Is Your Smoothie Actually Healthy? 11 Things You’re Doing Wrong

Smoothies are popular these days. But the smoothies MOST people are drinking aren’t actually healthy.

How do you make sure the smoothies you’re drinking are nutrient-packed and delicious?

It’s easy to make amazing-for-you smoothies. Be sure to follow my tips below!

[You don’t have to figure it out on your own! Daily green smoothies can give you some magical results – like more energy, better sleep, an immune boost to help you stay well, fewer unhealthy cravings, plus many more benefits.

Thousands of people love our 9-Day Green Smoothie Challenge. Our next one is coming up in September. It’s FREE for you to join. With a supportive community, daily healthy smoothie recipes, and more, you’ll be happy you did!]

Smoothie Mistake #1 — You’re Not Adding Leafy Greens!

Drinking a quart of green smoothie a day addresses what I believe is the #1 deficit in the American diet: a lack of leafy greens.

Raw green foods are a natural powerhouse of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

I’ve given up on smoothie stores to make me one. They want to put a one-ounce frozen pinch in.

One time I’d asked her to add more, more, more — till my small green smoothie was $25. Still fruitier than I’d wanted, plus I’d never go back, because when I make my own two quarts of green smoothie it costs less than $10.

How do you add leafy greens to your smoothies?

Start with the mildest greens first. Spinach is a great starter green.

Then, you can gradually add other milder greens, like chard, collards, kale, spring greens, and lettuce.

Eventually, you can add other savory, bitter greens or any of my top 11 greens to your smoothies.

There are even edible weeds you can use for smoothie greens, like dandelion and purslane.

Smoothie Mistake #2 — You’re Adding Too Much Fruit, Or Only Using Fruit

Many smoothies are made with only fruit and yogurt. If you’re drinking smoothies like this, you’re missing out on some major nutrition.

I love using fruit in smoothies, but only in a minor way.

You don’t need to be afraid of the natural sugars in whole fruit when eaten in smoothies, especially when they are kept to a minimum and combined with other ingredients in this article.

The fiber in the fruit will help keep your blood sugar balanced.

Plus, fruit in its whole form – even when it’s blended – is loaded with an array of vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and enzymes.

If you’re like me and dairy products make you congested (or if you have other dairy reactions), here’s a pro tip: a banana in the blender gives the creaminess you might be going for, with the yogurt.

I also don’t trust that yogurts actually have living probiotics, so if you’re going for that, you can make your own coconut-water kefir with dried kefir grains.

Smoothie Mistake #3 — You’re Not Using the Right Blender

You can make a smoothie with any blender. However, the ingredients must be blended thoroughly for you to enjoy a “smoothie” rather than a “chunkie.”

Many blenders will give you “chunkies” to drink instead of smoothies, so I recommend using a high-speed blender, like Blendtec or Vitamix. There’s probably someone near you selling theirs, for cheap.

Smoothie Mistake #4 — You’re Not Using Organic Ingredients

Choosing organic produce for your smoothies helps you limit toxins in your diet.

However, organic produce (almost) always costs more than conventional.

It’s not necessary to buy all-organic produce for green smoothies, especially foods with thick outer shells or peels that are removed, such as watermelon, bananas, oranges, lemons, limes, and pumpkins.

With leafy greens, you want the cleanest source possible. The demand for pre-washed, organic leafy greens has increased availability and pushed down the price.

For other smoothie ingredients, you can prioritize which are most important to buy organic and which are least important. See the Clean 15 list and other foods you don’t need to buy organic.

Smoothie Mistake #5 — You’re Not Adding Healthy Fats

Your body needs healthy fats every day.

Plus, adding healthy fats to green smoothies makes them more filling, and your body can better absorb and use the minerals in the leafy greens.

I’m not a fan of the processed MCA oil that people add to their coffee.

I always add our Sprouted Ground Flax or Sprouted TriOmega (a combination of flax, chia, and broccoli seeds) to my blender of green smoothies.

Avocado, nuts/nut butters, and coconut oil are other healthy fats to add to green smoothies.

Smoothie Mistake #6 — You’re Using Whey Protein

Whey or soy proteins are a popular choice for protein powders that people add to their smoothies.

Yet, whey protein is bad for you, and soy is, too.

Why?

