Greens Powder Recipe Ideas – How to Cook with Supergreens

Superfood powders are popular supplements, packed full of vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients that have been associated with various health benefits. Many of the ingredients found in superfood greens powders are hard, if not impossible, to buy here in the UK. You will have trouble finding blue green algae, spirulina chlorella or Lion’s Mane mushroom extract in your local supermarket. Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of superfood powders available and a few different ways to integrate them into your diet and lifestyle with greens powder recipes just waiting for you to enjoy.

Why buy a greens powder supplement?

When you think of ‘eating greens’, common dinner-table staples like spinach, broccoli and kale might spring to mind. These classic, healthy foods can be difficult to include in your diet – for many people, fresh greens are too much effort to source, prepare and use before they go out of date. Eating a wide range of greens (vegetables, leaves, roots, algae and herbs) can also be expensive; getting your 5-a-day has never been harder. If you struggle to eat enough vegetables, a green superfood powder could be the ideal supplement for your diet and lifestyle.

Top Tip: Save Money with Superfoods Powders

Purchasing a greens powder to cook with can save you time and money; green superfood powder supplements often contain more nutrients than their whole-leaf counterparts, at a significantly reduced cost.

What’s in a Greens Powder Supplement?

Vegetables and other greens are full of nutrients, dietary fibres and complex carbohydrates. However, the bulk of their weight is simply water. Super green powders’ are carefully formulated and processed supplements that have been stripped of water, while retaining as many nutrients and dietary fibers as possible. This dehydration process gives greens powders an unbelievably strong, robust flavour and an equally bold selection of nutrients to match.

Greens Powders can have Exceptionally High Nutritional Value

Superfoods powders are highly rated in the field of nutrition, often containing phytonutrients, prebiotics and probiotic molecules. These can range from the more common vitamins, minerals and fibres to unique molecules that are only found in specific superfoods. Gram-for-gram, a greens powder contains more nutrients than raw, non-processed greens.

Greens Powder: From Zero to Hero

The UK’s passion for greens powder, as both a supplement and a cooking ingredient, has been on the increase since 2011 [1]. Now it seems like every supplement brand has launched their own greens powder and with so many options to choose from – which superfood greens powder should I buy?

The Health Benefits of Greens Powder

The healthy bacteria that inhabit our gastrointestinal system are often overlooked when it comes to health. Despite their tiny size, these bacteria control everything from how hungry we are to which foods we crave. They help to regulate digestion with digestive enzymes and can have a massive impact on our weight, muscle mass and even mood. Recent discoveries have linked specific gut bacteria with depression and other mood disorders. The types and volumes of bacteria inside us are collectively known as the gut flora – they’re as unique to each person as a fingerprint.

Top Tip: Boost your Gut Biome with Greens Powder

Regularly including a super greens powder in your diet could aid digestive health, as they are high in dietary fibres. According to recent research, high-fibre supplements can increase both the volume and variety of bacteria in the gut – both you and your immune system can enjoy greens powder [2]

What can you do with Supergreens powder?

These powders aren’t as versatile as other powdered supplements such as Whey Protein. The strong, savoury taste of greens powders can limit their use in the kitchen to soups, sauces and marinades.

What do you Mix Greens Powder With?

Combine with a multivitamin, protein powder or other supplements. Combining multiple supplements together can lead to synergy, a boosting of each supplements’ individual effects.

Some greens powders contain additional probiotics and digestive enzymes, to help the body to rapidly break down and absorb nutrients. Almost all greens powder supplements are 100% vegan and many are GMO-free as well. They’re typically created exclusively from natural ingredients

Sweet Treats with Superfood Powder

Sweet recipes, like smoothies and ice cream, require a lot of sweetness to cover up any unpleasant flavours. Natural fruits with strong tastes, like pineapple, work brilliantly. Pick fresh or frozen fruit wherever possible to maximise the number of nutrients your body could absorb and use. Honey, maple syrup and even pure sugar are often called on in these recipes. They work like a charm, making your dessert, snack or drink far more palatable. These natural sweeteners are high-calorie ingredients with low nutritional value. Using a low-sugar or artificial alternative can dramatically cut calories from a recipe and increase potential nutritional benefits.

