Filling Mango Spinach Smoothie (No Yogurt, No Banana)

I drank this delicious, filling, vegan mango spinach smoothie twice a day for 6 months to help me lose 56 pounds.

A mistake I used to make when I was trying to lose weight by drinking green smoothies was to keep the calories around 100-200 each. 

After drinking a light green smoothie that contained only spinach and fruit (that I now call a snack) I’d be hungry an hour later and searching for something else to eat.  And as I was busy, I didn’t want to do more meal prep, so my choice of snack wouldn’t be planned, and therefore I wouldn’t be able to stick to my allocated calories each day for weight loss. 

When I was pregnant, I would get so hungry after drinking my green smoothie I’d end up having 2 breakfasts.  I’d make a green smoothie and also a bowl of oatmeal with a variety of ingredients such as oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, dried coconut, fruit, and oats.

One day I had a brainwave.  I decided to combine my green smoothie with my bowl of oatmeal in my blender. 

The result was more delicious than I could have imagined.  I had turned my green smoothie into a thick, filling, complete meal that tasted just like dessert. 

I couldn’t believe I had created something that tasted so good and was jam-packed full of nutrients. 

I named my creation, The Green Thickie.  

And I loved my recipe so much, I named my first business after the Green Thickie and created a whole system around drinking Green Thickies.  

You can check out my website, Green Thickies here. 

The first recipe I ever made contained mango and coconut and was so delicious I literally drank it for breakfast and lunch for 6 months straight after having my baby. 

After 6 months had gone by I had lost 56 pounds and dropped 5 dress sizes. 

I never imagined weight loss would be that easy.  I was so busy with my baby that I didn’t have time for elaborate diet meals, and often didn’t even have time to sit down and eat a proper meal during the day.

I found my Green Thickies so filling that I never got hungry between meals and didn’t need to worry about snacking. 

I sat down to eat a vegan, gluten free dinner with my husband in the evening, and that’s what I did to lose the weight. 

My website took off like a rocket and reached millions of people in just a few years.  People kept asking me what I ate so I created a 7 day meal plan, followed by a 12 month meal planning system full of my recipes. 

As my first website was focused mainly on Green Thickies, I’ve now started another website (this one), Magical Life Of Fruit, to share more of my favorite meals that I’m still using to keep my weight in check.  

Like most people, I love to indulge in (vegan) junk food from time to time, and my weight does go up during these times  (I’m not someone who can eat what I like and stay skinny.  I am short in height, LOVE my food, and my brain doesn’t seem to register when I’ve eaten enough).

But as soon as I’ve gained a little weight, I just go back to eating my nutrient-packed calorie-counted meals after that and bring my weight right back down again.

Sticking to a calorie limit per day has been the only thing that’s worked for me when it comes to weight loss.  I am not one of these people who can just stop when I’m full, as I never seem to know when that is.  

Adding the exact amount of food onto my plate (or into my glass) and stopping when it’s gone has worked so well for me.  That’s why I plan all of my meals in advance so that I make sure I’m eating the right number of calories for weight loss.
You can read my full story here.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This recipe and all recipes on my website are suitable for the special diets, vegan, plant based, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, free from refined sugar, and vegetarian
• This recipe contains 398 calories per serving
• This recipe contains 12g protein per serving
• This recipe contains 26% of your recommended daily intake of protein, 89% of your Vitamin C intake, 39% of the recommended daily calcium, 39% of the recommended daily iron, and 41% of the recommended daily fiber per serving
• This recipe is made from a combination of vegan protein, whole food sources of carbohydrates, vegetables, essential fats, and ingredients that make the dish extremely tasty.
• This recipe takes 1 minute of active preparation time and 1 minute to prepare. 
• This recipe is made extra tasty by the addition of mango and coconut.
• I have simplified this recipe by limiting the number of ingredients and using everyday ingredients such as spinach and plant milk.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Soy milk: Replace the soy milk with any milk of your choice such as almond, oat, coconut milk from a carton (not can) or even water.
• Water: Replace the water with milk to make it extra creamy, but this will increase the calories.
• Mango: Replace the mango with the same quantity of any sweet fruit such as banana, papaya, peaches, pears, or pineapple.  You can also use a different fruit such as berries, but the smoothie won’t be as sweet, won’t be as filling, won’t be as thick, and will contain less calories.
• Rolled oats: Replace these with the same weight of oat flour, or any other grain that doesn’t need to be cooked.  Oats are pre-cooked which is why you can add them straight into your smoothie without cooking them.  I have 20 nutrient-dense fillers you can use to replace oats to keep the smoothie filling.  See the full list here.
• Flaxseeds: you can use either whole or ground flaxseeds.  Only high-speed blenders will blend whole flaxseeds.  You can replace the flaxseeds with any other unroasted, unsalted nuts or seeds in the same quantity.  You could use pumpkin, or sunflower seeds, or pecans, cashews, or almonds.
• Dried coconut: If your blender isn’t able to blend dried coconut, you could use 1 tablespoon coconut butter, 40g of canned coconut, or replace the soy milk with coconut milk from a carton.  If you don’t like the taste of coconut milk at all, you can replace the dried coconut with 1 tablespoon of plain nuts or seeds.
•  Raisins: Replace the raisins with 2 dates, or if your blender isn’t able to blend dried fruit, add 1 tablespoon of liquid sweetener such as maple syrup.  Or you can omit the raisins completely for a less sweet smoothie.  You could add 1 more tablespoon of nuts or seeds to keep the calories the same.
• Spinach: I use frozen spinach because it’s cheaper, lasts longer, takes up less room, and makes my smoothie cold.  But you can use fresh spinach if you prefer.  You can also replace the spinach with Kale or another mild leafy green such as chard.  If you don’t like the thought of greens at all, remove it completely, but bear in mind that leafy greens are very nutrient-dense.  If you want to turn your green smoothie purple, add dark berries to your smoothie.

