Are Smoothies Healthy? Green Smoothie (Mango & Spinach)

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This Green Smoothie with Mango & Spinach is packed with powerful longevity ingredients to support a longer, healthier life. Blend up this tasty smoothie to feel your best. Discover the benefits of green smoothies and learn if cooking your greens is the way to go!

Green spinach & mango smoothie in a glass with a metal straw and baby spinach leaves, cloves, and cardamom on the side.

Each ingredient in this spinach and mango green smoothie is carefully chosen for its role in fighting cellular aging. Naturally sweetened with dates, this blend is as delicious as it is powerful.

This recipe is a twist on my Anti-Aging Smoothie with Flax, featuring a few new ingredients and an extra boost of greens—one of the most nutrient-packed foods on the planet. You won’t even notice them in this flavor-packed blend. This Prune Smoothie for building strong bones is made with all healthy ingredients, but tastes like dessert. My Health Powder, which has similar anti-aging benefits, is also perfect for mixing into oatmeal.

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👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients
🍓 Substitutions
📖 How to Make A Healthy Green Smoothie with Mango & Spinach
✔️ Expert Tips
🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
🛒 Shop Nisha's Cookware and Products
🍽️ Related Recipes
Green Smoothie (Mango & Spinach)
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Nondairy milk, frozen blueberries and mango, baby spinach, frozen mango cubes, dates, spices, barberries, wheat germ, amla powder, flaxseed meal, nut butter, cardamom, and cloves.

Baby Spinach: Steamed spinach provides a great source of iron, with vitamin C from the blueberries enhancing absorption. Cooking also reduces oxalic acid for better nutrient absorption. However, for a boost of lutein and folate, opt for raw spinach instead. (Frozen spinach has been boiled and blanched so will have lost more of the water-soluble vitamins.)
Flaxseeds: With their natural binding properties, they thicken smoothies to a creamy, milkshake-like consistency. Plus, studies show they can significantly reduce appetite and lower calorie intake.
Frozen Mango: Contains a phytonutrient called mangiferin, which may slow sugar absorption through the intestinal wall.
Frozen Blueberries: Berries can control blood sugar so well that even blended, they counter the effects of sugar. This is likely due to special phytonutrients that slow sugar absorption. Just six weeks of blueberry smoothies has been shown to boost insulin sensitivity.
Almond or Walnut Butter: Adds heart-healthy fats to help absorb fat-soluble nutrients.
Dates: Some research indicates that dates can help lower blood glucose levels, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, and increase beneficial HDL cholesterol. They also appear supportive of a healthy gut microbiome.

Optional Ingredients:

Wheat germ is a good source of spermidine, a polyamine, that plays a crucial role in the body’s natural autophagy. Autophagy is like the body’s clean-up crew, breaking down old or damaged cell parts and recycling them to keep our cells healthy and working well. (Omit for gluten-free.)
Dried barberries may help improve cholesterol levels and blood sugar control, as well as increase antioxidant levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. These changes suggest that barberries could help manage diabetes by reducing heart disease risk and improving overall blood sugar control.
Green Cardamom: Known as the 'Queen of Spices,' it can boost levels of an enzyme called sirtuin, which may help repair DNA and reduce inflammation. Sirtuin is associated with improved blood sugar, stronger bones, and a lower risk of cancer. A member of the ginger family, green cardamom significantly raises sirtuin levels in the bloodstream. Use ground cardamom or grind your own.
Amla Powder: For an antioxidant boost, add a teaspoon of amla (dried Indian gooseberries) to your smoothie. It’s also known to help lower LDL cholesterol.
Cloves: Shown to lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation in the body, further supporting overall health and longevity.

Scroll down to the link below to purchase the longevity ingredients. See the recipe card for quantities.

🍓 Substitutions

Frozen berries - substitute blueberries with strawberries or mixed berries
Frozen mango - substitute with one small frozen avocado or one frozen banana instead
Dried barberries - use unsweetened dried cranberries instead
Spices - Swap with spices you have on hand. Cinnamon, allspice, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, and ginger offer the most health benefits.
Nut butter - almond, walnut, cashew, or sunflower seed butter for nut-free
Spinach - use baby or regular spinach, kale, or bok choy (steamed or raw)
Nondairy milk - Unsweetened soymilk and pea milk have the most protein and favorable nutrition profile. Otherwise, use your choice of milk.
Optional - Amla powder, spices, and wheat germ are optional. Omit the wheat germ for gluten-free.
Protein powder - Add the desired amount of protein powder and adjust the milk accordingly.

For more healthy breakfast recipes, visit my Vegan Breakfasts page.

📖 How to Make A Healthy Green Smoothie with Mango & Spinach

For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview.

Raw baby greens in a stainless steel saucepan.

Optional for steamed greens: Transfer the spinach to a small saucepan. Add two teaspooons of water.

Steamed baby spinach in a stainless steel saucepan.

Optional: Cover and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes or until lightly steamed. Mix well.

For whole cardamom pods (optional): Transfer the cardamom pods to a spice grinder.

Grind cardamom (optional): Grind the pods until a powder forms.

Ingredients for green smoothie with mango and spinach in a blender.

Combine: Transfer the spinach (and water-if steaming) to the canister of a high-speed blender. Add the milk, mango, blueberries, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, nut butter, amla powder, barberries, dates, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and ice.

Blended purple liquid in the canister of a blender.

Blend until just combined and smooth.

✔️ Expert Tips

Dates: Optional: Soak the dates for 5 minutes in warm water before removing the pits for better blending. Use whole dates and pit them for the best flavor. Pre-pitted dates are less moist.
Cardamom: You can grind whole cardamom pods, but the outer shell may make the texture a bit coarser. To get a smoother result, remove the seeds and grind them separately. If you’re in a pinch, grinding the whole pods is fine, especially for smoothies, cooking, or baking.
Sip smoothies slowly—over 30 minutes—to allow your body’s fullness signals to catch up. Thicker smoothies, like those made with a tablespoon of flaxseeds, keep you fuller longer and reduce appetite.
Use a straw: Sour smoothies can erode tooth enamel, so it's best to drink them through a straw and wait an hour before brushing. Rinsing your mouth with water afterward helps wash away acids and protect your teeth.
Storage: This Green Smoothie (Mango & Spinach) is best fresh but can be enjoyed the next day. Keep it refrigerated in an airtight container overnight.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

Does blending fruit and vegetables destroy the nutrients?

Blending increases nutrient absorption, but intact grains, beans, and nuts are better for gut health since they reach the colon and feed good bacteria. For fruits and vegetables, however, blending doesn't break down key phytonutrients bound to fiber, so smoothies still support colon health. The downside? Blending grains can cause blood sugar spikes compared to eating them whole, but this isn’t a concern for blended beans, which maintain their glycemic response even when ground. Thus, fruits in smoothies act more like beans than grains, making them a good choice.

What about the oxalates in green smoothies?

Some people worry that eating foods high in oxalates can cause kidney stones, but research shows it’s mostly genetics. Even a big jump in oxalate intake usually has a small effect unless you’re a genetic "super absorber," which you might not know until you get a kidney stone. Overall, people who eat more fruits and veggies tend to have fewer stones, and cutting them out can actually raise the risk.

What are the health benefits of spinach?

Spinach is rich in folate, which may support mental health and lower risks of depression and anxiety. Dietary folate is preferred to supplemental folate except for during pregnancy. Spinach is also high in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are key for eye health. A third cup daily is recommended to protect against age-related macular degeneration. Spinach is also packed with antioxidants and nitrates, which can boost artery function, and athletic performance, and even reduce wrinkles.