The three best smoothies for staying fit and healthy

I did a lot of research on which fruits and vegetables have most vitamines, how vitamines work, what they are good for and how they are absorbed best. I soon learned that a lot of vitamines are not heat resistant and that certain vitamines such as vitamin A are better absorbed when combined with fats. Then there are healthy and unhealthy fats, so I took this into account, too. I tried the best combinations so these healthy foods taste good for me. At first I just added all the healthy foods together to my blender to make a smoothie but that turned out to taste awful.

So here are my three favorite smoothies that actually taste delicous:

I always add about 3 tbsp flax seeds and 2 tbsp flax seed oil as flax seeds contain a lot of protein, iron, vitamine B2, B3, B6 and magnesium and gut bacteria love flax seeds. Flax seed oil contains a lot of omega 3 which is important for our health as well, especially for our brain and for our hormones. It also has anti-inflammatory effects.  Read further here about the health benefits of flax seeds. Besides its outstanding health benefits it tastes quite neutral in smoothies.

Green power smoothie

This one also tastes good without the mango or without the pineapple. Besides the bananas I have everthing in my freezer. At my local organic store I get frozen curly kale and mango (yes if fruits/veggies are frozen they have the same amount of vitamines and minerals, actually fresh produce can lose half of its vitamins and phytonutrients during storage or cooking read further here). I love that there is no pressure to use the fruits/veggies on time before they mold.

Please buy organic curly kale since if it’s not organic it’s usually strongly contaminated with pesticides! If you want to read more about pesticides in kale click here.

And then I love adding fresh herbs to my smoothies especially basil. Just try it. It gives it somehow a sweet cinnamon kind of taste. And I wait until the bananas get really ripe because then it makes the smoothie sweet and smooth.  

I also need a little paragraph here to praise the awesomeness of curly kale when it comes to nutritional benefits. 100 g of curly kale provides already for almost all of your vitamin C requirement per day, for definetely all of your vitamin A, it provides a lot of vitamine K, actually it’s one of the best providers among green leaves and it has twice as much calcium than cow’s milk. Here you can see all the details (sorry, it’s in German). By the way vitamine C and K are very sensitive to heat so making a smoothie with it is just perfect.

Berry dream smoothie

• 1 ripe banana
• A little bit of curly kale
• 1 ripe pear
• 1 cup of berries preferably with black- or blueberries
• basil or mint
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tbsp flax seed oil

I love berries but when they are not in season they are usually expensive and not that tasty. Solution? Frozen berries! Berries don’t only taste amazing, they are also super healthy. For further insights into the health benefits of berries read here.

Why did I mention that the berries should preferably contain black- or blueberries? Because the darker the berry the more antioxidants it contains. So it makes sense to include them as a nutrient dense ingredient.

Turmeric cinnamon smoothie

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 mango
• 1 carrot (only if you have a strong blender)
• 4 cm fresh turmeric
• a bit of black pepper (to be able to absorb curcumin better)
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tbps flax seed oil

Turmeric provides a lot of health benefits and it seems even promising in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Read further here.

Spices in general seem to have interesting effects on our immune system and health. Mango as well as carrots contain a lot of vitamine A. This smoothie recipe doesn’t include a lot of vitamin C, that’s why I usually add some curly kale to provide vitamin C as well. By the way I’m not a fan of hyped exotic superfoods (except a few such as turmeric). In every region of the world they have their own superfoods and I’m always in favor of using the local superheros. In South America they have papaya, acai, quinoa, chia seeds etc. but in northern Europe we have berries, kale, fennel, flax seeds and so much more. Only bananas are a must that I couldn’t live without, as they add sweetness and creaminess!

Last but not least as you can see in the photos here I love consuming my smoothies as smoothie bowls by adding some oats and seeds. Especially adding pumpkin seeds makes it a perfectly healthy breakfast/snack as pumpkin seeds are very rich in zinc and if you combine zinc with vitamine C it’s absorbed best. I eat a smoothie bowl every day. It’s super easy, quick and keeps me healthy. I haven’t had a cold or anything for ages. If you would like to have further insights into the topic of nutrition I highly recommend the book “How not to die” (please buy or order it at your local book store, I think supporting local businesses is so important).

Hope you have fun finding out the perfect smoothie combinations for yourself!

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