Blueberry Smoothie Recipes To Live For!
Blueberries have long been known as nature’s super fruit. Delicious blueberry smoothies are an excellent way to get more vitamins and antioxidants into your diet.
Unfortunately, most blueberry smoothie recipes available both online and in cookbooks include dairy, such as yogurt or cream. One way to make a non-dairy version, is by simply adding banana, and maybe some sweetener and/or non-dairy milk or yogurt. (If you are wondering why I’m against adding dairy to smoothies, read this post and this post). Adding a cup of orange juice to the blend will do the job too.
Blueberries have lots of health benefits, so even simple blueberry-banana smoothie is sure to provide you with a big dose of Vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and antioxidants. (Substances in blueberries called polyphenols, specifically the anthocyanins that give the fruit its blue hue, are the major contributors to antioxidant activity. Manganese plays an important role in bone development and in converting the proteins, carbohydrates and fats in food into to energy – a perfect job for blueberries. Plus, they probably contain many more nutrients, that have not even been studied yet…)
Anyway, to boost the nutrient content even further, why not add some greens to the smoothie?
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Blueberry Smoothie Recipe
So, this blueberry smoothie recipe is a recipe with a green twist, because it also contains GREENS.
Why add greens to a perfectly delicious blueberry smoothie?
EAT MORE plants, especially leafy greens. Everyone tells us that — doctors, nutritionists, food writers. Plants top the diets that protect against heart disease, stroke, some types of cancers, high blood pressure, cataracts and macular degeneration. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends at least nine servings, or four cups, of fruits and vegetables daily. Most of us don’t even come close.
Fortunately, green smoothies are the easy solution to the “I don’t like to eat my greens” situation.
For some of you green smoothies might be something new, or something you’ve heard of but never tried. Others may make green smoothies regularly.
Green smoothies are basically just a mixture of fresh ripe fruits, some mild greens, maybe some frozen berries and a little water. Green smoothies help get more greens into your diet and are great for everyone, even children or people with a compromised ability to chew their food really well. They need not be complicated, and they don’t need any kind of protein powders, pseudo “super foods” or oils like coconut or flax oil. The goodness of a simple green smoothie comes from whole foods (which are the true “super foods”). Whole fruit and whole greens is usually all I put into my smoothies.
Blueberries add a great berry flavor to smoothies. They also help conceal the green color, if that’s an issue with your kids or spouse. You would have a darkish purple blend when you finish.
Here is a really easy green smoothie recipe with you today. Something I would call a “basic” green smoothie.
#1. Because it’s not too frightening looking and you can tell it has berries in it (this may seem a little normal looking). This may also appeal to people who are afraid of drinking something that looks like green grass!
#2. It tastes very nice and you almost cannot detect any greens in it at all. To make into a true “beginner’s green smoothie” you may want to add baby spinach instead of kale, although I find kale to be very mild in smoothies too.
To save money, I buy frozen wild blueberries in big bags at BJ’s, and then just add about a cup to my smoothies every morning.
You can make this smoothie with kale, but chard, spinach or other greens may also be used.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (or more) tightly packed fresh green leaves (washed and torn, thick stems removed)
- 1 or 2 bananas
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- ½-1 cup water (to desired consistency)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender jar and blend on high for about a minute. Serve immediately.
If you don’t care for the green-vegetable taste, throw in fresh pineapple or ginger root for flavor. Add liquid of your choice. I use water — no calories and nondairy — but you can add almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk or other non-dairy milk. It’s simple and very quick to make. Wash up a bunch of leaves, toss in fruit and liquid. I never measure. The more greens the better. It’s different every time, but always nutritious.
Also, remember that Baby spinach is probably one of the best greens to start with when just starting with green smoothies. I also like to add a celery stalk or two, and a piece of ginger, and an apple or a pear.
At first, some people may feel shaky and hungry a couple of hours after drinking a green smoothie. If that’s the case, I suggest you simply drink some more smoothie, or perhaps add some quick oats, a piece of avocado, a tablespoon of coconut oil or other healthy fat to the smoothie recipe. This will give you greater energy and satiety, helping you feel full longer.
Most health research on blueberries involves their phytonutrient content. Anthocyanins – the colorful antioxidant pigments that give many foods their wonderful shades of blue, purple, and red – are usually the first phytonutrients to be mentioned in descriptions of blueberries and their amazing health-supportive properties. While it is true anthocyanins are pretty spectacular when it comes to blueberries and their support of our body systems, there are actually a wide variety of health support phytonutrients found in blueberries.
For all my blending recipes I use Vitamix. If you don’t already own a VitaMix, I strongly encourage you to check out what this machine is capable of! For more information about VitaMix you can go directly to the VitaMix website. You may also want to read my post about the Best Blender.
I LOVE my VitaMix and highly recommend investing in one if you are ready to make serious changes to your diet. I have had mine for almost 5 years and use it daily!
If you decide to purchase Vitamix – be sure to use Promotional Code 06-004554 to get free shipping.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!
I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!