I know vegetables would be better than the supplement, but sometimes the idea of mixing it into a protein shake would be super convenient on a busy day. I’m wondering if they’re actually a reasonable substitute. Also, can anyone recommend something?
Powdered greens are an optional smoothie supplement when you can’t fit dark leafy greens in a meal. They are nothing more than the whole vegetable, dehydrated and powdered, so all that’s missing is water. And dehydrated veggies have a shelf life far beyond fresh produce, which makes it less wasteful. Specific strain veggies like algae/spirulina are high in vitamin K, copper, and b vitamins / incredibly nutritious- and consuming this in dried form is about the only way you’ll ever get to eat it. (FYI - spirulina is the only dried plant that I consume regularly.)
So the downside is taste/purity and real plant volume. I’ve done complex blends such as Green Vibrance, which is excellent btw - and let me say it tastes like SWAMP. It’s foul. Thankfully they sell single serve packets so if you don’t like it, you’re only out several dollars. On the topic of purity, the super blends may contain added probiotics, vitamins, minerals, and digestive enzymes. These aren’t bad things, but it is kinda franken-food. And being overly complex, it may cause digestion and gas issues.
Plant volume seems to be lacking. Yeah, it’s dehydrated, but in terms of provided fiber in each serving, the stated fiber in grams seems to come up way short of the fiber consumed in eating fresh produce.
JMO - give it a try, but you might find adding in frozen broccoli or kale, or even scoops of algae are an easier habit as a way to get veggies than the powdered blends of super greens.
Why don’t you add spinach or kale into a ‘protein fruit smoothie’. Doesn’t change the taste too much, is practical, and will be lightyears ahead of any supplement/vegetable replacement product you get on the shelf in terms of nutritional value
The hype is strong with this stuff.
The global supplement market was worth $60 billion in 2020.
USA supplement manufacturers are largely unregulated.
They can say anything they want as long as they don’t claim to treat disease.
So they gonna LIE! They gonna pay millions to the best liars to LIE for them. $60 billion.
“Greens” are ultra processed plant material with added vitamins and minerals.
They are a pale ghost of the vegs they are marketed as equivalent to.
Save your $$$.
No better than taking a multivitamin.
For the inevitable: “They have fiber!!!!”
I’ve never seen more than 2 g of fiber on the nutrition label for greens. If you are dead set on using a supplement instead of eating veg, you’ll save a LOT of money taking a multivitamin and mixing some psyllium into your protein shake.
If you have the budget to spend on greens and feel like it works better for you for whatever reason, by all means - it’s your money. But they certainly aren’t equivalent to veggies. I’m guessing greens feel a lot more glamorous than a MV pill and some psyllium, but that’s essentially what you’re getting, all wrapped up in a very expensive bow.
No. Please don’t be influenced by ‘greens’ shakes by influencers.Eat whole foods, fruit and vegetables to get nutrition… and as other have said, put spinach in smoothies etc as an alternative. It will be better and healthier for you
I enjoy cooking but don’t want to be a slave to the kitchen every day so when I cook I will for example roast a whole head of broccoli (it doesn’t keep that well in the fridge anyway) and keep it so that it’s readily available to round out another meal later in the week. Once cooked it seems to hold better (tightly sealed container though - it does have a pungent smell). I do this with a mix of veg and consume them over a few days. Probably not optimal but very practical. You can do the same with soup. You can food prep chopped salads or whip together a salad pretty quickly
The fact that they call them “greens” is frustratingly misleading and purely a branding/marketing ploy. They are not remotely a reasonable alternative to actual greens like kale or spinach. As someone else suggested, consider them to be roughly equivalent to your bog standard multivitamin.
You don’t have to have vegetables in the first place if you eat enough calories of meat eggs and dairy. Those will have all or more of every nutrient your body needs.
If you’re going to opt for processed version of veggies, I’d suggest you just skip it in favor or Whole Foods like eggs which are far more nutritious than a processed veggie shake.