Do you have any suggestions for making delicious, nutrient-rich smoothies?

I like to make smoothies because they are a delicious and easy way to benefit from the many nutrients concentrated in the foods that can added to a smoothie. While they are indeed one step away from consumption of 100% whole, unprocessed foods—a practice which I definitely favor—they can be a pretty close "runner up" if you use whole food ingredients like whole bananas, whole berries, and freshly ground nuts and seeds. I find smoothies to be particularly wonderful at breakfast since they can be a nutritious and satiating way to start your day.

I make my smoothies based upon my mood, what's in the kitchen, and what nutrients I may want to focus on at that point. Here is my basic approach to making smoothies:

As a base for smoothies, I will often use a plant-based milk like soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk. I know other people, however, who are not sensitive to dairy products, and like to use cow's milk as a base.

To this milk base, I'll add some fruit. I'll usually use a small banana since it gives the smoothie a rich texture. I'll then add whatever other fruits I have on hand. I oftentimes use about one-half cup of frozen berries because not only are berries rich in flavonoid antioxidants but adding frozen fruit gives the smoothie a real "smoothie" texture.

Sometimes I'll even put avocado in my smoothie. If you don't use too much (I usually use about one-quarter of one) it will add creaminess without the avocado taste that can offset the flavor of the other fruits I may use. Avocados feature a wealth of nutrients, notably healthy fats, such as heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. For protein, I like to use butters made from legumes (like peanuts) or nuts (like cashew nuts or almonds) or seeds (like tahini, made from sesame seeds). One tablespoons of peanut butter, for example, contain about four grams of protein. I like to have these butters and the milk base I use serve as the main sources of protein in my smoothies, rather than adding protein powder, since the latter is not a whole food. One tablespoon of a nut butter typically contain about 7-8 grams of fat, and if you used 2% cow's milk to make your smoothie, these two foods would combine to provide you with about 12-13 grams of total fat.

How could you tell if this total fat content was a good fit in your Healthiest Way of Eating? Well, one consideration you might think about is the percent fat that you are trying to maintain in your diet. One cup of 2% cow's milk, one small banana, and one tablespoon of peanut butter will give you about 12-13 grams of fat and 310 calories. That smoothie combination is about 35% fat. If you were shooting for a lower percent fat in your diet, you could keep this smoothie as is, but focus on some lower fat lunch and dinner options to reduce your percent fat for the entire day.

Even with these easy-to-implement smoothie steps that can provide you with high-quality protein and high-quality carbs in your smoothie, you may still want to create a smoothie that contains some high quality, omega-3 fats as well. I like to add ground flaxseeds for this purpose because they are a whole, natural food that ranks as an excellent source of omega-3s. Some people like to move one step away from this whole, natural food form and use flax oil instead. That practice makes sense if you are only wanting to focus on omega-3 fats and aren't as concerned about the other nutrient benefits of whole flaxseeds.

I'd like to remind you, though, that a smoothie made from cow's milk (or most substitute milks) and fruit can be a fairly high-sugar food, even if you are fairly careful with the ingredients. One cup of milk contains about 10-13 grams of milk sugar (lactose), and a small banana adds another 12 grams of sugar (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) for 22-35 total grams of sugar. That's just a little less sugar than you would find in a typical 12-ounce soda, although the smoothie is, of course, of much higher quality in terms of nutrition. If you want to keep your morning sugar intake lower than this level, you might halve your banana or add less fruit, and stick with the more nutty taste offered by the legume/nut/seed butters.

Of course, I haven't begun to touch on all the possibilities for a delicious, nourishing smoothie! Just use your imagination, stick as close as possible to whole, natural forms of the World's Healthiest Foods, keep an eye on total sugar and total fat content, and you're sure to make a great tasting drink that will provide you with nourishment that you'll enjoy.

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