Spring is on the horizon, which means smoothie season is upon us!
In this blog, we will be teaching you how to create your own healthy smoothies and a few recipes to get you going!
Keep reading to learn the ultimate guide to healthy smoothie recipes.
A Base
Your base should consist of some type of liquid whether it be water or milk here is a little list to get you thinking: (Measurement: 1-1.5 cups)
- Coconut water
- Almond milk
- Other nut milks
- Coconut milk
- Water
- Skim milk
- Kefir milk (full of probiotics!)
- Orange juice (zero sugar)
Fruits
Fruits not only add natural sugars making your smoothie sweet and delicious they also aid in weight loss and improvement of mood!
Some options for your smoothie are:
(Measurement: ½-1 cup)
- Mango
- Papaya
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Banana
- Pineapple
- Apples
- Oranges
Vegetables
Vegetables and greens are crucial in making a healthy smoothie. Green smoothies can help you lose weight (if one meal a day is replaced with a green smoothie.) This lowers your calorie intake and increases your intake of fruits, vegetables and fiber!
Green smoothies also help with “resetting” your taste buds which in turn helps get you craving healthier food! Green smoothies increase energy and improve mood by giving you a large boost of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are an excellent source of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and more!
Green smoothies also help to strengthen your immune system; citrus fruits, ginger, and cranberries help most with that!
These smoothies also help aid in digestion and hold anti inflammatory properties!
Basically, you can never go wrong with a green smoothie!
Here is a list of some greens and veggies to get you started:
(Measurements: 1-1½ cup)
- Spinach
- Kale
- Cucumber
- Carrot
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Arugula
- Ginger
Protein and Healthy Fats
To make your smoothie more filling and have more benefits in terms of digestion, protein and healthy fats are the way to go! We’ve come up with a list of a few proteins and healthy fats, check it out here:
- Nut butter
- Seeds
- Collagen
- Nuts
- Avocado
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Coconut oil
8 Green and Healthy Smoothie recipes
1. Beginner Pineapple-Mango Smoothie
- 1 cup unsweetened Almond milk
- 1 cup pineapple, cubed
- ½ mango, peeled and pitted
- ¼ tsp of fresh ginger, grated (feel free to add as much as your heart desires)
- 2 cups or handfuls of spinach
- Ice (optional)
2. Morning Pick Me Up
- 1 banana, peeled
- 1 kiwi, peeled
- 3 tbsp of goji berries
- 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 cup of spinach
- 1 cup of coconut water
- Ice
- 1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
3. Citrus Cleanse
- ¼-½ cup of water
- 1 grapefruit, peeled/de-seeded
- ⅓ cup of strawberries
- 1 banana
- 2 handfuls of spinach
4. Pineapple Smoothie
- 1 orange, peeled
- 1 cup of pineapple, canned or fresh, cubed
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 cup of water
- Ice
5. Carrot Apple Ginger
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 apple, cored
- 2 handfuls of Spinach
- 1 tbsp (or more) of Ginger root
- 1 cup of water
6. Spring Fresh
- ½ cup of strawberries
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- 2 tbsp of chia seeds (optional: soak for 5 min.)
- 1 banana, peeled
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1 cup of almond milk
7. Refreshing Super Detox
- ½ cucumber, with peel
- ½ cup of fresh parsley
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of pineapple
- 1 orange, peeled
- 2 cups or handfuls or kale
- 1 cup of almond milk
8. Orange Carrot Oat and Pear
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 orange, peeled
- 1 pear, cored
- ¼ cup of old fashioned oats
- 1 cup of almond milk
There you have it! The ultimate guide to making a healthy smoothie and the benefits of drinking one a day! We hope you enjoy these recipes, feel free to leave a comment if you tried one or more of these and let us know how they tasted (and how you felt)!
