Green smoothies are a great way to get in your veggies and fruit, especially if you have trouble eating enough in a day. Whether you go for a smoothie or a refreshing green juice, the trick is to load your drink up with greens you don’t eat on their own and then pick some flavors to add that will cover up the bitterness of your plants of choice. Fortunately, there’s a go-to ingredient you can pop the top on and dump into your smoothie, and it all but erases that bitter green taste. Next time you make a green smoothie, be sure to reach for some canned pineapple.
In general, canned fruit makes a great addition to your green smoothie, but pineapple excels for a few reasons. It’s a bright, strong flavor that complements tons of different smoothie ingredients well. Because of its strength, it buries other green, grassy tastes beneath its vaguely citrusy sweetness, rounding out the flavor profile and adding a delicious punch of sweetness. Importantly, you want to add both the pineapple chunks and juice from the can to really mask any bitterness.
Ideas for an extra delicious green pineapple smoothie
When making a green smoothie, you can help yourself out by choosing inoffensive greens. This helps cut down on the green taste you need to cover up in the first place. Spinach is one of the top choices; it adds a vegetal flavor but isn’t very bitter. Some people like tossing in Swiss chard, kale, or collard greens, but these hard and fibrous greens may not blend down as well. You can also toss in celery, lettuce, or cucumbers for even more greenery. Don’t stick to just green veggies, either; chuck in some carrots, peas, or even nuts or seeds for an extra healthy kick.
You can also chuck in some extra fruits alongside your pineapple. Bananas pair well with the tropical flavor, adding an extra creaminess and body to the drink, and apple provides sweetness and extra liquid. If you decide to add milk, give coconut milk a try to carry on that tropical-tasting conga line. You can even add citrus, but the pineapple adds enough tartness for most people. Don’t be afraid to play around with your ingredient list or the types and amounts of fruits and veggies you add in, as long as you don’t forget that canned pineapple. Before you know it, you’ll be making a green smoothie you actually want to drink.
