However, we often find ourselves getting all our necessary fruits in, but skimping on the vegetables.
If you think that you are facing this same issue, there are solutions. You don’t need to say goodbye to your beloved smoothies, either! All you need to do is add vegetables to your smoothies.
We know – vegetable smoothies don’t sound too appealing, but you will change your mind once you taste these!
These recipes have been created so that you can’t even tell there are vegetables in them.
That means that you can still enjoy all your favorite fruity flavors, but also get those much-needed vitamins and minerals you have been missing out on!
If you want to find out more about these smoothies, and why they are so great, just keep reading!
Now, you are probably wondering what actually makes these smoothie recipes so great. They’re just smoothies, aren’t they?
Well, yes and no.
While these are just smoothies and there is no magic fairy dust in them, there are vegetables in them – which is similar, right?
We know what you’re thinking, and you would be wrong! These vegetable-packed smoothies are delicious, and you can’t even taste the vegetables in them.
Of course, if you would like to taste the veggies, all you would need to do is increase the amount that you add in.
However, as these recipes are, they are delicious, so easy to make, and include those much-needed vegetables. That’s what makes them so great.
By drinking these smoothies, you are improving your life by giving your body all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
What’s better, you’re doing that, and you can trick your brain into not even knowing that you are consuming vegetables (and enjoying it)!
Why Add Vegetables To Smoothies In The First Place?
Sometimes, getting all the required vegetables every day is not easy!
Not only that, but by adding vegetables in your smoothies instead of only fruits, you keep the sugar content of your smoothies much lower!
Although fruits are delicious, there is no denying that some of them have incredibly high levels of sugars, which isn’t great if you are trying to manage your glycemic index!
Last, but certainly not least, by adding vegetables to your smoothies, you are adding a whole lot of nutrients to your drinks, too!
Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and lots of great nutrients that you just don’t find in fruit. Because of this, adding vegetables to your smoothies can do a lot for your overall health.
To sum things up, you should add vegetables to your smoothies for three big reasons:
It’s an easy way to get the required amounts of vegetables you need every day
It helps to keep the sugar content of your smoothies down
It adds lots of healthy nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to your overall diet
What Ingredients Will Always Work In A Smoothie?
Chia seeds – chia seeds are full of fiber, protein, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Hemp hearts – hemp hearts are full of essential vitamins, omega fats, antioxidants, and great minerals.
Flax seeds – flax seeds are known to relieve constipation and improve digestive health.
Maca powder – maca powder has high levels of iron as well as iodine. These promote healthy cells, and also keeps your metabolism on track.
Turmeric (ground or fresh) – turmeric has a wide range of health and medical benefits
Ginger (ground or fresh) – ginger can help with digestion, immunity, aid in weight loss, relieve nausea, and has many other benefits
Plant-based protein powder – protein is essential to staying healthy, so adding plant-based protein powder makes it possible for everyone to get their required amounts of protein every day.
All of these ingredients have incredible benefits that you should absolutely make the most of.
Depending on the type of smoothie you make, you could try adding turmeric or ginger, or even hemp hearts. You will love how it makes you feel.
How Do You Make The Ultimate Superfood Smoothie?
A superfood smoothie can be a real game changer, and you shouldn’t be afraid of it! Just because a smoothie has superfoods in it, doesn’t mean that it won’t taste good.
As long as you follow the rules set out below, your superfood smoothie will be so good, you will have to enjoy it every day.
Do not be afraid to add a vegetable or two – as we have already established, adding vegetables to your smoothie is a great idea. You can add kale, carrots, spinach, and almost anything else to your smoothie to get some added benefits. You won’t even be able to taste them if you make the smoothie right!
Fruit is a must – no smoothie is really a smoothie if it doesn’t have fruit! Overall, fruit is an absolute must in the realm of smoothie making. With so many fruit options to pick from, there will always be combinations that you will love. If you want to try making your own smoothies, consider using ingredients such as mango, kiwi, or peaches.
Use a liquid that makes sense – depending on the type of smoothie you are making, you might opt to use coconut, almond, soy or rice milk. Even oat milk works wonderfully in some smoothies, so don’t be afraid to figure out which ingredient works well with different recipes!
Add in some extras – flax seeds, turmeric powder, ginger, and chia seeds are just a few of some of the great extras that you can add to your smoothies. They add some extra goodness, and can also improve the taste and texture of smoothies in some cases. It is definitely worth experimenting with these.
Some Useful Things To Remember
If you want to make your life a little easier, there are a few handy things that you can remember and make use of!
There are lots of tips and tricks to utilize when it comes to smoothie making, and we will list some of them down below. Hopefully these make your life a little easier:
Reduce the amount of liquid you add if you are using fresh fruit – fresh fruits will make a smoothie more liquidy. So, if you plan to use fresh fruit, you should reduce the amount of liquid like water or nut milk you add to the drink. Similarly, if you are using a lot of frozen fruit, you will probably want to add more liquid to it to make sure that it isn’t too thick and undrinkable.