The Structure Of A Plant Based Plate

Each of the recipes I create fits into my Plant Plate System.  This system incorporates 5 food groups into every meal. 

The 5 food groups are 1) Plant Protein, 2), Leaves, Fruit, And Veg, 3) Aesthetic Additions, 4) Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates, and 5) Taste

This recipe is a complete meal because it contains all 5 components of my Plant Plate and contains around 400 calories per meal.

The diagram below helps you see the 5 different components of a Plant-Based Plate.

Click here to discover more about my Plant Plate System and some of the benefits of eating this way.

Here’s how this recipe is structured according to the Plant Plate System.  

Adding each ingredient to the following categories helps you to easily see how to make substitutions.  It also lets you know the exact reason why the ingredient is in the recipe. 

Plant-Based Protein

• Soy milk
• Flaxseed
• Spinach
• Oats

Leaves, Fruit & Veg 

• Mango
• Spinach

Aesthetic Additions

• Shredded coconut

Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates

• Oats

Taste 

• Mango
• Coconut
• Raisins

Recommended Equipment

Here are the main kitchen equipment tools I have used to create this recipe.

How To Make This Recipe

• Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

How To Serve

You can either drink this smoothie from a large glass or pretty mason jar with a handle.  Or you can add it to a large smoothie container to take it with you on the go.

Serving Sizes

When I used to drink these for breakfast and lunch, I would make a large batch of between 2-4 servings for my whole family and per day.  I would make this in the evening, store it in a large jug in the fridge, and enjoy it chilled in the morning. 

This recipe serves 1 but you can double or quadruple the quantity if you like.  I used to use my Vitamix and Blendtec to make a quadruple batch of this every day to save time.

Bear in mind that all of the recipes on my Green Thickies blog serve 2.

How To Reduce The Calories

If you’d like to reduce the calories of this recipe even further, I suggest replacing the plant milk with water, and removing the oats.  The more things you remove, the less filling it will be, and it will be more of a snack than a complete meal.  I find keeping the calories as they are better for good results in the long term.

How To Increase The Calories

If you would like to increase the calories in this recipe you can replace the water with milk, double the quantity of oats, add more nuts and seeds, and more fruit.  You might need to increase the liquid in the recipe slightly as you add more dry ingredients so this still blends well.

Is It OK To Drink Spinach Smoothies Every Day?

Drinking spinach smoothies every day is the same as eating spinach every day.  If you would eat a certain food every day, it is the same as drinking it.  If you can tolerate spinach, there is no reason why you can’t eat it every day. I have been drinking spinach smoothies daily for over 14 years and feel fantastic.

Can You Put Uncooked Spinach In A Smoothie?

Spinach is a salad leaf and is fine to eat raw.  You don’t have to cook spinach before you eat it.  Therefore you don’t have to cook spinach before you put it in a smoothie.

Can You Put Uncooked Oats In A Smoothie?

Rolled oats have already been precooked so you can eat them raw or drink them in a smoothie without needing to cook them first.  Don’t confused rolled oats with other types of oats.  Whole oat groats or steel-cut oats haven’t been precooked and need to be cooked or soaked before you eat them or drink them.

How To Store Leftovers

This recipe keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.  Defrost it before using it and stir to incorporate.

More Delicious Green Thickie Recipes

This recipe is part of my Green Thickies series.

If you’re looking for delicious filling Green Thickies, check out some of my other recipes:

• Creamy Orange And Coconut Green Thickie
• Pina Colada Meal Replacement Smoothie
• Delicious Banana & Peanut Butter Smoothie

You can see all of my meal replacement Green Thickies recipes here.

Recipe

Now it’s your turn to make magic with food.