to substitute with some fresh squeezed lime juice… or both!

How To Make A Sour Apple Smoothie

1. Add your liquid to your high-powered blender.
2. Next add your protein powder, then raw spinach, apple and finally add the frozen fruit on top.
3. Blend to combine until you have a smooth texture.

Tips And Tricks

• Use A High-Powered Blender: One of the keys to making a good smoothie, and doing so effortlessly, lies in having a powerful blender. I’ve had my Vitamix 5200 for 13 years, and it is still going strong!
• Layer Your Ingredients: You can easily just dump all of your healthy ingredients into the blender and blend. However, when working with frozen fruit, I do find layering ingredients to be helpful. You will want to avoid putting the frozen ingredients at the bottom, as it can be damaging to the blades of your blender. You will want to add ingredients in the following order: liquid at the bottom, then protein powder, spinach, apple, then frozen fruit on top.
• Add Frozen Fruit: Using frozen fruit is one of the best ways to get a creamy smoothie. Frozen fruit is also sold at the peak of freshness, so it’s especially handy in the winter months when fresh fruit is typically out of season.
• Add Liquid Slowly: Depending on how thick you like your smoothie, start with the amount listed in the recipe, and if the smoothie is too thick, slowly add more liquid and blend again. Continue adding a little bit of liquid at a time until the smoothie reaches your desired consistency.
• Keep Blood Sugar Balanced: If enjoying this smoothie as a stand alone snack, be sure to incorporate protein (protein powder) and fats (nuts or seeds) into the smoothie to help regulate blood sugar.

Variations & Substitutions

• Greens: No spinach? That’s okay, you can use baby kale, but the smoothie will have a bit more bitterness to it. You may also want to add more lemon juice if you make this swap. You can also add an english cucumber for some extra freshness.
• Make It Sweeter: For a sweeter option of this sour apple smoothie, you can add a natural sweetener like maple syrup or honey.
• Give It A Kick: Add an extra immune booster by tossing in about ½ of fresh ginger and ⅛ inch of fresh turmeric. Be sure you peel both before adding them to the smoothie. Turmeric is great at reducing inflammation and ginger will help boost your immune system. You can also add in Bee Pollen for extra vitamin C.
• Add Healthy Fats: To add a bit of healthy fats to this sour apple smoothie, add in ground flax seed, Chia Seeds, Hemp Hearts, and/or Pumpkin Seeds.
• Make It Thicker: To make your smoothie thicker, you can add cottage cheese, greek yogurt or ice cubes.
• Make It A Bowl: You can also turn this sour green apple smoothie into a smoothie bowl. To do so, start with less liquid than the recipe calls for, then add more liquid slowly. The smoothie should be really thick. Pour it into a bowl and place in the freezer for 10 minutes, then top with more fresh fruit, nuts/seeds, peanut butter and granola.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do You Need To Peel Apples For A Smoothie?

If you are using a high powered blender, you do not need to peel the apples for the smoothie. The skins of the apple contain a lot of the vitamins and minerals, so you will want to avoid peeling the apple.

Can I Drink A Sour Apple Smoothie Every Day?

You sure can! You can enjoy a sour apple smoothie every day. This smoothie is a great addition to your breakfast and it also works well as a midday snack.

Can I Prepare A Smoothie In Advance?

This smoothie is best served right away, however, you can chop up the apple, and place it in a ziplock bag along with the spinach, mango and banana and store it in the freezer. When you are ready to make your smoothie, you can just dump everything into your blender and combine.

What’s The Difference Between Juicing And Smoothies?

When you juice fruits or vegetables, they are passed through a feed tube in the juicer that separates the juice from the pulp. The downside in this method is that the majority of the nutrients and fiber are separated out and discarded. 

On the other hand, when you make a smoothie, you add liquid to the blender along with the fruit and vegetables, and they are all blended together. So when you drink a smoothie, you are getting the full nutritional value of the foods added, as the pulp (fiber and carbs) are not separated out and discarded.

How To Serve

You will want to serve this sour apple in a mason jar or glass. You can also top it with seeds, fresh fruit or granola. 

How To Store 

This Sour Apple Smoothie is best served right away. 

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