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Iulia Serban, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, and a Master's degree in Nutrition and Quality of Life.
Some people who try to gain weight in a healthy way aim to prepare high-calorie smoothies that are rich both in macronutrients, like proteins and carbs, which build and fuel muscles, and micronutrients, coming from greens rich in vitamins and minerals.
These people, however, often face a common obstacle: green vegetables are not the tastiest ingredients out there. Therefore, they can end up with a disgusting smoothie if they blend greens with the wrong ingredients.
As proof, we once tried to make a smoothie made only from spinach, oats, and protein powder but its taste was not impressive at all. The point is that, without a delicious recipe on your hands, you can impede your weight gain process and miss out on the power of green smoothies, some of the most convenient sources of energy and micronutrients.
But don’t worry because we are experts in creating high-calorie smoothie recipes and took inspiration from the way world-class athletes integrate greens in their smoothies. For example, tennis legend Novak Djokovic uses kale in his Mango Banana Smoothie and Banana Chocolate Kale Smoothie.
The high-calorie green smoothie recipe in this article delivers a refreshing smoothie that’s full of vitamins and minerals, coming from two green veggies, celery and spinach. Besides, our nutritious smoothie will help you gain weight while providing enough proteins and carbohydrates for boosting muscle growth.
To craft the recipe we followed our unique process for creating weight gain smoothies, which was verified by registered dietitian nutritionist Iulia Serban. Besides, to make it easy for you to follow the recipe, we bought the ingredients, blended the smoothie, and photographed the whole process.
Smoothie's calories
The standard version of the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie yields one serving of 411 calories. If you need more calories from the smoothie, however, you can adjust ingredient quantities by following these guidelines:
Now, let's explore the recipe.
To make the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie, you need three pieces of kitchen equipment:
Firstly, spinach and celery are part of this smoothie because they are filled with vitamins and minerals, and are the main ingredients responsible for the smoothie's green nature.
Second, the Granny Smith apple and the halved banana have the role of boosting the calories and carbohydrates in the smoothie while increasing sweetness and delivering a better flavor.
Moreover, we added avocado because it's a green fruit filled with calories and healthy fats.
When it comes to whey protein powder, it has the mission to provide quality protein without affecting the overall taste of the smoothie too much.
Furthermore, we added lime juice for a little more green color, vitamin C, and flavor.
In the end, coconut water has two roles: thinning out the smoothie and providing healthy minerals.
If you are lactose intolerant, you can substitute whey protein powder with a plant-based protein powder, like the ones made from rice or pea.
Think whether all the ingredients will fit inside your blender.
If you use a small blender with a capacity of less than 644 ml (15.7 fl oz), break the ingredients into two or more identical portions, then follow the next instructions for each of them individually.
Add the ingredients to the blender making sure coconut water ends up at its bottom.
If you own a blender with an ingredient recipient that installs upside down on the blender, always add the coconut water lastly. This way, the blades will work smoothly without clogging in other ingredients.
Blend the ingredients until the smoothie develops a fine texture (about 30-60 seconds).
If you own a less powerful blender, you may need to mix the ingredients for longer than 1 minute. Still, to prevent overheating your blender, abide by the recommended blending duration in your blender's manual.
Pour the smoothie into a glass or a shaker bottle, and serve.
In terms of flavor, the smoothie has a refreshing taste with notes of celery and a slight apple aroma that's not too bitter or too sweet.
As a general rule, although we suggest drinking the smoothie right after blending it to have the best experience, you can safely store it in the fridge for about a day.
Out of the 411 calories found in the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie, 48% come from carbohydrates, 32% from protein, and 20% from fats.
As a result, this smoothie is an energizing drink with a solid amount of proteins and some healthy fats. Moreover, since the smoothie has less than 30% of its calories coming from fats, it joins the list of low-fat high-calorie foods.
For more nutritional details, let's explore the contribution of each ingredient to the smoothie's overall nutrition facts.
Source: FoodData Central - Baby Spinach.[1]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: Nutracheck - Calories in Granny Smith Apples, Weighed without Core.[2]
Name: Nutracheck
Type: food diary app
Operated by: NutraTech Ltd
Characteristics:
The Granny Smith apple is responsible for 35% of the carbs in the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie.
Source: FoodData Central - Raw avocado.[3]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Avocado, one of the high-calorie fruits, brings 70% of the fats in our smoothie. Besides avocado, counts among the weight gain snacks and the foods with the most calories.
Source: FoodData Central - Celery.[4]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central - Raw bananas.[5]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
The halved banana brings 27% of the carbs in the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie. As bonus information, bananas count among the fruits with the highest number of calories.
