How to Supercharge Your Smoothie!

During the past few years, we’ve all learned to love and enjoy great tasting smoothies, those luscious breakfast or post-workout drinks that boost our energy levels, give our bodies a good dose of healthy nutrients and supply vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to our systems. Making smoothies is not only for health food fans, as smoothie recipes are showing up in major cookbooks and cooking magazines.

Superfoods

You can make smoothies out of just about anything, but most smoothie recipes focus on including Greek style yogurt for the live probiotic culture; fruits — such as bananas, strawberries and blueberries; nuts such as almonds, peanut butter and cocoa powder for energy and chia or flax seeds for omega-3 fatty acids. Many times, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, mustard greens or sea vegetables are added for hefty doses of vitamins and minerals, giving you a bright green smoothie with extra nutritional punch.

Superfoods, such as blueberries or goji berries, are often ingredients included in smoothies. Superfoods are known to contain the highest nutrient to calorie ratios, more than other foods. Unprocessed cocoa powder, antioxidant-rich berries, nutritious leafy greens, seeds and nuts are all examples of superfoods that can be used in smoothies.

Recipe Ideas

A recipe for a good energy-boosting smoothie could include: 2 tablespoons of raw, unprocessed cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of natural peanut or almond butter, one ripe banana, eight ounces of plain Greek yogurt, a small handful of blueberries, some ice cubes and a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix at medium to high speed for a creamy and delicious smoothie. The cocoa and peanut butter supply the energy boost, the yogurt contributes protein, the banana potassium and fiber, the blueberries a bit of brain-strengthening nutrients and cinnamon adds its own concentrated nutrients and flavor.

If you like your smoothies green, add some spinach leaves to the mix. Other leafy greens such as kale, collards, dandelion leaves and chard adds a variety of flavors and nutrients to your smoothie repertoire. Try rotating your leafy greens and fruits to gain the nutritional advantages of each. Some spices lend themselves to smoothies, such as a pinch of cinnamon, and should be incorporated, as spices contain a concentrated amount of antioxidants and flavonoids.

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