This Winter glow green smoothie has a bit of spice from ginger and cinnamon, sweetness from pear, and protein/creamy-ness from hemp hearts. Fresh lemon brightens everything up in this healthy breakfast smoothie.
I have been drinking so many green smoothies. I do have some travel coming up and with busy (typically indulgent) holiday times on the horizon, I’m taking a “fuel” approach to my meals these days. The simplification has been surprisingly relaxing, not gonna lie, but variety is a challenge. I keep leaning on the typical healthy vegan smoothies, but also the same roasted veg/salad/whole grain bowl combos day after day.
So in the interest of sharing more of my real life food, I’ve got a recipe for a smoothie I made up when I was getting a little tired of the old peanut butter and banana combo. The base here is ripe pear and hemp hearts, with lots of warm spice and a fresh burst of lemon.
I picked up an excellent smoothie tip from my bud Lily a while ago: instead of using non-dairy milk as your liquid, you can just scoop in some hemp hearts and add water to the blend. You’re basically making fresh hemp milk AND your smoothie at the same time. No soaking necessary. So smart! You can also just make hemp milk ahead of time in a big batch with my Maple Cinnamon Hemp Milk recipe.
Hemp hearts are one of my favourite everyday superfoods. Compared to some of the other weird and wonderful fruits/powders/herbs/seeds, hemp is quite affordable and (where I live) totally accessible. It’s also a complete, totally sustainable protein source. I added hemp to pretty much everything when I first went 100% plant-based because I didn’t have a great handle on cooking yet and was looking for a mega nutrient boost. I still add hemp to everything though haha.
The flavor is nutty and slightly sweet-grassy, which makes hemp quite diverse. In addition to smoothies, I love using hemp hearts in place of pine nuts for pesto. Lately I’ve been making a kale and oregano pesto with a hemp base for drizzling on bowls and tossing with zucchini noodles. I just use this recipe, replacing the almonds with hemp and adding a couple sprigs of fresh oregano.
And another one: I always have some sort of nut-based vegan “parmesan” on hand for sprinkling, and hemp works perfectly for it. In my little electric coffee grinder, I combine ¼ cup hemp hearts, 1-2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and a good pinch of salt. I pulse the mixture a couple times and it’s done. Delicious, so healthy, and super easy (looove my spice grinder).
I hope that you’ll try this super fresh green smoothie combo!
Winter Glow Green Smoothie with Hemp & Ginger
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped greens (I like a 50/50 mix of baby spinach and kale)
- small handful fresh mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- ½ teaspoon MCT oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ripe pear, cored and chopped
- 1 cup water
Equipment
Notes
- I think a pinch of ground cardamom would be so delicious in this smoothie.
- I peeled my pear to get that ultra green shade (always doing it for the photo haha), but normally I’d leave it.
- I like using a mix of mild and strong greens for a green smoothie like this one. If your taste buds are hardy enough for all kale though, definitely go for it ;)
- The pear should be quite ripe for the right level of sweetness.
- This smoothie ends up being room temperature, which I like in this colder climate.
Instructions
- In an upright blender, combine the greens, mint, hemp hearts, ginger, cinnamon, salt, MCT oil, lemon juice, pear, and water. Blend the mixture on high until completely smooth. Enjoy the winter glow green smoothie immediately, with an extra sprinkle of hemp hearts on top if you like.
*This post was created in partnership with Manitoba Harvest. All opinions/endorsements are my own. Thanks for supporting!
I love hemp seeds on basically everything, but lately I’ve been topping sweet potato pesto noodles with vegan Parm and hemp seeds. Loveee your recipe for vegan parm up top!
Shannon
I often use them to top my waffle! They add just the little crunch I need – together with cacao nibs – and a decent protein boost ^_^
I just put them in smoothies but I am excited to try some of the things you told us!
Basic answer but smoothies!
I love hemp hearts sprinkled on top of spiral zucchini salad.
I can’t eat yogurt anymore unless I put hemp hearts on it. I love the nutty flavour and actually could just eat them plain.
Thanks for the chance to win this great prize pack.
I love hemp seeds on top of oatmeal or to make a quick and easy non-dairy milk!
I love adding a tablespoon hemp hearts to my Cacao Tonics for the creaminess they add as well as the protein and good fats we need.
I play around with these in different versions but basically 2 cups hot herbal tea of choice like Yerba Mate or Dandelion Root blended with the T hemp seeds, T cacao, 1/2 T lucuma, 1 t raw honey, heaping t Coconut oil, 1/2 t each of Maca, ashwaganda, reishi, chaga, scoop Dandy Blend for more of a coffee flavor and vanilla stevia to taste. Love this so much. It’s a feel good blend that’s for sure and a good substitute for coffee.
I like to use them in smoothies, topped on a salad and vegan parm.
I love to add hemp seeds to my dandy blend drink. It makes it creamy.
What a great and inspiring post. Been enjoying hemp seeds for a while. Usually throw some in any smoothie I am blending up. Also as you suggested in a previous post, I love using them with cashews to make a creamy and delicious nondiary milk. I use it to make hot cocoa. Enjoy this holiday season. Thanks so much for all the amazing information and inspiration.
I love supporting Canadian companies for one- I love your blog and you are a fantastic resource for me! My favourite way to use them is roasted and topped on a salad and or veggie meal. Love the toasted flavour. Secondly I love sprinkling raw ones on drinks and smoothie bowls. Yum!
