You’ve always been told to “eat your veggies,” but what about when it’s too hot to cook — or you’re too busy to make a salad? Drinking your veggies is a colorful, flavorful and nutritious way to enjoy a fresh meal or snack when you’re on the go.
There are countless ways to combine ingredients to make a great smoothie, so let the colors be your guide. Play with fruits, vegetables and ingredients of similar color to create sweet concoctions; say deep purple beets, berries and cacao or bright yellow peaches, peppers and tomatoes. Or, give some of our recipes a whirl — a blue smoothie packed with protein and recovery power, a spicy and soothing orange refresher and a bright and cooling green smoothie snack — are some of our favorites.
Blueberry Power Recovery Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana, peeled
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon maca powder (or protein powder of your choice)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
Chop the banana and toss it into the blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend on high until completely smooth. Pour into two, medium-sized glasses and serve or store in an airtight glass bottle in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Recipe makes 2 servings at 1 cup each.
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 256; Total Fat: 12g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 145mg; Carbohydrate: 36g; Dietary Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 18g; Protein: 7g
Mango, Carrot & Goji Berry Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 navel orange, peeled and roughly chopped
- Flesh of one ripe mango (fresh or frozen)
- 1 ripe peach, pit removed and flesh roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup dried goji berries
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/4–1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 cup carrot juice, freshly squeezed (can substitute brown rice milk)
- Pinch of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons black chia seeds
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients except for the chia seeds in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the spices to your liking, adding more ginger if necessary.
Pour into two medium-sized glasses. Stir in the chia seeds and serve well-chilled.
Recipe makes 2 servings at 1 cup each.
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 247; Total Fat: 5g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 41mg; Carbohydrate: 57g; Dietary Fiber: 8g; Sugar: 40g; Protein: 4g
Avocado, Mango & Lime Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado, pit removed
- 1/2 ripe mango fresh or frozen)
- 2–4 dried medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup filtered cold water
- Juice of 2 limes
Directions:
Blend all ingredients on high until completely smooth.
Taste and adjust the sweetness and sourness — adding more dates to make the smoothie more sweet or lime juice to make the smoothies more tart. Pour into two medium-sized glasses and serve very cold.
Recipe makes 2 services at 1 cup each.
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 243; Total Fat: 11g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 7g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 12mg; Carbohydrate: 37g; Dietary Fiber: 8g; Sugar: 28g; Protein: 3g
