Three Weird Super Foods For Healthy Smoothies

Some super foods are well known when making smoothies – like berries, chocolate, yogurt, and bananas, and others aren’t readily accepted as smoothie ready ingredients. I recently wrote about four common super foods in my last EzineArticles article but I want to focus on three uncommon smoothie super foods. Because I love super foods and love trying new ways to incorporate them into my diet, I tried these three uncommon ingredients in my smoothies blenders. The reason? Mainly because super foods are full of disease-fighting nutrients without the excess calories, and with the right ingredients, you can make healthy smoothies!

So here it is, the top three super foods that you never thought about when making smoothies, and a link to some great recipes for your taste buds as well.

Broccoli

First thing that comes to mind with broccoli is that there is no way you can make a smoothie with broccoli. But, hear me out first! This green giant of a food is chock full of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K (which helps with bone health), as well as folate. If you are looking for another reason to add broccoli to your smoothies, consider this: broccoli provides a high dose of sulforaphane, a type of isothiocyanate that researchers have found to ward off cancer by helping stimulate the body’s detoxifying enzymes. So yes, the idea of broccoli smoothie is weird, but give it a try. Look at the recipes at the end of this article and combine them into your smoothies blenders, and you wont regret it!

Tea

Iced tea is great for the summer, and hot tea is great in the winter. But what about tea in your smoothie? Well, it really depends on the tea you buy, and if it is the fruity variety or the spice variety. Nonetheless, studies show if you have tea regularly, you reduce the risk of major diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes and some cancers. On top of that, you improve your oral health (teeth and gums) and bone health. Why? Because tea is rich in flavonoids, an antioxidant. For the best tasting tea smoothie, I like to use green tea or another light tea, like jasmine. Either one will provide the antioxidant power of flavonoids, and if you add a hint of citric acid like lemon juice, lime juice, or orange juice, you’ll preserve the flavonoids and add vitamin C as well!

Spinach

First broccoli, now spinach? Yes, it is very hard to believe these two green veggies can be used to make smoothies. Spinach, in particular, is teeming with the same important nutrients as broccoli: vitamins A, C and K- but adds some new nutrients that you miss with broccoli like fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin E. Ever the super food, spinach is also a great source of folate, a B vitamin that helps form healthy new cells. So yes, spinach can be a delicious ingredient in the right smoothie for your source of all the nutrients listed above. You just need the right recipe, but once you do, you’ll be hooked!

It is hard to come up with creative recipes, so I have done the hard work for you. Here is a special recipe combining spinach and broccoli, another recipe that combines all three ingredients into a tasty treat, and a few more recipes to try for each of these ingredients. Enjoy!