This Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie does exactly that, it energizes the body and boosts the immune system! You can make it in 10 minutes for breakfast and even store half for the next day. It is supercharged with broccoli, kale, cucumber and ginger root and sweetened with orange, apple, dates and kiwi. The tanginess of the kiwi helps to cut through the bitterness of the greens. This is my go-to daily green smoothie and if I miss several days, I begin to feel sluggish. This is because eating fiber is essential to a healthy microbiome. We feed them, and they feed us, I will share more about that below. If you are feeling low on energy or under the weather, this recipe will super power the immune system.
This recipe was developed by my amazing husband Joseph because I am always asking him for green smoothies. He is a huge fan of purple smoothies colored by beets and berries but I personally crave this type of green smoothie. He came up with this recipe and it has become my favorite. I will share with you a few variations below.
How to Make a Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Green Smoothie
I personally like a ratio of 50% green vegetables to 50% fruits. It is slightly sweet and slightly bitter. The more you drink this, the more vegetables your palate will tolerate and begin to crave. Yes, the body will begin to crave smoothies once consumed regularly.
Ingredients Needed 50% vegetables to 50% fruits:
- 4 kale leaves, chopped (stems included)
- 1 handful broccoli florets
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 red or green apple ( I prefer green apple because I like my smoothie a little tarty, but today I only had red Fuji apple, other fruits that can replace the apple are either 2 cups fresh or frozen pineapple, 1 ripe banana or 2 cups green grapes)
- 2 oranges, peeled
- 2 pitted dates
- 2 peeled kiwis
- 2-3 inches of peeled fresh ginger root
- 7 ice cubes if none of your ingredients are frozen
- 4 cups of water
- optional ingredients: 2-4 tablespoons of chia seeds, this adds omega-3 fats acids and protein to the smoothie
- optional super power ingredient: 1-2 leaves of mustard green leaves (see notes below)
Tips and Variations for this Kick Ass Fatigue Green Smoothie
- Want this green smoothie as a breakfast replacement? I suggest using only 3 cups of water and use 2-4 Tablespoons of chia seeds. This will create a more filling and dense smoothie. The chia seeds also add some protein. One Tablespoon of chia seeds has 2 grams of protein. If I am going to have this for a pre-workout smoothie, I will use about 3-4 tablespoons of chia seeds to the whole blender and drink about 32 ounces 45 minutes before a workout. Three tablespoons of chia seeds is comparable to the amount of protein in 1 egg.
- Can’t tolerate too much greens? If you are just starting out and not used to so many greens, then just start with 1-2 leaves of kale and a small floret of broccoli.
- Can I use other types of leafy greens? Yes, you can use what you have on hand. Great leafy green options are baby spinach, butter lettuce, or Swiss Chard.
- What other fruits can I use? Other fruits that go well in this green smoothie are frozen mango, frozen pineapple or green grapes. Fruits that are slightly tarty help to balance out the bitterness of the greens. You can also add the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime to cut out more bitterness.
- How to make this kid friendly? Replace the kale with 1 large handful of spinach and use a small floret of broccoli. Use 25% greens to 75% fruit will make this more palatable to kids new to green smoothies.
- Fighting a virus or cold? Add 1-2 leaves of mustard greens (not stems) for an extra immunity boost. The mustard greens do make the smoothie taste “spicy or peppery”, similar to arugula. Mustard greens are very high in Vitamin C and A making them a highly anti-inflammatory food. When I had the “C” virus, I drank 2-3 twenty four ounce smoothies per day with mustard greens and it was the first time I had recovered so fast.
How Drinking Green Smoothies daily helped me overcome Chronic Fatigue
In the image below, you can see that the bottom half is filled with green vegetables while the top half is filled with fruit. Some people do 75% leafy greens as taught by Dr. Brooke Goldner in her Hyper Nourishing Green Smoothie Recipes. She is a huge inspiration for me, she was able to put a very complicated auto-immune disease, Lupus into remission through a high raw plant based diet and successfully help others do the same.
I was a long hauler back in 2022 and chronic fatigue was my main symptom. At the height of illness, taking a bath or just reheating soup, left me completely depleted for the whole day. Dr. Goldner said that many long haulers recovered quickly in her Rapid Recovery Program, so I looked into it, and it was thousands of dollars. I had already spent thousands on specialists, lab work and treatments and I was not in a position to spend a few thousand more. As a Holistic Health Coach, I felt I had enough knowledge to create my own “anti-inflammatory protocol” that included 2-3 green smoothies a day plus whole foods, I stuck with 70-80% plants to 20-30% animal protein. The day after starting up smoothies, I had 10% more energy, after 1 week, my energy had increased by 50%! The feeling of being deprived of energy was fading and I felt liveliness and vitality come back into my cells. Having smoothies were a big part of my recovery but I did not use 75% leafy greens, I used 50% leafy greens and was still able to fully recover. It probably took me longer to recover than people in the Rapid Recovery Program, but that is okay, it was my process and it worked for me.
I used to drink green juices regularly, such as my Green Lemonade Recipe, but now, I consistently have smoothies, and this Kick-Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie is by far my favorite! Consuming the fiber is essential to increase energy, keep reading below as to why fiber is so important for energy.
