Boost your antioxidants with this mixed berry smoothie! It's easy to make with only a few ingredients.
Lovely, it's berries season on this side of the hemisphere. What better way to enjoy them than in this super-healthy berry smoothie?
Fresh strawberries are the most available here, though quite expensive when bought directly from farmers! Making a berry smoothie seems the best option so that everyone can have a good share, lol.
This mixed berry smoothie is a mixture of both fresh and frozen berries. The frozen berries make the smoothie creamy, while the fresh berries add that sweet aroma of freshly picked fruits.
I make this mixed berries smoothie without bananas. I find fresh berries are much sweeter than frozen, leading to less use of other added sugars. My kids say it's perfect that they can't detect the spinach or the tea. However, feel free to add a banana or a mango if you're just starting with smoothies.
Smoothies are a great way to help you reduce inflammation. Have you tried this beet smoothie yet?
What berries are best for berry smoothies?
Practically all berries will be great for your smoothies.
However, some berries, like blackberries, contain hard seeds that can bother you while drinking your smoothie! But this may depend on the type of your blender.
Do berry smoothies have too much sugar?
Let m-e-e sa-y it all depends!
- If you pick a berry smoothie from your favorite restaurant or smoothie bar, the chance is, you're going to have a berry smoothie high in sugar!
- Now, let's imagine you're making a berry smoothie at home, and together with mixed berries, you're adding banana/pineapple/mango and honey or syrup. Then we can conclude that you're increasing the amount of sugar in that smoothie!
- On the other hand, if you're ONLY blending yogurt or milk, some spinach, and berries. Then your smoothie isn't high in sugar.
- Blending fruits alone without any additional sugar is very healthy and is a great treat!
Point to remember; a healthy high in nutrient smoothie should not taste like a sugary treat! And I emphasize that eating fruits is absolutely necessary and should be included in a healthy diet!
Use fresh and frozen mixed berries.
I love using both frozen and fresh berries when making this berry smoothie. To be honest, I can't drink something too cold! My teeth can't stand frozen food like ice cream or super cold smoothies.
- By using both frozen and fresh berries, you'll be creating a thermal balance.
- Another thing to consider is that most frozen berries come from intensive farming and could be harvested long before the berries are completely ripe!
- Throwing some fresh berries, especially if you've got some in your garden or buy directly from farmers, can be a great way to add high nutrients to your smoothie.
- I've also realized that's super rare to find fresh wild blueberries! So I buy frozen wild blueberries a part, and I add half a cup of these to my mixed berry smoothie.
Add brewed tea into your smoothie.
There's no doubt that berries are a powerhouse of antioxidants! However, they don't have all the super nutrients your body needs. Add some brewed green, oolong, or black tea to boost those antioxidants!
Tea is pleasant, and many studies have shown how drinking tea every day can improve our health.
Here's some helpful info;
- Green tea comes from young tea leaves that haven't gone through fermentation. It's said to be higher in antioxidants than the other tea leaves.
- Black tea, on the other hand, is made from mature leaves that have undergone full fermentation, giving them that black color and flavor.
- Oolong tea falls in between both green and black tea. Its tea leaves are partially fermented.
- Fermentation is what offers the color and flavor to the tea, although some flavors may differ depending on cultivars.
Tea has naturally occurring chemicals (polyphenols) that possess antibacterial properties. These properties can increase the growth of some gut-friendly bacteria, thus improving the balance between the friendly and harmful gut microbiome.
You can either use tea leaves to brew your tea or use teabags/
I hope you'll appreciate your new berry smoothie recipe. Drinking this smoothie quite often can help improve your health as it's high in antioxidants.
Tell me, what else do you add to your berry smoothie? Comment here below.
Keep eating well. The impact will be visible with time.
And if you are struggling with inflammation after eating, consider doing a food Journaling. Get this FOOD SENSITIVITY LOG BOOK, I hope it will help you as it has done for us.
You've the power to heal yourself, Githu
Here are more healthy smoothies
- Delicious strawberry smoothie
- Beets with blueberry weight loss smoothie
- Cucumber and blueberry weight loss smoothie
Recipe
Mixed berry smoothie with brewed tea
Equipment
- 2 mason jars or normal glasses
- a kitchen knife
- a teapot with a strainer
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- a handful of fresh spinach
- some fresh mint leaves (optional)
- 2 cups brewed tea (not too strong though)
- 2 cups frozen mixed berries
- ½ cup frozen wild blueberries
- 1 cup fresh strawberries or a mix of fresh berries
- Extra water or milk as desired
Instructions
- Brew your tea as you normally do about ½ an hour or the night before.
- Using a knife cut off the strawberries' top with leaves
- In your blender put chia seeds. I prefer blending them first into powder.
- Add cleaned spinach, cold tea, and the rest of the ingredients
- Blend into a smooth creamy berry smoothies
- If you find the smoothie too thick, add extra milk or cold water and blend
- Serve and top with some fresh berries of your choice and mint (optional).
- Drink immediately. Thank you for being here. Please share this recipe by pressing the sharing buttons. Thanks.
Notes
- Fresh mint adds a subtle aroma. I highly recommend trying it out.
- You can make this smoothie in advance, but it will lose the creaminess with time.
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