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5 Ingredients to Give Your Smoothie a Health Boost

Heather Dale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:51:09 PST

Gone are the days of taking a few basic ingredients and throwing them into a blender. Bananas, strawberries, and yogurt? So last year. Now that you've discovered the wonderful world of kale, chia seeds, and spinach, it's time to expand your smoothie-making skills even more. The following five food items are guaranteed to increase the nutrient (and flavor) quotient of your smoothies.

Avocado: Besides the nutrient content, avocados help add a creamy, smooth texture to smoothies. If you are not an avocado fan, add only one-half of an avocado to a smoothie - you'll barely taste it (yet still reap all the health benefits). Here's a basil avocado smoothie recipe to help get you started.

Here are more nutritious ingredients to add to your shakes.

5 Ways to Enjoy Chia Seeds

Heather Dale — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:18:01 PST

Though they are an ancient superfood, it seems like chia seeds are finally getting some attention! High in protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and omega-3s - what's not to love about chia? Just one ounce (about two tablespoons) of chia seeds provides 11 grams of fiber, four grams of protein, 177 milligrams of calcium, and 4.9 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Read on to learn ways to add more chia seeds to your life.

Source: Flickr Users graibeard, grggrssmr, and quinn.anya

A Reader Recipe: Detox Orange Ginger Smoothie

Fit Community — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:18:40 PST

Holiday indulgences got you down? FitSugar reader JuicyNoelle has a detox smoothie for you. She posted the recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

Are you looking for ways to embrace a little holiday detox? If so, don't forget to incorporate a piece of ginger. Ginger is believed to fire up your body’s natural detoxification work. It also helps your body better absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste (cleansing divas believe excess waste equals excess weight). Toss a piece of fresh ginger into a stir-fry, a great salad dressing, or even a delicious smoothie.

Detox Orange Ginger Smoothie
Serving size: 1 (200 calories)

Ingredients
1 banana, peeled and frozen
1/4 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup mango slices, frozen
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
4–5 ice cubes

For more on this recipe, visit JuicyNoelle's blog, Green Lemonade. Upload your own recipes to our Healthy Recipe group, and we may feature yours on our homepage!

Dairy-Free and Sugar-Free Mint Chocolate Chip Shake

Anna Monette Roberts — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:59:25 PST

Cacao nibs and fresh mint leaves are blended together with nondairy vanilla ice cream to create a healthy twist to a classic favorite. This shake doesn't contain dairy and sugar (if you pick sugar-free ice cream like coconut-milk-based So Delicious), yet it's creamy and subtly sweet with a little bit of crunch from the raw cacao nibs. This shake makes a delicious dessert, or you can blend in a scoop of your favorite plant-based protein powder to make a great recovery snack after working out.

See the recipe.

Sip on This: Green Juice Loaded With Antioxidants

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:52:51 PST

Fresh green juice might be the "next frozen yogurt" in terms of a trendy, healthy snack. What could possibly be better for you than a glass of homemade, fresh-pressed vegetables and fruits? This is a super easy, delicious, and addictive green juice recipe that you can happily indulge in to rake up your daily values. Apples are high in vitamin C and naturally sweeten the beverage. Antioxidant-rich spinach and parsley are also high in vitamin A and C and iron. Cucumber and lemon add flavor and immune-boosting phytonutrients. Warming and spicy ginger aids digestion.

See juice recipe.

From Chalky to Appetizing: Making a Good Powdered Smoothie

Michele Foley — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:31:06 PDT

Powder-based smoothies are so convenient: add water, shake, and you're done. The problem is that these types of smoothies leave a lot to be desired in terms of taste - they're often chalky, tasteless, or, at worst, off-putting to the palate. To make these nutrient-rich smoothie powders more appetizing, try adding one - or a few! - of these mix-ins to your next smoothie.

Fruit: Fresh or frozen fruit is a great way to brighten the flavor profile - and nutrient makeup - of a smoothie. This couldn't be more true of smoothies made from green powders; they may be phytonutrient-rich, but they often lack sweetness, which is something a healthy dose of mango, apple, or berries can help solve.
Nut butters: Nut butters help add fat and protein to powder-based smoothies, and in addition to adding flavor, nut butters make a good thickening agent. Suddenly a thin and runny smoothie is thick, rich, and creamy!
Milk: Whether you choose dairy or non-dairy, milk and all its varieties are good mix-ins for smoothies made from protein powders. Add a creamy dose of calcium and protein by using milk in place of water when mixing your next smoothie. Milk also helps to lessen the chalky taste that is common in powder smoothies.

See more smoothie mix-in ideas after the break!

A Healthy Smoothie Recipe For Every Meal of the Day

Michele Foley — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:07:20 PDT

Whether it's for breakfast, dessert, or a post-workout snack, there's never a bad time to enjoy a smoothie. While a smoothie may seem overly complicated to make, it's not. Grab your ingredients, throw them in a blender, and go. What's so great is that the ingredient possibilities for shakes and smoothies are endless. Keep reading to see which healthy smoothies we're blending up!

The Brazier: Vegan Chocolate Shake From Thrive Juice Bar

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:32:09 PDT

When I spoke to professional triathlete Brendan Brazier, he said that one of his readers was so inspired by the Thrive Diet (a vegan, mostly raw nutrition plan) that the reader opened a juice and smoothie bar dedicated to Brendan's book Thrive. Brendan added, "He's actually made my original smoothie recipes even better." In his latest book, Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health ($13), Brendan has included a few revamped smoothie recipes courtesy of his fan back at Thrive Juice Bar.

I decided to make "The Brazier," which is essentially a healthy chocolate shake. For the vanilla vegan gelato, I used So Delicious Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk ice cream with no sugar added. The recipe is not overly sweet, and I think the shake would be a great post-workout drink or a dessert substitute for adults and kids alike. I found the recipe is a little thin for my taste, so after I initially tried The Brazier, I reblended it with half of an avocado to give it a thicker, heavier texture reminiscent of a chocolate milkshake.

Tell me what you think after you make your own Brazier smoothie.

5 Superfood Smoothie Powders to Give Your Body a Boost

Anna Monette Roberts — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:09:51 PDT

From Peruvian maca root to Indian turmeric, here are five interesting superfoods from around the world that you can add to your smoothies for added nutritional boosts. High in minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins, prepare for these powders to help you feel energized, invigorated, and cleansed.

Source: ThinkStock

The Perfect To-Go Cups For Smoothies and Shakes

Heather Dale — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 04:22:29 PDT

Perfect for trips to the gym, reusable water bottles help reduce the amount of plastic bottles that end up in landfills, while also reducing exposure to BPA that is commonly found in plastics. But what do we do about our protein shakes and smoothies that often get made in a hurry as we're running out the door? The following to-go containers are rough, tough, and exactly what you need when taking a smoothie to the office or even the gym. Keep reading to see which ones made our top five list!