Smoothie Bliss

You know how you’re never sure what to put in a smoothie? Well, not anymore.

A good smoothie not only tastes great and is easy to drink – it is jam-packed with nutritious goodness, provided they contain the optimal ingredients.

But how do you know which ingredients to include and what health benefits they offer?

As a tribute to amateur smoothie-making experimenters everywhere, here are 7 super delicious recipes we found. All you need is a blender (wellness warehouse has a great selection), the ingredients and a glass. Healthy, tasty nutrition plus quick and easy to prepare, we like this.

1. Mixed Berry & Beet Smoothie

This deep purple potion of berries, granola, yogurt and beet packs up antioxidants into a tight heavyweight punch to help eradicate the free radical scavengers that are bullying the good cells in your body.

Cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman shared this recipe on the New York Times recently, and assured readers that the colour alone will make you crave this smoothie.

The Recipe: 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 1 cup mixed frozen berries or blueberries; 2 tablespoons granola; 1/3 cup or 50 grams of diced beet raw or roasted; ¼ cup plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat coconut milk; 1 teaspoon honey; 2 – 3 ice cubes; and sliced orange for garnish (optional).

How To: Blend all ingredients for at least one minute, pour in a glass, garnish with orange if desired and enjoy. This yields one serving.

2. Banana Almond Flax Smoothie

There’s a reason why so many beauty products contain almonds or bananas – together they make a glass of plant-based proteins, potassium, fiber and calcium to feed your skin. This recipe by Paleta’s executive chef Kelly Boyer also adds flaxseed oil to the blend, which has anti-inflammatory benefits and is great for irritated skin.

The Recipe: 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil; 2 tablespoons of raw almond butter; 1 small banana; 1/2 cup organic apple juice; and 1 cup ice cubes

How To: Blend everything up and you are ready to fill up your glass! If you can’t find almond butter at your supermarket, here’s a quick recipe to make your own.

3. Smooth Me Better Booster

If you’re not one for thick, gooey smoothies and just want something with a more juice-like texture, then this simple and light recipe is still enough to provide you with ample vitamin C, antioxidants, anti-aging and antiseptic agents to jumpstart your morning or refresh you later in the day.

The Recipe: 1 apple, 1 orange and 1 carrot.

How To: You would usually need a juicer for the fruit listed, but you can also blend each fruit separately and use a strainer to separate the juice from the flesh. Unless you like your juice to be thicker in texture.

If your blender comes with a detachable strainer or sieve, you could also blend the fruit once without it, pour the smoothie out, then blend it again with the strainer or sieve attached, which will collect the juice in its now smooth and gentle texture. Add some water to this blend to thin it out a little – adds to the smoothness and is more economical if you are making for plus one.

4. Avocado Coconut Smoothie

Nourishing Foodways recommends this creamy and tropical brew of avocado, coconut and flax oil to fuel your body with good fat, which is essential for glowing skin, good eyesight and to carry vitamins around your body. Throwing a banana in increases the taste factor and pretty much turns this smoothie into a healthy pudding.

Avocado is a good source of monounsaturated fat and oleic acid, while coconut is great for having medium-chain fatty acids and the antifungal lauric acid. Flax oil, on the other hand, is practically 50% Omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrition benefits often go missing in many diets due to their misunderstood “fat” relation, however are important for a healthy body!

The Recipe: 1 can organic coconut milk; 3/4 cup pineapple juice (avoid ones with added sugar); 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime or lemon juice; 1 tablespoon flax seed oil; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 large avocado; 1 large banana; and 3 tablespoons melted extra-virgin coconut oil.

How To: Blend the coconut milk, pineapple juice, lime juice, flax seed oil, vanilla extract, avocado and banana on high until everything’s fused into a thick and creamy liquid. Then blend in the melted coconut oil through the opening in the lid whilst on the lowest setting. This recipe makes 4 servings and is great for “elevenses” or for a tea-time pick-me up!

5. Green Hulk

This potion packs up so much green, some of which you wouldn’t think of ever including in a smoothie but it turned out surprisingly delicious that it gained smooth entrance into this list. This green smoothie gives you fiber, potassium, protein, monounsaturated fat, vitamin C, antioxidants and folic acid all in a few yummy gulps.

The Recipe: 1 apple; 1 small banana; 1 passion fruit – halve it and scoop the middle out (replace with a Kiwi if you prefer); 1 stalk of celery; 1 broccoli spear; 1 cauliflower spear; 1 small handful of spinach leaves; 2 bak choy leaves (increase the spinach leaves if you can’t find this Chinese green); 1 quarter avocado; optional – add a few small cubes of white turnip and slithers of young ginger for spiciness 😉

How To: Blend all ingredients together until they merge into one smooth brew, and pour into a glass. This is a heavyweight so try it after a work-out to power up your muscles and stop the rumbles in your stomach.

6. SUPERFOOD SMOOTHIE

This is one of our favourites and can be bought from Wellness Warehouse Café (if you are having a slow day or feeling lazy).

This smoothie is packed full of nature’s finest ingredients; including raw cacoa, goji berries and brazillian nuts. Add to that organic raw maca powder, protein and almond milk to provide nutrition and anti-oxidant benefits, boosting energy and immune system health at the same time. Can you say “amazing!” in a thick French accent?

The Recipe: 150ml almond milk, ½ banana, 3 teaspoons raw cacoa, 1 teaspoon protein powder, 1 teaspoon maca powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon raw agave nectar, 1 teaspoon goji berries, 2 brazil nuts, 4 blocks of ice.

How to: Simply blend all the ingredients together in a powder blender and enjoy. This recipe yields 1 serving.

7. Prostate Protector

Albeit having a slightly unnerving name to it, this recipe by Men’s Health targets foods for a healthy prostate. According to the American Cancer Society, one in six men in North America will develop prostate cancer. Soy helps to prevent prostate enlargement; grapefruit is a good source of lycopene, a substance that reduces the risk of cancer; and wheat germ contains vitamin E, which helps to reduce prostate inflammation.

Recipe: 1 cup vanilla soymilk; 1/2 cup ruby-red grapefruit juice; 1 tea spoon Glyconutrients. 1 cup ripe honeydew chunks; 2 tablespoons wheat germ and some honey (if additional sweetness is desired).

How To: Blend it all together, pour it into a glass and sip your way to a happy healthy prostate – but we aren’t sexist, women can enjoy this too!

[Thanks Mindvalley]

What is your favorite smoothie or power juice? Share the goodness below.