Store fruits like berries and bananas in the freezer – these kinds of foods go off quickly, and they aren’t the cheapest thing in the world! By storing bananas and berries in the freezer, they will last longer and already be perfect for turning into a smoothie. Most smoothies that call for these ingredients ask for them to be frozen anyway, so you’re just saving time.
You can add superfoods to any kind of smoothie – ingredients like kale and avocado will basically go in any smoothie. These are foods that are very healthy, and you will always benefit from adding them to smoothies – especially if you can’t taste them!
Balance out the ingredients – if you choose to make your own smoothies and come up with some new recipes, it’s important for you to balance out all the ingredients. It is so easy for a smoothie to turn into a high sugar, high carb drink when you are adding every berry you can think of as well as bananas and everything else. There should be an equal balance of sugary and non-sugary ingredients, as well as ingredients with fiber and different vitamins and minerals.
Always add in the protein – protein in a smoothie is always the way to go. You can add plant-based protein to your smoothie to help you get all the necessary protein in your diet.
Use coconut water – if you need to thin out your smoothie a little, use coconut water instead of regular water! Coconut water has some delightful flavors to add to the smoothie, while water doesn’t do anything other than thin it out. It’s a nice and easy way to add a little more flavor.
Do bulk prep if possible – doing some bulk prep will shave time out of the whole smoothie making process. This is great if you already have busy mornings and would like to save a few minutes by having pre-chopped bananas or ingredients already measured out. You can even do bulk prep for the whole week!
Use the right blender – this kind of goes without saying, but you really need to have the right blender if you want to have a good smoothie experience. There are lots of great options on the market, but some are definitely better than others.
Add some chia seeds after blending too – adding some extra chia seeds after blending will add in some great texture. It can transform your smoothie into a 10/10, and you parley even have to do anything!
Do not be afraid of orange zest – adding some orange zest to your smoothie can really spice it up and turn your drink into something special. This might not work for all types of smoothies, but don’t be afraid to experiment a little and test it out! Don’t blame us if you can’t stop once you try it, though.
Although some of these tips and tricks might seem like small things, they can bring about big changes!
Any one of the above mentioned notes can go a long way to helping you get the most out of your smoothies, and they can make your life a lot easier.
Why not let us know your favorite tip in the comments section?
The Smoothies
Berry Ginger Zing Smoothie
To make this delicious smoothie, you will need the following ingredients:
A nut milk of your choice, almond works particularly well (1 cup)
Frozen raspberries (½ a cup)
Strawberries (½ a cup)
Steamed cauliflower (½ a cup)
Ginger (1-inch cube or root section)
Daily Greens Smoothie
To make this delicious smoothie, you will need the following ingredients:
A nut milk of your choice, almond works particularly well (1 cup)
Spinach (½ a cup)
Avocado (¼ of a fruit)
Frozen banana (½ a fruit)
Hemp hearts (1 tablespoon)
Chia seeds (1 teaspoon)
Nutty Banana Smoothie
To make this delicious smoothie, you will need the following ingredients:
Light coconut milk or a nut milk of your choice (1 cup)
One frozen banana
Zucchini (the skin must be removed and it should be cut up into cubes (½ a cup)
Cinnamon (½ a teaspoon)
Almond butter (2 tablespoons)
How To Make The Smoothies
All you need to do to make these smoothies is chop up the larger ingredients, put them in the blender, and blend everything together!
You shouldn’t have a problem blending all the ingredients listed above, even if they are frozen.
Be sure to prepare everything beforehand, too! Some ingredients, like the zucchini, will need to be peeled before being added.
Similarly, the cauliflower will need to be steamed so that it is easier to digest. You will need to think ahead and prepare what you need to before you can jump into making these tasty smoothies.
Final Thoughts
There you go! Introducing smoothies that are packed with vegetables can be a real life changer, and something that you definitely won’t regret.
It will keep the sugar content of your smoothies down, while adding all those necessary nutrients from vegetables that we just don’t get enough of.
The three smoothie recipes included in this article are the perfect introduction for you if you aren’t used to smoothies with vegetables in them.
Once you start to get used to the concept, though, why not try coming up with your own recipes?
Hi, my name is Justin Roberts and I like to live by one major rule in life – health is wealth. And where does all health stem from? The food choices we make.
I grew up in a not-so-wealthy household that often struggled to get food on the table.
The food we did eat was cheap, holding no nutritional value at all. I’m talking frozen foods, carbs, fats, and very little fresh produce.
I am fortunate enough to have made a life for myself where the money for food is no longer an issue, and I have spent the majority of it looking into healthy foods and different diets to try.
The most notable is keto and paleo. I am also interested in only using whole foods wherever possible – call it trauma!
As a professional chef, I now create recipes surrounding these diets every day. My family are my tasters, and I strive to make my recipes as budget-friendly as possible.
I hope that you’ll find some inspiration for healthier meals from my website. I want to create a catalog of recipes that you can come back to time and time again. Enjoy!
