Greenblender is a meal kit subscription for smoothie lovers! Just like other popular meal kit subscription boxes, Greenblender supplies you with pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. But unlike other meal kits, this box is totally dedicated to yummy, nutritious smoothies!
Each week, Greenblender offers 8 recipes including recipes for green smoothies, smoothies for energy, immunity, and more. Choose the 5 that looks tastiest to you, or let Greenblender do the picking. You can see the menu several weeks into the future, so you can plan out your whole month at once, or take it week to week. It's also a snap to skip weeks if you're going out of town or have other plans. Each recipe yields 2 12 oz servings (priced at $4.90 each), meaning you'll end up with 10 glasses of goodness each week.
The ingredients arrive in an insulated package complete with ice packs along the bottom.
Most ingredients are bundled together by recipe but fragile ingredients like bananas arrive in their own foam sleeves.
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Greenblender Smoothie Subscription Box
The Subscription Box: Greenblender
The Cost: $4.90 per serving or $49.00 per week. (Each box includes 5 smoothie recipes, each of which yield 2 12 oz. servings.)
The Products: All of the pre-portioned non-GMO ingredients and recipes you need to make 10 servings of nutritious smoothies featuring organic superfoods and nuts.
Good to Know: While Greenblender's facility isn't certified gluten-free, their recipes aim to be! Also, vegan customers—Greenblender includes at least 5 dairy-free smoothie recipes each week, so you can enjoy their service, as well!
Ships to: The majority of the US for free. Some states and regions in the upper midwestern states aren't served by Greenblender yet. When you sign up, you'll input your zip code to make sure you're within their service area.
Greenblender Smoothie Subscription Box Review for February 2018
The box comes with a bunch of paperwork, including a few promotional coupons and a booklet of tips and other information.
There's also a sheet of recipes! You actually receive the recipe for all 8 smoothies that Greenblender offered that week, rather than just the 5 that you received. One reason I was interested in Greenblender was to add more smoothie recipes to my repertoire, so I appreciate getting lots of recipes to play with.
They include wide-mouth straws for each recipe, too!
Sweet Potato Renew (with sweet potato, dates, banana, cinnamon, pecans, and ice)
Recently, I've been trying to expand the types of veggies I add to my smoothies. I've done spinach in smoothies for forever, but I've been playing around with butternut squash and cauliflower, too. This is the first time I've thrown a sweet potato in a smoothie. Seems like an awesome idea—sweet potato is nutrient-rich and at least when it's cooked, it's super flavorful.
I did find that this smoothie was a little grittier than I'd have liked, probably because of the sweet potato. The recipe says you can blend them raw or slightly steamed for a creamier consistency. I opted for raw, just to be quick about things, but I'm betting that steaming is the way to go! The cinnamon and dates added an earthy sweetness that was really yummy. I wonder if this would be even tastier if I traded the dates for a spoonful of really high-quality maple syrup... I want more of that autumnal, sweet potato pie flavor, and I think that might draw it out a bit more. A huge plus? All that fiber was incredibly filling! I'll have to remember this recipe when I need a quick grab-and-go meal before a long day or a big event!
Green Grape Hydrate (with swiss chard, pear, green grapes, pea protein, spirulina, and ice)
I love green smoothies but I struggle getting the ratios of fruit and greens just right so that there's not too much sugar but the bitterness of the greens is well hidden. I've not put grapes in a smoothie before (I've been stuck in mixed-frozen-berries land for awhile), and I was curious what they'd bring to the flavor. This hydrating blend includes a packet of spirulina, too. Spirulina is a type of blue-green freshwater algae that's packed to the brim with vitamins, antioxidants, and even protein. Y'know how they say that eating a rainbow of colors is key to a healthy diet? Well, spirulina is one of the most gorgeous colors you can pick. If you didn't know how good for you it was, one look at its deep, jewel-worthy teal color would give you a hint!
At first sip, all I tasted was chard. It's a strong, almost sour flavor that I thought I might swap with spinach in the future. But honestly, after a few more sips, I started to appreciate the delicious mingling of flavors in this drink. It was incredibly refreshing, and the subtle sweetness of the grapes and pear lured my straw further and further into the glass. Also, it's hard to see in the pink-backed photo above, but the teal color of the spirulina gave the final product a gorgeous deep blue tone. I wasn't expecting to finish this smoothie at first taste, but by the end of the glass, this was solidly one of my favorite smoothies in the box. Oh, and the hydrating thing wasn't a lie, either. I felt refreshed and even somewhat soothed after drinking this concoction. I can't imagine what would happen to my mood, let alone my body if I drank one of these every day!
Coconut Creamsicle (with coconut water, baby spinach, banana, orange, goji berries, and ice)
I was never a creamsicle kid growing up. (I was too occupied with fudge-sicles, myself... if you have a fudge-sicle smoothie recipe, let me know!!!) But I've grown to really love citrus flavors, especially when they have a dessert-y kick. This recipe involves coconut water (which arrives in a perfectly portioned can), plus a hearty handful of spinach, which I didn't expect. I kind of thought it'd be more of a tropical, creamy orange blend, but I'm thrilled that they snuck some healthy greens in there!
