Smoothies are naturally delicious drinks that can be taken daily. You can use them as snacks or meal replacements, depending on your wellness needs. However, a lot of people have trouble making the best healthy smoothies. This is because there is a wide range of ingredients available but only a few of them are ideal for use. So, how can you make healthy smoothies for breakfast?

Let’s have a look at these 7 best tips for healthy breakfast smoothies!

If you are keen on making and consuming smoothies every morning, then it’s only right that you employ the most effective techniques during preparation. Below are 7 tips for healthy breakfast smoothies that can help you make quality and effective beverages every day.

Veggies and Fruits are a Must!

Fruits and vegetables form the basis of most healthy smoothies. Kale and spinach leaves provide one of the easiest ways of adding veggies to your smoothie. They are not only rich in minerals and vitamins but also fiber. Besides that, they are effective thickening agents.

If used in moderation, fruits are also good sources of minerals, vitamins, and sugar (sometimes it can be too much sugar, be careful with that!). Additionally, they also help to add natural taste to the smoothie. The organic edibles regulate blood sugar levels, helping the body to have a steady balance.

Let’s dive in some of the benefits of veggies and fruits in your healthy morning smoothies:

High mineral and vitamin content

Fruits and vegetables are some of the best sources of nutrients with high mineral and vitamin content. They are considered organic powerhouses that offer the best nutritional benefits. Some of the ingredients that are high in mineral and vitamin content include:

• Kiwi fruit: it’s rich in vitamins such as A, B, E, and K among others. It’s worth noting that the kiwi fruit is known to have high amounts of vitamin C. As a matter of fact, nutritional studies indicate that it has almost 5X more vitamin C compared to oranges. If you are going to use them to make your healthy morning smoothie you get an additional fiber content.
• Blueberries: These are superfoods with high nutritional content. Blueberries contain high amounts of antioxidants hence they help to flush and remove free damaging radicals from the body. Besides that, they have anti-inflammatory properties. So, they help to promote faster healing of worn-out cells.
• Grapes: it contains polyphenols that help to slow down the spread or development of certain cancerous tumors. Besides that, grapefruits are also rich in vitamin C, B2, K, and copper.
• Bananas: they are readily-available fruits that have high potassium content. Besides that, bananas contain dietary fiber that helps to enhance the digestive process. The fruits are also rich sources of manganese, copper, and vitamins B6 and C.

Detoxifying the Body

Fruits and vegetables are effective organic detoxifiers when used in making healthy smoothies. Generally, the human body gets exposed to thousands of harmful chemicals on a daily basis. This might be through external exposure due to the surrounding environment or the foods and beverages we consume.

But you can now relieve your body of these toxic chemicals by taking a glass of smoothie in the morning. These ingredients have effective antioxidants that help to promote the natural detoxification process in the body.

They Are Rich in Fiber

These ingredients are the best sources of fiber. So, taking a glass of smoothie that’s made with your favorite combination of fruits and vegetables can help to add the bulk in the food. Note that fiber content is important in the digestive process.

It helps to keep the contents of the stomach moving. In addition to that, they help to lower high amounts of blood glucose and cholesterol level. Kales, spinach, apples and pears are excellent fiber sources. Women need around 25g while men require 38g of fiber daily.

Boosting Brain Function

Generally, most people who consume organic smoothies daily end up with better brain function. This is because processed foods contain harmful ingredients that can significantly diminish brain function. The toxic elements used to make them clog the brain, leaving it feeling cloudy.

However, plant-based ingredients such as fruits and vegetables have brain-boosting properties. They are rich in essential nutrients that considerably boost brain activity. The consequent impact of this is improved mental focus during the day, better memory function, and clarity.

Improving Hydration

Of course, water is essential in keeping your body hydrated. However, you can enhance our water intake by incorporating these ingredients to your smoothie. If you take it in the morning, you will end up feeling hydrated throughout the day.

Pro tips: when picking your fruits, ensure that they are whole fruits. Additionally, make a habit of using frozen fruits because they are not losing their nutrients, and normally make smoothies frostier and thicker. If you want to fully optimize the benefits of frozen fruits, then cut them into smaller pieces. Spread them on a tray and then freeze them until they are firm for use.

