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

FAQs

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

According to new national recommendations, smoothies can count as no more than one of your 5-a-day – even if you've put 5 different fruit and veg in them.

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.

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.

"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.

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. It's important to add the liquid to your blender before adding the fruit, as this will prevent the blade from getting damaged.

An enzyme in bananas makes flavanols less bioavailable when it's combined with berries. Researchers say bananas are still a great fruit to be eaten on the side, or added to smoothies that don't have flavanol-rich ingredients such as berries, grapes and cocoa.

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.

What are the two fruits eaten as vegetables? ›

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.

The healthiest fruits include blueberries, bananas, avocados, and citrus fruits. The healthiest vegetables include kale, spinach, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Fruits and vegetables are healthy because they're rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

Leafy greens are perfect in juices and smoothies. Leafy greens contain powerful antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes, and nutrients, and they are considered one of nature's best superfoods. These superfoods include lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, wheatgrass, endive, arugula, collard greens, and even dandelion.

Smoothies rich in fiber and protein keep you full longer, while those made with fruits and vegetables increase your daily vegetable servings. As long as you are drinking smoothies made from a variety of fruits and vegetables and low in refined sugar, there would be no problem with consuming smoothies every day.

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.