Healthy Fruit Smoothie Recipes
Smoothies are the pinnacle of culinary concoctions in my opinion. Food always tastes better when it's cold, and when it's blended, which is exactly what a good smoothie ought to be.
For someone like me, who doesn't like the majority of fruits by themselves, smoothies are the best possible way to get the necessary nutrients and vitamins that fruits provide. Americans, on average, eat about 75% less of their recommended fruit intake a day.
Smoothies are great for getting in your daily fruits, but you can also add leafy greens, grains, dairy and nuts for a drink that is packed with vitamins and minerals.
Below are my three favorite smoothie recipes for Vegan Smoothies, Banana and Berry Smoothies, and the Healthiest Smoothies Ever.
Vegan Smoothie
For vegetarians and vegans, smoothies can be troublesome, requiring dairy products like milk and yogurt. However, easy changes can be made to accommodate these diets, and still provide plenty of nutrients, including protein.
I have a huge jar that I used to keep whey protein powder in as you can see in this picture. It's actually full of hemp protein powder right now, a vegan alternative to whey. I just re-used the container.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Almond Milk, Plain
- 1 Banana, Chopped into chunks
- 1/2 Cup Frozen fruit of choice
- 2 Tbsp Vanilla hemp protein powder, Or flavor of choice
Instructions
- Add almond milk (soy milk works as well, but almond milk is better for you) and banana. Pulse until smooth
- Add in protein powder and pulse until all powder is mixed in. Nothing is more gross to me than drinking down a chunk of protien powder.
- Mix in frozen fruit (berries, peaches, pineapple, etc) and pulse until smooth. You can use unfrozen fruits, but I like my smoothies cold, and frozen fruit is better than adding ice, which will water your smoothie down.
Banana and Fruit Smoothie
This is basically the alternative to the vegan smoothie. In this one, I often will use whey protein powder for a vanilla flavor. Sometimes, however, I will use yogurt for a creamier texture.
Follow the recipe above, but substitute almond milk for 3/4 cup regular milk with 1/4 or more of yogurt and blend smooth.
If you use unflavored yogurt, adding protein powder will have the same effect as adding vanilla yogurt.
The Healthiest Smoothie Ever
Let your breakfast pack a punch and get you read for the day by adding as many different nutrients and bright colors (the more colors you eat, the better) as possible to your smoothie. Trust me, it will taste good.
Oatmeal, spinach and almonds are the three healthiest ingredients that I add to my already healthy fruit smoothie. Full of necessary nutrients, all three ingredients regularly are listed as some of the healthiest superfoods in the world.
Add in blueberries (another incredible superfood) and a potassium-rich banana, and you have the breakfast of champions.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk OR
- 3/4 regular milk and 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1 banana
- 3 tbsp rolled oats
- 1/2 cup frozen fruit of your choice
Instructions
- Add banana, milk, yogurt and oats. Blend until smooth.
- Add spinach and blend until smooth. Ignore the sickly green color.
- Add protein powder if desired and blend.
- Add frozen fruit and blend until smooth
- Enjoy!