There are a lot of Benefits in Healthy Fat Sources

Fats are important in the formulation of a healthy breakfast smoothie. You definitely need an edible product that contains all the essential nutrients. For better brain function and a lasting source of energy in the body, you must consider your fat sources.

The best types of fats usually accelerate the absorption of nutrients, control appetite, and even lead to the development of glowing skin, healthy nails, bones, and hair. Most nutritionists usually recommend the use of hemp hearts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and avocado sources.

However, there is a broad range of healthy oil sources that you can consider. There are three main types of healthy fats that you can add to your breakfast smoothie:

Polyunsaturated fats

These fat molecules have multiple unsaturated carbon bonds in their molecules. You can find polyunsaturated fats in plant-based food varieties or oils such as flax seeds, sunflower seeds, corn oil, and fatty fish among others.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

They are types of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have double bonds. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are vital in maintaining the body’s normal metabolism. If you want to add this type of fat to your smoothie, then you must consider flaxseed oil, walnuts, and coconut oil among others.

Monounsaturated Fats

These fats have fat molecules with just a single carbon bond. Monounsaturated fats are usually found in liquid oil products made from plant extracts such as safflower oil, peanut oil, and olive oil among others. If you want to make a healthy smoothie, you can find such type of fat from avocados, macadamia nuts, and peanut butter.

Important Note: make sure that you use the oil sources in moderation. This is because they are usually dense in calories and you might be watching your daily calorie intake. A good serving could have a tablespoon of the appropriate oil or less.

Invest in Protein Intake

Your daily protein intake, just like calories, depends on lots of factors. But regardless of that, most adults need to at least consume 15g of protein per meal. So, if you are going to take a glass of smoothie in the morning for breakfast, then you must consider the source of its protein.

Generally, most people usually use Greek yogurt because it perfectly blends with other ingredients. Besides that, non-fat cottage cheese also seems to be a favorite. Proteins in smoothies have a lot of benefits. So, if you are adding an organic source of protein to your drink, these are some of the benefits you will get:

• Easy to use while you’re on the go: if you have just 10 minutes to spare for breakfast, you can whip up the protein in your smoothie in less than five minutes!
• Enhanced nutrient supply: protein content enhances the nutritional value of the smoothie. That’s why you should consider sources such as Greek yogurt, hemp seeds, and green veggies.
• Supporting your daily protein requirement intake: the best time to hit your daily protein target is in the morning. By just adding 20g of protein or less to your smoothie, you would have reached your optimum daily requirement.
• Protein sources are versatile: you can never get bored with your smoothie if you consider the multiple protein sources. The broad range of options gives you many flavor considerations to pick from, depending on your taste preferences. This, definitely, provides a greater way to wake up and enjoy breakfast every morning.

Important Note: a protein-rich smoothie is essential for weight loss, enhanced energy production, and ideal for repairing worn-out muscles. It’s an essential addition that any healthy breakfast smoothie should have. There are lots of dairy and non-dairy options to choose from. This includes coconut, almond, soy milk, silken tofu, and low-fat yogurt among others.

The Number of Calories is Important for Weight Management

The best thing about making a healthy breakfast smoothie by yourself is that you can customize the ingredients. Calories are very important, especially if you have a wellness goal you are trying to attain. However, there are a lot of factors that greatly determine calorie intake.

Your level of activity, weight, height, gender, genetics, age, and wellness goals all play a role in determining the number of calories you need to consume every day. Additionally, your emotional well-being as well as sleep patterns are crucial in influencing your daily calorie consumption.

Generally, experts recommend that a healthy smoothie should have less than 500 calories. So, once you have collected and served all the required ingredients, it’s important that you do a rough calorie count. This is important in ensuring that you know the number of calories you are taking in. Are they more or less?

If you are watching your weight, your calorie count needs to be stricter. This is because you need to operate within the required calorie range. If you are taking more, you will definitely gain weight, and if you are taking fewer calories than your body needs, you will end up shedding a notable number of pounds\kilograms.