Top Tip: Stack your Superfood Supplement

If you’re supplementing your diet to lose excess weight or gain muscle, look at taking a protein powder supplement as well. Add supplements into your diet slowly; too much, too quick can temporarily upset the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. It takes time for your and gut flora to adjust to a change in diet.

Are Superfoods and Super Greens the Same Thing?

It’s important not to confuse super greens with superfoods – they’re different terms. Superfoods are highly nutritious foods (often seeds, nuts, berries and leaves) that are typically rich in fibre, minerals and vitamins. It’s important to point out that there’s no scientific consensus on which foods get the ‘super’ status. Superfood supplement producers put immense time and effort into creating the most nutritious products possible and supporting a healthy diet and lifestyle. Look for superfood supplements containing a wide range of nutrients from various, natural sources.

How do you use Superfood powder?

Most superfood powders are formulated and sold as dietary supplements – they can be mixed into various liquids and foods. If you read a supplement’s packaging, you might find a ‘mix with water’ or ‘mix into a smoothie’. While both of these options are perfectly safe for most people, there is one major drawback; the taste. A typical greens powder will taste like a powdered blend of concentrated raw vegetables. Some products contain sweeteners to enhance flavour, but even these hardly taste great. So why not use one scoop of greens powder in a cooked meal instead?

Greens Powder Pills

You can also find a smaller number of superfood powder pills available. These are easy-to-take supplements but have no use in cooking. Many pills contain binding agents and filler ingredients that can ruin an otherwise delicious meal.

Can you cook with super greens powder?

Yes! You certainly can cook with greens powder; it can be slipped into sauces, giving them a subtle, healthy kick or simmered into a hearty soup (recipe below). Avoid cooking super greens at high temperatures; this can degrade and destroy many of the useful nutrients locked within a super green supplement.

Is it safe to cook with super greens powder?

Yes, it is generally safe to cook with supergreens powders. It’s no different from cooking with other dried and powdered ingredients, although always check the ingredients carefully before using a product in this way. Although supergreens powders are commonly packaged and marketed as supplements, many are simply . Avoid super greens powders that contain artificial binders, stabilizers or filler ingredients – these are unlikely to affect taste but may clump-up when cooked.

Start Slow with Greens Powder Cookery

It’s best to start introducing super greens into your dishes slowly. Some products have an extremely powerful taste that could overwhelm your taste buds and overpower your cooking. Use small amounts of greens powder and bold flavours while cooking.

Tone Down the Taste of Green Powder

Use every ingredient at your disposal when cooking with a greens powder. You might need to experiment in the kitchen to find mask the supergreens’ earthy taste. Bold umami flavours and flavourings, like soy sauce and MSG, can seriously help to tone down any overpowering or unpleasant flavours. Other strong, taste bud-tingling ingredients like garlic and chilli are excellent choices in the kitchen.

Top Tip: Which Supergreens Powder should I Cook With?

Look at the individual ingredients and work backwards. If a green powder contains sweeteners, it’s best reserved for desserts.

Recipe Ideas and Inspiration

Potato and Supergreens Soup

Potato and Super Greens Soup (40 minutes, serves 6)

This hearty soup combines nutrient-rich veggies, leafy greens and super greens powder into a tasty, quick-to-prepare broth. Making soup is an excellent way to familiarise yourself with a super greens powder – you should be able to taste the subtle nuances of each ingredient in a thoroughly delicious, 25-minute meal. We recommend serving with freshly baked, wholemeal bread and a dollop of butter or crème fraîche.

