Making healthy choices is easy when someone does all of the thinking and preparation and delivers to your door. Through my relationship with Fitfluential, I was offered the opportunity to try Green Blender, a new smoothie delivery service. Just like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, Green Blender offers a subscription service where they send you pre-portioned ingredients and fresh recipes. Instead of family meals, they offer smoothies. If you have been around here, you may know that I am not a huge smoothie person. I like to chew my food. That said, I love to try new things and Green Blender has been getting raves from Pure Wow and Well+Good. So, I gave it a shot and I’m really glad that I did!
Green Blender was created by blogger Jenna Tanenbaum. She says,
“I started Green Blender because I wanted to help people create healthy habits in their life. I often find that when we decide to make a health change two things happen: 1. We get immediately overwhelmed with choices (i.e., should I go paleo, do I cut out all grain/dairy, what about quinoa, etc.) and 2. We start moving towards extremes (i.e., I have to go raw vegan tomorrow, I can’t have ice cream ever)
This diet path can get overwhelming, lead to deprivation and may not see long lasting results. As you know (your blog attests to this), living a healthy lifestyle starts with building healthy habits and not extreme dieting. Green Blender is all about setting our members up for long term success by helping them start their day with a healthy decision.”
I got a Green Blender box and it came with the ingredients to make 5 smoothie recipes with two servings each. They also have a key on the recipes so you can make the right smoothie for your mood or energy needs. The attributes are: High Protein, Glow, Energy, Detox, Immune Boosting, Low Calorie, Anti-Inflammatory and Calm.
I decided to make the recipes in order. I received the box on Thursday afternoon. I went out for a tempo run and came back and made the Pecan Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie. It is High Protein, Glow, Anti-Inflammatory and Calm. A great choice for post work out.
This tasty smoothie has protein, calcium and iron. It was very tasty but rather more green than I expected. It was also super filling. My Waring blender performed very well!
The next morning, I made the Orange Beet Protein smoothie post workout. Beets are all the rage for post workout performance boost and this smoothie did not disappoint. It’s attributes are High Protein, Energy, Detox and Immune Boosting. It was delicious and filling. I had one serving with my coffee and finished the second one before lunch. Instead of the pea protein that came with it, I used the Vanilla ALOHA protein (enter to win some here.) I would not have thought to mix oranges and beets but it was a great combo.
After my long run (20 miles!) on Saturday, I made the Poblano Pepper Pick Me Up. It is Detox, Immune Boosting and Low Calorie. I should have read the key as I could have used the Sweet Almond Pie for some additional calories. Also, I made some for The Husband. I loved this unique, refreshing combination of a spicy pepper with greens, cilantro and fruit. I never would have made this on my own. The Husband on the other hand was not a fan. His idea of greens is a lettuce wedge with blue cheese. He would have liked Sweet Almond Pie, I think. Live and learn.
Yesterday, after my speed work, I made the Sweet Almond Pie. Sweet potato, maple almond butter, banana and almond milk… these are a few of my favorite things. This smoothie was delicious! It had mesquite in it which I never would have tried. This was my favorite of the bunch and the purple sweet potatoes gave it a beautiful color. I am looking forward to the leftover portion this morning.
The last one I have is a Cranberry Kumquat Tart smoothie. I am not a huge cranberry fan, so I am not sure if I will make this one. That said, they have really hit the mark with the rest so I may try it just to see.
Green Blender posts all of the recipes online so you can try them for yourself. The delivery service is $49 for a box of 5 smoothies each with two servings – and there are volume discounts. Everything is pre-portioned so they can be made very quickly. There is some peeling and chopping. (I could have used a bit more instruction with peeling and some of the ingredients that I don’t typically use.) I was super impressed with the quality and variety of the smoothies and think this is a great option for folks who like a smoothie a day!
Green Blender currently delivers to the eastern United States – east of the Mississippi that is. They are also expanding to the Los Angeles area. See the map on their FAQs page. You can check if your zipcode is within our delivery area by completing the form on the join page. If you are outside the current delivery, they will notify you when they are available in your area.
Want to try it? You can get 20% off of your first box with the code erica. You can also keep up with Green Blender on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also sign up for their newsletter on the website, as well.
Have you tried a delivery service for meals like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh? How does Green Blender sound to you?
Please note: I was given the Green Blender box at no cost in exchange for an honest review. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. This post does contain an affiliate link. If you purchase a box using my code or link, I will receive a small commission. All opinions are my own.