So, if you want to drink a healthy breakfast smoothie, the best and most reasonable limit is 400-600. However, you might be tempted to add more especially in the mornings when the body tends to crave sweet things. But you can always adjust this number to suit your personal preferences.

Important Note: don’t be tempted to consume more calories than your body needs in the morning. That’s why you need to be careful with the extras and sweet additions. If you can’t make the right estimates, then get a weighing scale.

Avoid Adding Extra Ingredients

A lot of people think that a healthy breakfast smoothie should at least have extra ingredients. Those who are keen on wellness and weight loss might be tempted to throw in some additional ingredients. This usually includes the likes of green tea powder, creatine, protein powder, and others.

It is claimed that these ingredients help to accelerate the fat burning process, enhance the development of lean mass, and generally support the functioning of the immune system. However, this isn’t true entirely.

Generally, the effectiveness of such ingredients is quite low. An ingredient such as protein powder, for instance, may not sufficiently promote the development of lean mass. Besides that, adding green tea powder doesn’t significantly promote weight loss. It should be noted that extra ingredients such as guarana are highly harmful and pose serious health risks, especially if you take them daily.

So, what does this mean? Well, if you are to make a healthy smoothie, then you should forgo the use of such ingredients. The sole purpose of smoothies is to promote your wellness in a natural and organic way. If you go ahead and add these ingredients, you risk experiencing serious negative effects.

But what about adding some extra minerals and vitamins? These ingredients are thought to be safe for consumption and so you might easily get tempted to add them. If you can, make sure that you completely avoid extra minerals and vitamins as well.

If you are taking your smoothie in the morning and still eat healthy meals for the rest of the day, then your nutrient needs will be well-catered to. Understand that consuming high doses of minerals and vitamins daily can result in harmful side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain among others.

Get Creative with the Cream and Avoid Added Sugars

Texture as well as the thickness of the smoothie matters. Creating a green smoothie for breakfast is actually easier where texture matters. This is because you can easily add a tablespoon of coconut virgin oil. However, too much oil in such a drink isn’t good.

You can attain a smooth texture by adding ingredients such as nut butter, avocado, low-fat yogurt, or bananas. You can add in some grains for better thickness, however, frozen fruits usually produce an amazing level of thickness.

Using fruits and vegetables provide the most effective way to add taste to your smoothie. Mango and bananas are great taste enhancers and using them will definitely sweeten your smoothie. This is a good way of also limiting your calorie intake. It’s worth noting that they are also rich in flavonoids and antioxidants that promote general health and enhance the process of weight management.

Don’t Restrict Yourself to Using Only Water

You might be probably thinking that you are going to use water to make your breakfast smoothies daily right? That actually sounds so boring. You don’t have to use it neither do you have to add in some ice cubes, especially when you want something warm in the morning.

Your smoothie can still provide your body with a healthy nutrient intake if you use tea. The good thing about tea is that it’s available in a wide range! For your daily healthy smoothie for breakfast, some of the tea options that you can consider to use include:

• Peppermint tea: it has an amazing taste and helps to relieve digestive discomfort.
• Green tea: this is a natural antioxidant that helps to eliminate free damaging radicals from the body. Green tea is also important in accelerating the weight loss process.
• Ginger tea: it has amazing anti-inflammatory properties. It makes an effective morning addition, especially after your workout sessions. This is because it helps to ease pain and aches in muscles and joints.
• Rooibos tea: it’s rich in vitamin C content hence effective in improving the body’s immune function.

Note: these types of teas add versatility to your daily smoothie intake. You can pick different varieties depending on your taste preferences. Besides that, they also come with many health benefits and most of them have very little calorie content. So, they won’t jeopardize your daily calorie intake. You can even go ahead and mix two or three teas.

The Bottom Line

The above-mentioned 7 tips for healthy breakfast smoothies can greatly transform your mornings. You only have to ensure that you use the right amount of ingredients and simply mix everything together. Remember, you don’t have to use water and ice cubes every day. Teas are great alternatives. They help to enhance the taste of your beverage and still support your wellness goals.