Best Way to Store your Green Smoothie
Fill your glass jar to the very top to prevent oxidation and secure it with a tight lid. Reducing the amount of air that gets into your smoothie will help it taste a lot fresher. It will hold for 24 hours in the fridge.
Below you can see that this recipe makes approximately 64 ounces. I am able to fill two 24 ounce mason jar mugs and one 16 ounce mason jar. The lids that come with the jars tend to rust so I would recommend using these mason jar plastic lids with a silicone gasket. They will last much longer.
How does Drinking a Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie feed your Microbiome?
First off, what is the microbiome? They are a collection of bacteria, fungi, viruses and their genes. We are made up of more microbes (roughly 38 trillion) than human cells (roughly 30 trillion)! Therefore, it makes sense that they affect nearly every human system in the body including the digestive system, nervous system, immune system, respiratory system and more. They support our immune system, protect us against pathogens, help us digest food and produce energy.
The largest and most diverse colony of microorganisms live in the gut, also known as the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome comprises trillions of microorganisms and although it is developed at birth, we have the power to change and improve our gut microbiome by what we consume on a daily basis. A healthy gut microbiome produces B vitamins, amino acids, neurotransmitters and their precursors, bile acid metabolites and something quite spectacular called Short Chain Fatty Acids. The 3 types of short chain fatty acids are: Acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
According to the National Library of Medicine, short chain fatty acids “have many health benefits, such as anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, anticancer, cardiovascular protective, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective activities.”
To simplify, short chain fatty acids have an impact on mood, gut health, overall inflammation and even the mitochondria, meaning energy!
So how can we improve our gut microbiome? According to Dr. Christopher Damman, Board Certified Gastroenterologist, our gut microbiome needs the Four “F” foods to help strengthen it. These are: fiber, phenols, healthy fats and ferments.
This Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie is full of fiber, phenols and essential fatty acids. If you drank 1/2 a blender full of this green smoothie (w/ 3 Tablespoons of chia seeds included), you would be consuming approximately 18.9 grams of fiber. No wonder this smoothie helped boost my energy! It fed the gut microbiome which turned around and fed me!
On average how many of us are getting enough fiber? In the United States, more than 90 percent of women and 97 percent of men do not meet recommended intakes for dietary fiber. For example, women ages 31-50 should eat at least 25 grams of fiber and men ages 31-50 should eat at least 31 grams of fiber. No wonder disease is so prevalent in our country! Our microbiome is starving! Remember, we are made of more microbes than human cells, it is essential we take care of them, so they can take care of us.
What happens if we do not get enough fiber in our diets? According to this Pubmed Article, depriving our gut microbiome from fiber can cause certain species to look for a new source of food…what food would that be? Ugh, I was shocked at reading this…they would eat our own mucosal gut lining! Yup, causing a leaky gut, eroding the colon’s mucus barrier! Can I emphasize here, eating a diet rich in fiber is essential to our health!
In summary, to increase energy, improve our mood and overall health, it is vital we consume fiber and colorful foods. The easiest and fastest way to do that? A Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Green Smoothie!!! I am a Mom with 2 teenagers always on the go, I like fast & easy recipes! When making this recipe, don’t overthink it, add what you have, the goal is to get started by adding plant based fiber and colorful plant foods into your body.
This recipe has been one of the best investments for my health. It feeds the gut microbiome which in turn feeds us! I hope you find this SUPER long post helpful and share it with those you love! One of my favorite affirmations to say is: “I deserve good health, and I accept it now!” Say that to yourself and go make your green smoothie!
Wishing you good health!
Sending Love & Light,
Ester
Want more Smoothie Recipes:
Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie
Easy Healthy Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl
Energy Blueberry Pear Smoothie
Restorative Banana Ginger Green Smoothie
Coconut Kefir Piña Colada Smoothie
Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: About 3 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Kick Ass Goodbye Fatigue Smoothie does exactly that, it energizes the body and boosts the immune system! You can make it in 10 minutes for breakfast and even store half for the next day. It is supercharged with broccoli, kale, cucumber and ginger root and sweetened with orange, apple and kiwi. This is my go-to daily green smoothie – If you are feeling low on energy or under the weather, this recipe will super power the immune system.
Ingredients
- 4 kale leaves, chopped (stems included)
- 1 handful broccoli florets
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 red or green apple
- 2 oranges, peeled
- 2 pitted dates
- 2 peeled kiwis
- 2–3 inches of peeled fresh ginger root
- 7 ice cubes if none of your ingredients are frozen
- 4 cups of water
- optional ingredients: for a more dense smoothie add 2-3 tablespoons of chia seeds
- optional super power ingredient: 1-2 leaves of mustard green leaves (will make smoothie spicy)
Instructions
- Add ingredients to blender in the order listed and blend on high.
- If using a high speed blender, blend on high for 30-45 seconds. If using a regular blender, blend for 1 minute.
Notes
- Fruit subsititutions for apple, choose 1: 2 cups fresh or frozen pineapple, 1 ripe banana or 2 cups green grapes
- If you are using a regular blender, you can omit the kale stems so it is a little smoother.
- If you are new to green smoothies, you can start out with 2 kale leaves and a small floret of broccoli
- Serving size can be for 2-3 people. Nutrition data below is for 3 servings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blend
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Thank you enjoyed your post on smoothies , keep these healthy recipes coming.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! I will 🙂