11 Refreshing Smoothie Recipes to Boost Your Fruit and Veggie Intake (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest thing to put in a smoothie? ›

Combinations like berries with leafy greens, oranges with carrots, and pineapple with kale pack a nutritious punch. Blending up fruits and vegetables also makes it easy to effortlessly increase your daily intake of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Start your smoothie with two mugfuls of a liquid base. This can be milk, or a dairy-free alternative such as soya or almond milk, natural or flavoured yogurt, fruit juice, or for a tropical flavoured smoothie, low-fat coconut milk or coconut water.

Be it maple syrup, honey, agave, coconut sugar, or any other form of added sugar, too much sweetener is where many smoothies go astray. Other added sugars may come in the form of plant-based milks (sometimes even in original varieties) and flavored yogurts.

Add natural sweeteners: If you want to avoid added sugar, there are plenty of natural sweeteners you can add to your smoothie instead, such as honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar. Start with a little bit and add more to taste until you find the perfect balance of sweetness for you.

Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and lemons are excellent choices for an empty stomach. Rich in vitamin C, these fruits help kickstart your metabolism and promote digestive health. The natural sugars in citrus fruits provide a quick energy boost without causing a rapid spike in blood sugar levels.

For those who want to consume smoothies with bananas, or other high PPO activity fruits and vegetables such as beet greens, the suggestion is to not combine them with flavanol-rich fruits such as berries, grapes and cocoa.

Is 2 cups of fruit too much for a smoothie? ›

Maximum 1 cup of fruit, plus plenty of vegetables: A smoothie can help you get in your daily recommended 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit through just one nutrient-packed drink. “Fruits and vegetables also provide many beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants,” Price said.

1. Fruits and Starchy Vegetables: Mixing acidic fruits like citrus fruits and tomatoes with starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn, and peas can slow down digestion and cause bloating, gas, and discomfort.

Tomatoes are usually used in savory preparations, which is why they've earned the reputation of being a vegetable. Some other fruits that are used as vegetables include squash, pea pods and cucumber.

But there are many vegetables that are starchy in nature, such as corns, potatoes, cowpeas, black-eyed peas and water chestnuts. You should never mix them with high protein fruits and vegetables such as raisins, guava, spinach and broccoli.

"It's really fine to have a smoothie every day. It can be a convenient meal replacement as long as you're making sure that it really is replacing the meal. Not too few calories, but not too many calories," says Fye.

Many people have found that adding smoothies to their daily routine helps to curb their cravings for unhealthy foods. Smoothies that contain green vegetables like kale and celery provide many health benefits. Here is some information about why drinking a green smoothie a day is good for your mind and body.

Benefits of a diet high in fruits and vegetables include lower risk of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (Slavin & Lloyd, 2012). Smoothies may be an effective way to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in our diets (Bates & Price, 2015).