Recipe: Serves 6 Portions

  • 3 Large, peeled potatoes – Choose starchy varieties like Maris Piper and King Edward
  • 1 Large, white onion – Peeled and diced
  • 3 Large cloves of garlic – Peeled and mashed
  • 1 each of parsnip, turnip, beetroot and/or other root vegetables – Peeled and diced into small cubes
  • 1 handful of fresh, leafy greens – Kale, spinach, savoy cabbage and pak choy are ideal
  • A generous bunch of fresh parsley, coriander and/or other soft, leafy herbs
  • 1.5 Litres of high-quality stock – Chicken or vegetable stock will suffice, either homemade or store bought
  • 2 – 6 tablespoons of Super Greens Powder like Lean Greens
  • Olive Oil – Or any other cooking oil of your choice, including butter, coconut oil and ghee.
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Method

  1. Add 1tbsp of oil to a deep-sided saucepan. Add the onions, peeled and diced root vegetables and potatoes and fry on medium-high heat until tender and coloured. This should take around 5 – 10 minutes. This should create a sticky, brown crust at the bottom of your saucepan – the French call this le Fond; it’s where the soup’s hearty, deep flavours are stored.
  2. Deglaze the saucepan by adding a splash of stock. Use a spoon or spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the saucepan and incorporate the brown Fond into the stock. Add garlic.
  3. Bring to a light simmer and slowly add your choice of super greens powder. Add just 1 tablespoon at a time, stir thoroughly and taste your soup. You might find that only a few tablespoons are required to create a rich, hearty, flavourful meal – you can always add more greens powder, but you can’t remove it once added.
  4. Continue to simmer and mix occasionally until the potatoes and root vegetables are tender and each ingredient is 80% done cooking. This will take approximately 20 – 30 minutes, depending on your ingredients and equipment.
  5. Add the chopped leafy greens and continue to simmer until these too are cooked. Now, you can adjust the flavour profile of your creation with salt, spices and other seasonings. A generous pinch of salt and pepper may be needed to balance out any over-powering flavours.
  6. If your soup tastes ‘thin’ or ‘watery’, add a generous drizzle of olive oil to the soup and continue simmering until the soup reduces and concentrates. Likewise, if your super greens soup tastes too strong, continue to add more water or stock to the saucepan and taste until satisfied.
  7. Serve piping hot with freshly baked bread or crackers for dunking and enjoy as a simple starter or a hearty main meal.

Once cooled to room temperature, this soup can be stored in the fridge for 4/5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Avoid re-heating using a microwave, as this can decrease the nutritional content in many foods.

Supergreen Powder Energy Bites

Organic Chia Seeds, Ginger and Dark Chocolate Energy Bites Recipe with Super Greens Powder (14 servings)

Energy bites (AKA energy balls) are popular, bite-sized snacks made with dried fruits and other ingredients. This recipe uses the strong, fiery kick of fresh ginger and bitter dark chocolate to mask any savoury flavours contributed by the super greens powder, which gives these bites a beneficial boost in vitamin, mineral and other nutrient content. You could substitute dark chocolate for green tea extract, powdered barley grass or spirulina chlorella powder. Stored at room temperature, these energy balls will last for up to 1 week and making them couldn’t be easier!

Recipe: Creates approximately 14 bites

  • 1 Medium knob ginger – Peeled then crushed into a fine paste
  • 100g Dark Chocolate – Grated as fine as possible with a cheese grater. Milk or even white chocolate would make an energy bite that’s sweeter (and tastier), but lower in nutritional value
  • 100g peanut butter – Or any other nut butter
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds – To coat the outside of each energy bite
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder – Choose a high-quality powder made from 100% cocoa beans
  • 100g rolled oats
  • Approx 50g chopped, dried fruit – Raisins, cranberries and dried apricots are ideal
  • 80ml maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons greens powder like Super Green TONIK which contains Stevia sweetener
Method
  1. Combine the cocoa powder, greens powder, vanilla extract, peanut butter and maple syrup in a large mixing bowl until smooth and uniform.
  2. Add the ginger and any chopped dried fruit to this mix – stir until homogenous.
  3. Gradually add the rolled oats into the mixture, stopping once the mix becomes firm enough to roll into balls. Add more maple syrup to create a looser mix and add more oats to increase firmness.
  4. Coat the exterior of each energy bite with chia seeds and cover with a sprinkling of grated dark chocolate.
Fatima Ahmed
Fatima Ahmed

Fatima is a writer, blogger, health and well-being advocate; with a nutritional science degree at her command. Her passion is to propagate the importance of female health and the ways lifestyle can be enhanced via dietary interventions and supplements. Embodying the literal term “we are what we eat”, she is a proud seeker of knowledge for the most updated methods to heighten personal health regimes.

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