If you haven’t jumped on the smoothie bandwagon, jump on it! Smoothies are an excellent way to get some really dense nutrition into a small package. There are endless smoothie concoctions to satisfy everyone’s tastes whether it is sweet or savory. Smoothies are a great way to add dark leafy greens to your diet without even tasting them! Just sneak them into your kid’s smoothies and they will never know they are eating healthy veggies! Smoothies are also a great way to bulk up on extra nutrition by adding powdered supplements, dietary fiber, healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado, nuts and nut butters, and seeds such as hemp, chia, and flax. By adding spices like turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger you boost your immune system because spices are full of antioxidants as well as all kinds of fruits.
One great way to add fruit is to freeze it first. This turns your smoothie into an ice cold thick shake! You don’t even have to peel your apples when you cut them up. There is a lot of nutrients in the skin of that apple! You can easily freeze berries right in their container. Just make sure they are completely dry after you wash them.
Smoothies are great for someone on the go. You can put all the ingredients into the blender the night before and in the morning all you have to do is blend and go!
You can use many types of liquid in your smoothie. Any type of milk, juice, water, coffee, tea…. use your imagination!
Smoothies are a great way to get extra protein into your diet. Choose a high quality protein powder made from natural ingredients and watch out for added sugar. If you add fruit to your smoothie, you may not need to add any sweetener. You can also substitute yogurt for the protein powder. Yogurt contains calcium too!
Sweeteners like honey, agave, and natural sugars are fine, but they do add lots of calories and aren’t good for people who have blood sugar problems. Natural sweeteners like stevia are a good choice and won’t affect your blood sugar.
Here are some of my favorite protein smoothie recipes. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to use cold coffee or use a teaspoon of instant coffee, cold chai tea, to add an extra depth of flavor! Don’t forget to add dark leafy greens too. Yum!
Smoothie Recipes
Coffee Berry Greens
Milk of choice or a combo of milk and coffee, tea, or chai tea1/2-1 Cup frozen fruit such as banana chunks (half of a banana) strawberries, blueberries or a comboChocolate or vanilla protein powderA big handful of dark leafy greensMint Chocolate Smoothie
Milk of choiceChocolate protein powderPeppermint extract (a few drops)Tastes like chocolate mint ice cream!Chai Tea Vanilla Smoothie
Milk of choice or a combo of milk and cold India Spiced chai tea (brew the night before and put it into the refrigerator)Frozen apple chunksCinnamonVanilla protein powderTastes like apple pie!Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Freeze canned pumpkin in an ice cube tray and add a few chunks to your smoothieMilk of choiceVanilla protein powderPumpkin Pie Spice or use some cinnamon and nutmegTastes like pumpkin pie!Cherry Protein Smoothie
Frozen cherriesmilk of choice or a combo of milk and coffee (or use a teaspoon of instant coffee with the milk)Chocolate or vanilla protein powderTropical Smoothie
Milk of choiceFrozen pineapple chunksA few drops of natural coconut extractVanilla protein powderTastes like a Pina Colada!PB Banana Smoothie
Milk of choicePeanut butter powder (unsweetened)Frozen banana chunksChocolate or vanilla protein powderGreen Smoothie
For a more savory smoothieMilk of choiceNeutral tasting protein powderBig handful of dark leafy greensHalf of a ripe avocadoA little sweetener (optional)A TBSP almond butter1 tsp each of cinnamon, turmeric, and ginger powderThe recipes are endless! Play around with them and have fun with the different flavors you can come up with!