Jump straight to the Pear and Parsley Smoothie recipe
I never thought I’d enjoy drinking parsley in a green smoothie.
Parsley has such a strong, distinctive taste that I was quite sure I’d never find a way to drink it (and actually enjoy it).
And then I stumbled onto this gem.
I love accidental discoveries.
I’ve created some of my best recipes by accident.
“Whoops, I added too much spice.”
Or “Whoops, I left out an entire ingredient.”
Or my favourite, “Whoops, I forgot to buy some of that, I’ll just chuck in some of this instead.”
And then “Hey, this kind of actually tastes awesome.”
Well, this is one of those kind of recipes.
It was during my “green smoothie experimentation” phase. The one where I was trying all kinds of crazy combinations and making lots of duds.
This, however, is most definitely NOT a dud.
I just chucked in a bit of everything that I had on hand. Some pears, some apples, a plum or two and lots of bananas.
Always lots of bananas.
And what emerged was a sweet, gentle, amazing combination that almost tastes like cinnamon.
And it has lots of parsley in it.
Which is very good for you, I understand.
And yet you can’t really taste it. I mean you can, but somehow it’s not parsley any more.
I am truly in awe of the way that you can combine simple, whole foods to create the most amazing, unexpected results.
Enjoy!
Pear and Parsley Smoothie recipe
Make sure to read the tips below the recipe to get the most out of this delicious Pear Parsley Smoothie recipe.
Parsley Pear Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley
- 1/2 med avocado
- 1 med nashi pear / Asian pear / apple pear
- 1 med pear
- 1 med apple , sweet e.g. Royal Gala
- 1 med apple , green e.g. Granny Smith
- 2 med plums
- 6 med bananas
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup ice (200g)
Method
- Remove seed from plum, skin & seed from avocado, skin from bananas and stalks from pears and apples.
- Chop fruit roughly.
- Add ingredients to blender in order listed.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
Preparation
- Before: -
- During: 15 mins
- After: -
- Need: Blender
Nutrition Information
Tips
- You can halve the recipe if you like. I tend to make a very full jug’s worth (as you can see by the photo), and then store it in the world’s best smoothie bottles so I can drink it over the next day or so. But you don’t have to make that much. And if you don’t want half fruits lying around, just put the whole fruit in and see how it goes :)
- If you don’t have a high speed blender, I recommend removing the seeds from your apples and pears. If you do, just leave them in.
Have a truly awesome day!
12 comments
Tom
My blender was very specific that Apple seeds must be removed when blending as they contain cyanide or some other poison that becomes bioavaliable if blended. Is this not true?
Nikki
Hi Tom,
You’re absolutely correct that apple seeds, along with many other fruit seeds (including apricots, pears and cherries), contain a substance called amygdalin that can release cyanide when it comes into contact with your digestive juices.
However, the amounts found in one apple are very small, so you’d need to eat at least 20 apple cores in one go to ingest a potentially harmful dose. So a green smoothie that contains the seeds from two apples and two pears, that make six serves that you drink over the course of a day or two, gives you less than 2% of that amount, which can be easily detoxified by your body.
There is some debate about the risks and benefits of consuming even small amounts of amygdalin, but some people have used amygdalin (also know as Vitamin B17 or laetrile in the man-made form) to heal cancer, as well as boost immunity, reduce pain and lower blood pressure. There’s not a lot of research available on the effects of eating amygdalin.
But in the end, if you’re not comfortable with the idea of eating the apple seeds, just cut them out before adding the apple to your blender.
Here’s some articles that might help to clarify the issue a little further if you’re interested:
I hope that clears it up a little for you. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Debbie
Hi, This sounds great, but is there any protein in it? If not, do you know what I could use for protein if I don’t want to use a protein powder?
Thanks.
Nikki
Hi Debbie,
There’s a small amount of protein in it (3g per 330ml serve) and I’ve updated the nutritional information to show this.
If you want to increase the protein content of the smoothie, the simplest way would be to swap the 1/2 avocado for a 1/2 cup of hulled hemp seeds (hemp hearts).
I always use hemp seeds when I want to increase the protein content of a dish, because at 33% protein, it’s one of the highest wholefood vegan sources of protein (apart from spirulina), and it also contains all the essential amino acids.
Adding hemp will change the taste slightly, but it will also double the protein content from 3g to 6g per serve, without needing to use a protein powder.
Senad
Hoping to try all these smoothies on your list since last week I bought a new blender to try and get healthy, I was wondering what are your thoughts on using almond milk or coconut milk instead of the water? And how about adding chia seeds or hemp protein to smoothies I add them to all the smoothies I make.
Nikki
Hi Senad,
If you want to use almond milk or coconut milk, go for it! They’ll definitely make it creamier and richer.
Same with the chia seeds and hemp protein – more great nutrients and flavours. And these days I use hemp seeds as the fat in my green smoothies because it’s the most awesome food on the planet ever ;)
Frankly I’ve played with all kinds of combinations over the years and there’s no right or wrong to it.
Just because I like to keep my green smoothies simple does not mean that you have to. Use the ingredients that you love best, because then you’ll enjoy it more.
So do whatever you need to do to ensure that you drink your smoothies and love them, because then you’ll keep doing it, and that’s all that matters as far as I’m concerned.
Have fun with your new blender ♥
Senad
Thanks for the reply ? I made a couple smoothies not the best so I’m just gonna look at recipes to get a basis on how to make good smoothies.
Nikki
Hi Senad,
I had the same trouble when starting out – I made so many that tasted “yuck” that I got discouraged. That’s why my recipes are so simple, because too many flavours can throw the whole thing off balance.
Start with a simple recipe that uses ingredients you like, and start changing it up once you find something you like, and expect to make a “dud” now and then.
Reyna
Hi, I was wondering how much of everything I’d use if I just want to make one, single serving for myself?
Nikki
Hi Reyna,
That would depend on how small an amount your blender can handle and still blend it properly. The last you want is bits of parsley in your smoothie!
The recipe makes about 2L, so I would probably use 1/4 of the ingredients. This will make around 500ml which is about 1.5 serves, but it should be enough liquid for your blender to handle it well.
If your blender can handle tiny amounts well, then take it down to 1/6 of everything, and adjust the water until it blends properly.
Hope that helps!
Lisa
I know banana is everyone’s favorite way to sweeten a smoothie. I also know that a artificial sweeteners are not good for you. (except maybe stevia) But what do you do when you are epi-pen allergic to bananas and avocados? I would like a whole recipe bin of great tasting healthy smoothies that don’t use these ingredients for obvious reasons.
Thanks for sharing,
Lisa
Nikki
Hi Lisa,
I would just use whatever fruits you’re not allergic to, and that you enjoy. I’ve been using hemp seeds instead of avocado recently, and I love my smoothies with pears, mangoes, oranges, apples – whatever’s in season that I love. You can also use medjool dates to sweeten a smoothie.
If you haven’t seen it before, I highly recommend Valya Boutenko’s video where she talks about which fruits to use to make a creamy smoothie. Hope this helps!
How To Make A Green Smoothie Tasty Every Time – Valya Boutenko