5 Reasons to Start Your Day with This Smoothie Recipe

By Marni Wasserman

Making smoothies is one of the best ways to start the day — and an easy way to help transition yourself to a plant-based diet. Smoothie recipes and ingredients are easy to find. And, of course, you can buy premade ones at the grocery store or smoothie stand. The best ones, though, are always the ones you make yourself. (Don’t know where to begin? You’ll find a basic recipe further down!)

Here are five simple reasons why you should be making smoothies and blending your way to health:

  • They save time: Smoothies take all of five or ten minutes to make (depending on how prepared you are), can be taken on the go, and last all day in a stainless-steel bottle.

  • They’re easy to absorb: Liquids are easier to digest, enabling nutrients to absorb into your cells for immediate uptake. Making a smoothie is the easiest way to absorb a whole bunch of nutrients at once.

  • They’re the whole package: You can get a whole lot of goodness into one blender! Smoothies are full of fiber and vitamins and — depending on what you put into them — can also give you your daily dose of protein, antioxidants, and healthy fats.

  • They’re super fun: Every day you can create a new theme in your blender using different flavors, tastes, and textures, but the smoothies all have one thing in common — they’re packed full of raw, organic fruits, vegetables, and superfoods. Enjoy the process and get creative with colorful ingredients and textures. (You can even add some granola and eat it with a spoon.)

  • They’re liquid energy: Use superfoods to give you a boost. Make your own blend and enjoy it in the morning, in the afternoon, or pre- or post-workout!

Here’s how to blend your way to health, using any blender:

  1. Start with 2 cups of liquid: rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, or coconut water.

  2. Choose your protein (2 tablespoons or more): raw brown-rice protein, hemp protein, hemp hearts, or almonds.

  3. Choose your fruit (1/2 to 1 cup): blueberries, raspberries, bananas, mangos, avocados, or dates.

  4. Choose your greens: one handful of spinach, kale, chard, sprouts, or cucumber; or 1 teaspoon of greens powder, spirulina, or chlorella.

  5. Choose your superfoods (1 tablespoon of one or more): goji berries, cacao nibs, maca, hempseeds, raw honey, chia seeds, or matcha green tea.

Have fun and get creative!