Smoothies are an easy, healthy way to start your day and get in extra servings of fruits and vegetables. For some of you, I know it may seem intimidating to get started. You might have many questions like, what ingredients, proportions, protein powder, and blender to use?
Don’t let these questions turn you off from making healthy smoothies for you and your family. They can be as easy as the recipes below, and more delicious and nutritious than you ever thought possible. If you want to get creative and try your own, the key is to keep it balanced. Combine your favorite fruits and vegetables with healthy fats from coconut or nut milks, avocados, or butters; and then add in some protein from seeds, nuts, powders, or other super food powders.
Bonus: Smoothies are a fantastic way to eat the rainbow.
Here are 7 produce-packed smoothie recipes for you to try. Cherry-pick your favorites or turn it into a week-long challenge. Remember, there’s no wrong way to add diverse fruits, veggies, and essential vitamins and minerals to your daily routine! Just remember the key word: balance. All fruits can mean too much sugar, so a dose of greens, a little fat and some protein will keep you on track and satiated for hours.
Red-y or not
This Pink Power Detox Smoothie from Oh She Glows serves up a punch of color. It’s a vegan recipe that’s built to help detox your body of harmful toxins. With beets, avocados, strawberries, celery, lemon, and apples, it’s a grab-bag of easy-to-source produce. Plus, it calls for virgin coconut oil, an anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial metabolism-booster that’s loaded with good-for-you bonuses.
Add-in! Protein powder is the go-to mix-in for smoothies and shakes. You can buy them in all sorts of flavors and with a slew of different properties. I like this one from Sunwarrior.
Blood orange
For a kick of spice, try this savory recipe from Bon Appetit with grated ginger and turmeric as well as a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt. On the produce side, it’s a blend of oranges, carrots, and frozen mango, which you can pick up in your freezer section. The smoothie recipe calls for coconut water, but if you prefer it a little creamier or thicker, you can swap in your favorite milk or ice cubes.
Add-in! Hemp seeds are high in fiber and rich in gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA, which helps ease muscle soreness, inflammation, and symptoms of hormonal imbalances, like PMS.
Mellow yellow
Smoothies aren’t all about crushed ice, milk, and yogurt. This one from Running on Real Food leans on cashew butter for healthy fats and protein. I love it because on top of being delicious, it’s all about anti-inflammatory foods. This smoothie calls for frozen mango and orange for tons of flavor as well as cinnamon and turmeric, which are heavy-hitters if you’re suffering from inflammation.
Add-in! Celebrities from New York to L.A. are adding collagen powder to their green drinks and smoothies, and not just for its skin-plumping properties. Collagen powder also has the potential to help your joints recover from tough workouts.
Go green!
Many health food junkies shove a bag of spinach into a Vitamix and calling it a day, but there’s so much more you can do with a green smoothie. I like this Digestive Aid Smoothie from In Sonnet’s Kitchen because it combines interesting ingredients like cucumber, banana, and mint with ginger, chopped fennel, and coconut water.
Add-in! Spirulina is a plant-based protein and an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin K.
Blue? Not you!
Want to wow just about anyone? This smoothie from a chef Alex Thomopoulos will do it, guaranteed. Passion fruit, pineapple, and banana builds this recipes flavor while milk supplies it with a rich, creamy texture. If you’re dairy-free try coconut milk instead. This is the perfect recipe for adding veggies to your smoothie. The strong, tropical flavors will mask most tastes, so feel free to try anything from leafy greens to cauliflower or sweet potato.
Add-in! This recipe’s color comes from an incredible, all-natural algae supplement that’s actually a very specific type of spirulina called Blue Majik.
Berry purple
This smoothie recipe from Damn Delicious takes a classic to the next level. Start with blueberries and a frozen banana, then add in kale or any leafy green, your yogurt or non-dairy milk of choice, and high-fiber, gluten-free oats. From there, you can add ingredients depending on your tastes or what fruits and vegetables you have sitting around your kitchen. Swap in raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries; or try cauliflower instead of banana.
Add-in! Chia seeds are among the most nutritious items the planet has to offer, with omega-3 fatty acids that help with your brain health, fiber for your heart and digestion, and protein for healing.
Chocolate fix
I found a smoothie that is practically a three-course meal in a glass, but thanks to a dash of cocoa powder (which is rich in antioxidants), it tastes just like a chocolate shake. This smoothie recipe from The Muffin Myth brings protein to the table with ½ cup of black beans and a cup of milk. On the produce side, it’s packing banana, cauliflower, and medjool dates for sweetness.
Add in! Love a good malted? Then Maca Powder might be the supplement you’re looking for. Derived from a root, it’s known for improving energy, decreasing stress, and boosting libido.
Smoothies made even easier?!
I’m sharing these recipes with you today because they are easy to make yourself with very little prep work. But if you want an even easier option for healthy drinks on the go, there’s one more thing you should try.
It’s called greenblender, and it’s a subscription box that arrives at your door loaded up with farm-fresh, organic ingredients, supplements and superfoods like chia and hemp seed, and a packet of recipes that will use every item in the box. If you’re a fan of Blue Apron, this is a box you want to try.