Source: FoodData Central - Whey protein powder.[6]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central - Lime, juiced.[7]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central - Coconut water.[8]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
As you may have expected, the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie brings numerous health benefits. Explore each of them below.
First of all, the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie can help you gain weight easier because it has a lot of calories and it doesn't fill up your stomach for too much time.
As social proof, according to the top of the best weight gain foods for females, 91% of the women who gain weight successfully drink smoothies regularly.
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie increases caloric intake considerably because it offers 411 calories per serving. All of these calories will boost your efforts to achieve a daily caloric surplus, the essential condition for gaining weight.
On top of increasing your total caloric intake, the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie allows you to consume more food because, unlike many solid foods, it keeps your appetite satisfied only for a short time.
As evidence, a University of Bristol study compared fruit smoothies with fresh fruits and other drinks in terms of satiety. The researchers concluded that fruit smoothies are more filling than drinks that are less alike to food (e.g., water and milk) but less filling than solid foods.[9]
Name: A Comparison of the Satiety Effects of a Fruit Smoothie, Its Fresh Fruit Equivalent and Other Drinks
Type: journal article
Published in: Nutrients (peer-reviewed journal)
Made at: University of Bristol
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie boosts energy levels because it's rich in carbs, most of which come from the Granny Smith apple and the banana in the smoothie's composition.
After all, according to a University of Lausanne study on the energy potential of carbs, carbohydrates are the main energy source for humans.[10]
Name: Carbohydrates as a source of energy
Type: journal article
Published in: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (peer-reviewed)
Made at: University of Lausanne
Another benefit of consuming the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie is that it can boost your ability to build muscle because it has 36 g of protein. The majority of these proteins come from the whey protein powder in the smoothie's composition.
As scientific proof, a pre-workout serving of 20 g of protein, according to a University of Birmingham trial on protein ingestion effects, is sufficient to support muscle growth.[11]
Name: Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise
Type: journal article
Published in: American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism (peer-reviewed journal)
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie can strengthen bones because it contains whey protein powder, a good source of calcium.
The whey protein powder in the smoothie brings 187 mg of calcium., which is around 19% of the daily recommended intake of calcium.
Our smoothie fortifies immunity because it contains seven sources of antioxidants:
Antioxidants, according to a scientific review of antioxidants, increase health protection and disease prevention.[12]
Name: Antioxidants: Molecules, medicines, and myths
Type: journal article
Published in: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (peer-reviewed journal)
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie is beneficial for the heart because it contains a halved banana, spinach, and avocado, which are three sources of potassium that reduce blood pressure.
As scientific proof, a review of the effects of potassium says that potassium lowers blood pressure.[13]
Name: Beneficial Effects of High Potassium
Type: journal article
Published in: Hypertension (peer-reviewed journal)
Made at: Medical College of Wisconsin
Our green smoothie increases eye health because it contains baby spinach, a source of vitamin A.
Vitamin A, according to an Australian study about vitamin A's effects on early myopia, is "vital for eye health" because it protects against "night blindness and corneal thinning".[14]
Name: Is Dietary Vitamin A Associated with Myopia from Adolescence to Young Adulthood?
Type: journal article
Published in: Translational Vision Science & Technology (peer-reviewed journal)
Made in: Australia
This smoothie does a very good job of hydrating your body because it contains three significant sources of water: Granny Smith apple, coconut water, and lime.
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie can improve digestion because it contains a halved banana, a Granny Smith apple, an avocado, and celery, which are all good sources of fiber.
One of the benefits of eating fiber, as stated in a 2009 review of the health benefits of dietary fiber, is a lower risk of gastrointestinal diseases.[15]
Name: Health benefits of dietary fiber
Type: journal article
Published in: Nutrition Reviews (peer-reviewed journal)
Made in: USA
To follow the High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie's recipe in a compressed format, use the summary below.
The High-Calorie Green Protein Smoothie is not the only weight gain smoothie that contains greens. Here are a couple of other smoothies that have green veggies in their composition: Djokovic's Banana Chocolate Kale Smoothie and Novak's Mango Banana Smoothie .
Now, If you want to try other homemade smoothies that can help you gain weight, visit our full list of high-calorie smoothie recipes,
And in case you wish to get creative, you can build your own high-calorie smoothie recipes. Learn what can you add to your smoothie and how to bring extra calories to it from our guide on how to make high-calorie smoothies for weight gain.
And if it happens to get bored of smoothies...
Try switching high-calorie smoothies for high-calorie shakes or other weight gain drinks.
Unfold Today has rigorous sourcing principles adhering to the top journalistic standards, so our writers always look for official, experienced, and first-hand sources. Read more about how we keep our content trustworthy and updated by reading our editorial process.