Smoothies are an excellent way to get multiple vitamins and minerals into your diet. You have this extremely simple way to get your five-a-day in (which is now being increased to eight to 10 portions a day!) without feeling like you’re stuffed or pretending to be a rabbit.
The downside to smoothies is creating them. They use up lots of fruits and vegetables. Trying to balance out the need for nutrients, sweetness, and creaminess can be difficult. Then you wonder whether you’ve added way too much into your smoothies or if you’re getting the right ingredients.
If you’ve made your smoothies yourself, you may even be worried about the taste. After all, just because foods work well in a fruit salad doesn’t mean they blend well. There are some fruits that will affect the consistency of your smoothie and vegetables that can leave behind an extremely bitter taste.
Where do you start for simple smoothies? You want basic 5-ingredient smoothies. They are cheap to make and extremely easy to do. You’ll get the right balance of all your nutrients and wonder what the issue was this whole time.
Here’s a look at the six best 5-ingredient smoothies to try out the next time you make one.
A Word of Warning About Smoothies
Before we get into the recipes, it’s worth noting that while smoothies are good, you can’t live off them. There are downsides to them.
The biggest issue is that you’ll find you end up eating too many portions of fruit and vegetables. Yes, this is something that you can do. Fruits and vegetables may have fewer calories than other foods out there, but they still contain some calories. The biggest issue is with the fruits, as they are full of natural sugars and fiber. Most vegetables are made up of water rather than natural sugars.
Getting too many fruits and vegetables in your diet will lead to more calories than you expected. You could end up overeating calories without realizing, as you won’t think about cutting down on the calories in other means.
Smoothies can also lead to too many natural sugars metabolizing in your body. Before you’ve broken down the fiber and the particles, you make it easier for the body to digest the ingredients. The sugars are more likely to metabolize in your bloodstream, increasing your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
There’s also the problem of not feeling full. The food digests quickly, and your stomach won’t have the chance to tell your brain that you’re full. This leads to eating more than you need because you don’t get the same sense of satisfaction as you would if you ate the portions of fruits and vegetables.
Of course, the benefits of quick digestion is the easier absorption of the nutrients. Your body will be able to take in more of the vitamins and minerals you offer to support the whole system.
You don’t need to drink more than one smoothie a day for all the benefits. Two a day is the most you should drink, and try to space out your portions. Most smoothies can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours without tasting stale or without separating.
Smoothies are much better than juices. There is still the fiber in smoothies since you will blend the whole fruit and vegetable rather than remove the pulp. Juices are pure sugar that does cause some health problems.
Now that you’re aware of some of the issues with smoothies, it’s time to look at some 5-ingredient options. All these smoothies will give you a mixture of nutrients, including vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, and magnesium.
The Strawberry Sunrise
Happily start your morning. Berries are excellent for the body. They’re full of antioxidants and other vitamins. While blueberries and raspberries are best known for their antioxidants, strawberries are also packed full of them.
This recipe does call for goji berries. You may need to go to your local health store for these, although they are growing in popularity in the local grocery stores now.
The whole smoothie will remind you of strawberry milk. Yes, you will want more, but remember just the one portion.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of almond milk
- ½ a banana
- 1 cup of strawberries
- 2tbsp goji berries
- 2tbsp coconut flakes
Method:
- Put everything together in a blender and fully combine
The banana and milk will work together to create a deliciously creamy consistency. If you want it less creamy, you can take out the banana. Add some raspberries or a little lemon juice instead.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie
There are many misconceptions about certain foods. Peanut butter is considered unhealthy, but it’s one of the best foods for you. Just a tablespoon is packed with protein and healthy fats that leave you feeling fuller for longer. The nutrients will help to support your muscles, boost your ketone release in your liver, and support your developing body.
This is an excellent start to the day for kids. They’ll also love the fact that they’re getting a “treat” in a drink form.
If you or your kids are allergic to peanuts, you can opt for almond butter or sun butter instead. It will depend on the specific allergy that you have as to the one that works best for you.