My favorite way with hemp seeds is my avocado toast with sprouted whole grain bread. I love the omega 3 action. I also use them when making my homemade vegan mayo. I add them in with all my ingredients at the beginning and give it a whirl and then slowly add the oil. It requires way less oil added.
I’m simple- I use hemp seeds in my smoothie. I also put them in my toddler’s smoothies for an extra boost!!
Smoothies!!! And thx for the ideas on how else to use them.
I also love hemp hearts on/in everything, but my fav application is def smoothies. SO creamy and tasty.
I love topping my yogurt & oatmeal bowls with hemp hearts! Also have recently tried pesto with hemp & loved it.
I’ve only tossed hemp hearts on top of yogurt bowls, but the idea of using them in smoothies with water is genius!
Love hemp seeds on my oatmeal and smoothie bowls, or in homemade nut free pesto!
My favorite way to use hemp hearts is on your ol’ reliable avocado toast recipe from your cookbook. I’ve made this avo toast for several of my friends and it never fails to impress :)
Smoothies!
I put hemp hearts on my avocado toast and also use them in pesto to replace the nuts since my daughter is allergic. The smoothie looks great!
I use them in raw desserts to sub for oats. I also love how it makes hemp milk almost instantly – no soaking required!
Ah I love hemp hearts! Also can’t wait to try this recipe… gotta say my favorite way to eat hemp is in overnight hemp porridge! (Kinda like overnight oats but with hemp)- current fav is pumpkin spice hemp porridge made with pumpkin purée!
My favorite use for hemp hearts is to sprinkle them on my oatmeal, but I can’t wait to replace non dairy milk with hemp hearts and water in smoothies. This green smoothie sounds yummy! Susi
I use them in my smoothies!
I blend hemp hearts, coconut milk and banana into a smoothie. It tastes great and it’s filling.
i eat hemp seeds in my smoothies!! great recipe by the way, i love the idea of pears, mint and cinnamon! can’t wait to try it :)
I love to add them to smoothies and sprinkle them on salads. It’s also fun to use hemp seeds in homemade vegan parmesan.
I like to make homemade hemp milk!
I LOVE HEMP Milk and use 1/2-1 c Manitoba Hemp Hearts with 4 cups water and 1 date, blended. I make the milk every couple days and use it in smoothies, on my morning hot cereal. I also use the Hemp Hearts for making healthy protein bars and as an addition to many desserts.
I love Manitoba hemp hearts and have been adding them to smoothies and salads but my favorite way to use them is to add them to hummus :) gives the spread an extra nutty creamy consistency, it’s really delicious!!
Hemp hearts by the handful to support my body! I put them on salads, top stir fry, on soup, granola. They really are good just about any way you want to use them. One question? Does their benefits remain if they are cooked? I think they would be a great addition to my Ginger Date Nuts & Seeds bar.
I agree on adding hemp to smoothies! Easy, affordable, healthy protein!
I haven’t used hemp harts so no favorite way. Your smoothie looks great though so might need to try it. Would it work with an apple instead of a pear? also what is MCT oil. Thanks.
I use Manitoba hemp hearts with oatmeal. Add-in? add during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Add on: mix 1 tbl hemp hearts, 1 teaspoon sweetener of choice, and sweet spices of your choice (I like 1/2 tsp cinnamon, a pinch of cloves, and 1/8 tsp ginger, then layer hemp spice mix with oatmeal, reserving some to sprinkle on top
I don’t have a lot of experience with hemp hearts. I’ve enjoyed them stirred into oatmeal. I know I’d definitely like to try them as a “parmesan”
I love to sprinkle hemp on my oatmeal and add it to smoothies. Love the tip about using them and water instead of adding other non dairy milk.
I like to sprinkle my morning oatmeal with hemp hearts and chia seeds!
The only way I used hemp is hemp powder in my post workout drink. Thanks for the pesto tip! Got to try it
I normally just sprinkle them on top of finished dishes for a little texture or put them in smoothies, but I’d like to experiment more with them!
Wow! Love these recipe ideas! I use hemp in my smoothies, sprinkled over my morning eggs, or on my salads for extra boost of protein!
So far, I’ve used hemp hearts only in smoothies. Plan to make the “parm” as well as a vegan recipe for Tzatziki that calls for them.
Yay, thanks for this recipe :) I have been needing some inspiration for a new smoothie recipe myself – can’t wait to try this. I love hemp hearts added to basically everything… But would have to say that my ultimate favourite is on toast of any kind! They are great to sprinkle on top of savoury spreads like hummus or smashed avos, but also on top of nut butter and sliced banana – soooo good!
I like putting hemp hearts on avocado or peanut butter toast!
In my smoothies and in a creamy dressing together with nutritional yeast for a punch of minerals
I really love to put them in energy balls!
(But really, I use hemp seeds on everything!)
I put two tablespoons of hemp seeds on my salad every day. I’ll have to try putting them in a smoothie, it sure sounds good.
I have hemp seeds every morning blended into my morning matcha “latte” – the hemp seeds make the base for a creamy drink once everything is blended together!
Oohhh yeah!!! I use hemp hearts every single day on my overnight oats and im just starting to make my almost 1 year old son fresh hemp milk too and he loves it!