But they can also get pretty boring when we use the same old ingredients, day after day. To help reinvigorate your smoothie’s pizazz, try mixing and matching new ingredients. Below are ingredients and tips that have helped me stay excited about my liquid lunches. =0)
Add any of these items to your smoothie for a yummy flavor bomb.
- Turmeric Root (washed, unpeeled) – excellent anti-inflammatory.
- Ginger Root (washed, unpeeled) – excellent anti-inflammatory & digestive aid.
- Chili pepper (mild or hot) for digestion & pain relief
- 1-2 Tbsp flax or fish oil (fruit-flavored)
- Chia seeds
- Spirulina powder
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, vanilla, clove, cardamom
- Spice: Chili pepper, cayenne or radishes
- Healing herbs, such as slippery elm (gut repair), ginseng, or rhodiola (stress adaptogen)
- Fresh herbs, like parsley, cilantro, basil, mint
- Sunflower seeds, almonds, or cashews
- Rind of a clean Meyer lemon
- Kombucha, plain yogurt or apple cider vinegar (just a dash for digestion!)
- Aloe Vera Gel (great for your gut)
- Glutamine or Gelatin (again, for gut healing)
- Sweeten with Stevia, ripe banana, 1-2 dates or licorice root
- Tomato
Fun tip: Freeze your smoothie into a popsicle this summer. You could freeze it in a small yogurt container too, and eat it like a frozen yogurt.
Remember, less is more.
If you’re adding twelve different fruits and veggies, plus peanut butter, you’re going to end up with a wild ride – and that’s not always good.
I believe smoothies are more of an art than a race to smash as many “whole foods” into your blender as you can possibly fit.
We eat with our eyes first.
Keep in mind which ingredients play well together visually. For example, if you add carrots and kale, it turns into a yellow-green smoothie. That’s not very appetizing. Instead, try keeping carrots with white, yellow, and orange veggies. This will result in a brightly colored, visually appetizing beverage.
Smoothie topped with broccoli flowers.
Give these suggestions a try to get the most eye-appeal:
- Blueberries almost always turn gray when blended, so plan to drink your blueberry smoothie right away. Or add other ingredients that play well with blueberries, like blackberries and raspberries.
- Greens play well with other greens. I try not to mix greens with veggies of other colors. Try using avocado with kale, chard, turmeric root and celery for a creamy, deep green smoothie.
- Red plays well with red. Try adding beets with red berries and coconut milk.
- Orange is so pretty when it’s alone. Try using carrot with ginger, orange beets, oranges, peaches, mangoes, pineapple, carrots or banana.
- Top your smoothie with a little fresh mint, coconut, or edible flowers.
Here are a few of my personal recipes:
- Creamy Green Smoothie (anti-inflammatory)
- Orange Carrot Smoothie (immune booster)
- Ginger beet smoothie recipe (sweet, great for constipation)
- Find loads of pre-approved smoothie recipes on my Smoothie Pinterest board
What do you love adding (or subtracting) from your smoothie recipes? Please let me know in the comments below!
9 responses to “Ingredients to use for more exciting smoothies”
Frances – thanks for the tips and it is good to recall “we eat with our eyes first”!
Cindy, may all your meals look as good as they taste. =)
Frances, thanks for the recipes. Never made a smoothie but am tempted to make one now.
Hi Lilia, go you! I think you’ll be glad you did. Smoothies are good for the body, and what’s good for the body is good for the brain. 😉
Omg… If you could have seen our smoothie experiments last week! We were testing with leftovers in the fridge. Somehow we needed up with spinach and watermelon… Ewwww. Brown diarrhea water! Should have read this post beforehand!
Kelly, that definitely sounds grody. LOL! =) But kudos to you for experimenting!
Okay, now I am hungry! All of this sounds so good! I use ginger in my juicing, but never thought to add it to my smoothies. Yum! Thank you for the great suggestions… off to the kitchen to say hello to my vita-mix 🙂
Yay Tricia, you were easy to inspire. Best of wishes to you in your smoothie creations.
I love #3 and #4. Many of my clients think that smoothies are good for you – well, not so much if there is too much fruit or juice! Actually they could cause imbalance and take your body further from health and fertility if not used correctly!