I loooved this smoothie! I think the fact that it relied on coconut water, rather than plain water as its liquid gave it a smooth finish that tasted extra decadent. The flavor was light and perfectly sweet. I felt so good drinking a big bunch of greens in a way that felt as easy and tasty as sipping on a glass of fresh orange juice. Sure it looks a little swampy, but the flavor is great. And wow, I never thought to put goji berries in a smoothie! I'm kind of like, "DUH!" I used to snack on them all the time but never thought to blend 'em. I put them right into the blender with everything else, but you could also use these amino-acid- and antioxidant-rich treats as a garnish.
Sweet Pineapple (with sweet potato, lime, pineapple, orange, pea protein, and ice)
Another sweet potato! Definitely, give it a quick twirl in the microwave to soften it up—it changes the whole vibe of the smoothie. This recipe has lots of tropical flavors in it, plus a pop of filling sweet potato and pea protein. Pineapple is pretty high in sugar, but it also has oodles of vitamin C and manganese, so it's awesome in small doses.
How pretty is this smoothie? The citrus flavors were fresh and bold—it's kind of a next-level orange juice. I thought I might be able to do without the lime, which was interesting but kind of muddled the yummy pineapple and orange flavors I love the most. This would make a great wake-up treat. I think using a type of milk (coconut milk?) in place of water would be amazing here. It'd make the recipe feel decadent and creamy in addition to vibrant.
Coconut Mango (with spinach, mango, yellow squash, coconut flake, hemp seed, and ice)
My last smoothie incorporates yellow squash in addition to spinach. I've never played around with yellow squash in smoothies, so I was excited to try it out. (Butternut squash is quickly becoming a favorite smoothie addition for me, so why not yellow squash?) I've also rarely used mango in my own smoothies, though when it pops up in a smoothie I get at a shop, I'm thrilled. Oh, and did you know that hemp seeds provide Omega-3s and Omega-6 fatty acids? As someone who eats a mostly plant-based diet, it's awesome having this easy, vegetarian source for those nutrients!
I was a little bummed by just how very green this green smoothie tasted—I think the squash AND the spinach might've pushed the plant-y flavor a little beyond my tastes. I think the mango got a little overwhelmed, being that it has a more mild sweetness compared to the more acidic or brightly flavored fruits. I did feel refreshed and sated afterward, thanks to the helping of fiber, though. I might tweak this one up a bit before trying the recipe myself, but I love the idea of a veggie-packed smoothie, so I'm glad I gave it a shot!
The Verdict: I was really happy with my first attempt at Greenblender! It was really nice not to have to do any prep work. Previously, I've portioned out my own ingredients for smoothies to eat through the week, and it takes FOREVER chopping and scooping and putting everything into little bags or boxes for later. I see the convenience factor as being the big perk of Greenblender—you get just enough for 10 smoothies with no waste to worry about. I also love that you get a whole list of smoothie recipes you can keep and reference again. Greenblender even articulates the health significance of each ingredient on their web-based recipes!
When I've purchased fresh-made smoothies and juices at local shops, the cost has been anywhere from $4.00 to $7.00. Plus, I've noticed that some places charge extra for superfoods or the addition of protein. So $4.90 per serving doesn't feel too unrealistic to me. I know part of that cost is convenience (delivered to me, no wasted ingredients, etc.) and the value of getting a bunch of new recipes to try. Once I've got some favorites, maybe I'll try to make them myself via grocery store ingredients. (That might end up being more cost effective... what do you think?)
If I had any qualms it was just that I found the ingredients/recipes to be most suitable for a Vitamix or larger blender. I have a smaller Nutribullet, which is super powerful, but about half the size of a Vitamix. I'm worried the full recipes wouldn't have all fit—I probably would've needed to make just one serving at a time, rather than two at a time, which was more convenient for me! (Thank you, Liz, for letting me borrow your Vitamix!) The only reason I mention it is because they ask about what kind of blender you have in the sign-up process. I wonder if that'll ever impact how things are split up/portioned.
But let's face it—the most important part was that the smoothies were really unique and tasty! Some of them weren't my fave, but I'm so happy with the idea of getting so many diverse nutrients in each gulp that I'm willing to work with them. I want to try these recipes with more ice (to make them thicker) or maybe some kind of nut milk (to make them creamier and more decadent)!
To Wrap Up:
Can you get this box if you sign up today? You can definitely sign up, but Greenblender changes its menu week to week, so you may not get this exact assortment of smoothies to pick from. But you might get something just as delicious!
Coupon - Save 20% on your first box with code SUBSCRIPTION
Value Breakdown: This box costs $49.00 per weekly box, which includes 5 smoothie recipes that make 2 servings each. That breaks down to $4.90 for each 12 oz. smoothie.
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