It wasn’t originally food. It’s a by-product of dairy processing. Then, the industry discovered they could use that throwaway product, dry it, and market it as a nutrition product by touting its high protein content.

Most processed proteins contain a lot of free glutamate, which creates the effect of MSG in the body.

Plus:

• It’s overly processed
• It’s full of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics
• It’s being linked to cancer and heart diseases

Smoothie Mistake #7 — You’re Not Adding Clean Protein

While Americans seem obsessed with protein, some people do feel better with more protein in their diets. Adding protein to green smoothies can also make them more filling.

I love adding our clean, highest-quality protein powders to my smoothies.

Our Organic Superfood Plant Protein Meal is an amazing blend of plant proteins combined with high-nutrient greens, like kale and spinach, and superfoods, like spirulina and sachi inchi.

You can also choose our Grass Fed Bone Broth Protein – the cleanest, most delicious bone broth protein you’ll find!

The perfect combo for your green smoothies

When you combine healthy fats and clean protein in your green smoothies, you create a complete meal that leaves you feeling satisfied for hours.

You can get your choice of both healthy fats and clean protein in our Smoothie Success Pack.

Smoothie Mistake #8 — You’re Not Adding Superfoods

A great benefit of green smoothies is that they can easily add extra nutrition to your day – in a delicious, easy-to-consume way.

Superfoods are incredible for you. Some of my favorite superfoods to add to green smoothies are aloe vera, turmeric, ginger, raw honey, and maca, because John had some seasonal allergies this year.

Smoothie Mistake #9 — You Think You Have to Use Dairy or Yogurt

Dairy is a common allergen and irritant, leading to leaky gut, skin breakouts, mucous production, and other inflammatory responses. With most of the US population being lactose intolerant, it’s simply not an ingredient that makes sense to put in our smoothies (or any other meal).

The yogurts you often find in the store, often made from dairy, are usually sweetened and contain carrageenan and other toxic additives. Third-party testing shows that few of them even have active probiotics.

You can use other ingredients to thicken your smoothies, like bananas, and you can “culture” your own nut milk with a milk kefir grain or coconut water with a water kefir grain – both inexpensively obtained. I have used them daily for many years.

Smoothie Mistake #10 — You’re Not Chewing Your Smoothies

Chew your green smoothies? Yes!

If you chew them in your mouth before swallowing, you may be getting more nutritional benefits.

This tip can especially help folks with digestive problems who don’t absorb much nutrition.

To be digestible, greens need to be fully broken down into the tiniest particles, or “creamed” like wide-palate primates with strong jaws are able to do easily, any observable “chunks” of green.

Otherwise, you may see them come out, the same way!

To digest food, your body needs the important digestive juices and enzymes from your saliva to mingle with your food before it goes to your stomach. Since our digestive processes started long before blenders existed, chewing is the natural way in which saliva is produced.

So, if you chew your green smoothie fully in your mouth (even though it is smooth and liquefied), you’ll create saliva – along with the necessary enzymes and digestive juices – you’ll need for your stomach to digest all the nutrients from the greens in your smoothie.

Smoothie Mistake #11 — You’re Not Being Creative with Your Smoothies

If you think smoothies are boring, they definitely don’t have to be! And, you don’t always have to drink the same smoothie. Try some cacao and raw honey, for a treat!

Discover the Magical Power of DAILY Green Smoothies

When you consume truly healthy green smoothies daily, you’ll love your results.

Our upcoming FREE Fall 9-Day Green Smoothie Challenge makes it easy — with daily recipes, a shopping list, a friendly, helpful community, insider tips, and more to support your smoothie success.

Do Your Green Smoothies Need to Be Green?

Don’t let the name mislead you – green smoothies don’t necessarily look green!

Some of my smoothies do have a rich green hue. For others, I often add frozen mixed berries to make them purple or other ingredients that turn the smoothie purple, pink, or orange. Sometimes they actually end up looking purple-brown.

How To Make Smoothies That Are Actually Healthy

Consuming more green smoothies is an excellent way to get more nutrition in your day. But not all smoothies are healthy.

The healthiest smoothies contain leafy greens, healthy fats, clean protein, and superfoods. They also exclude whey protein and dairy.

 

I hope you’ll join our Fall 9-Day Green Smoothie Challenge ~ it is FREE… and starts soon!