The raspberries will give you the antioxidants and other nutrients your body will need. You get the almond milk and banana working together for the creamy nature, especially with the peanut butter.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of almond milk
- 2tbsp peanut butter
- 1 banana
- ½ cup of raspberries
- 2 dates
Method:
- Put everything together in a blender and process until smooth
Try freezing the banana before you use it. This will give you a colder start to the day, which is perfect for the summer!
Mint Chocolate Chip
Who said that smoothies had to be filled with just fruits and vegetables? Like peanut butter, chocolate is often considered bad for you. However, when you get cacao, you will get one of the best nutritional foods in your diet! You want to get cacao nibs for this smoothie to give you a little extra crunch. This will make you feel like you’re eating mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Freeze your banana before you use it. This will help to cool down the smooth, creamy drink to give you an even closer feel to ice cream.
The spinach may initially seem like a weird addition to your recipe. You’ll barely taste it with the other ingredients, but you will have a smoothie packed with calcium, iron, magnesium, and much more.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of cashew milk
- 1 banana milk
- ½ cup of mint leaves
- 2tbsp cacao nibs
- 1 cup of spinach
Method:
- Put it all in a blender and process until smooth
- Alternatively, put everything except the chocolate nibs into the blender and process, adding the nibs in at the end to leave the crunch
If you’re struggling to find cashew milk, almond milk is a good alternative. You can also opt for soy or coconut milk if you have an allergy to other options.
Pina Colada Smoothie
Bring a taste of Hawaii to your home with this delicious pina colada smoothie. The best part about this is it’s suitable for all, as there is no alcohol. Of course, if you want to add alcohol and make it a real pina colada, you can. There’s an alternative 5-ingredient recipe to allow you to do that.
The method of making this smoothie will depend on the type of blender you have. One of the ingredients is ice, but not all blenders can cope with it. You may need to buy crushed ice or just add ice cubes at the end.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 cup of pineapple
- 1 banana
- 1/4tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ice cubes
Method:
- If your blender will take the ice, put everything into the blender and process until smooth
- If your blender won’t take the ice, put everything except the ice cubes in and process until smooth, adding the ice at the end
Ingredients for the Cocktail:
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 cup of frozen pineapple
- 1 banana
- 1/4tsp vanilla extract
- Splash of rum, to taste
Method:
- Put everything in the blender and process until smooth
- Test the amount of rum you’ve put in and pour more in if necessary
Don’t forget to shake your cocktail or mix thoroughly if you add more rum. Frozen pineapple is an excellent way to avoid the need for ice cubes, but you can add them if you’d like.
Blueberry Pancake Style Smoothie
Don’t fancy making blueberry pancakes one morning? That doesn’t make you a bad parent! But that doesn’t mean your kids don’t get the taste of them. You can create a smoothie that will make everyone feel like they’re getting blueberry pancakes.
Of course, you’re packing this smoothie with antioxidants due to the blueberries. They are also naturally sweet, so you’ll curb sweet cravings almost immediately. Opt for frozen blueberries for two reasons: you don’t need ice, and they will last longer in the freezer!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of almond milk
- ½ cup of blueberries
- 1 banana
- 2tbsp cashew nuts
- 1tsp cinnamon
Method:
- Put it all together in the blender and process until smooth
The kids will want this every morning if you’re not careful! Why not treat them once a week, as a Friday before they go to school.
You can switch out the cinnamon for some nutmeg if you’d like. Also, top the smoothie with a little extra of whichever spice you use.
Apple Pie Smoothie
Bring the taste of dessert to breakfast. Apple pie is one of the most popular desserts around the world. It’s easy to eat, suitable for the majority of people, and cheap.
Now you can pull out all the stuff that makes apple pie unhealthy and create a delicious smoothie for the morning. You get the natural sweetness of the apples, helping to curb sweet cravings on a morning.
You’ll have the taste of apple pie without any of the cooking time. The longest part of making this is the chopping of the apples! Try out different types of apples to find ones that work best for you for the tartness.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of almond milk
- 1 apple, peeled & chopped
- 2tbsp pecan nuts
- 1/2tsp vanilla extract
- 2 dates
Method:
- Put everything together in the blender and process until smooth
If you are allergic to nuts, you can switch out the almond milk for soy milk. Pecans can be replaced with cinnamon. You can also top the recipe with some cinnamon to make it taste like Grandma’s recipe.
Make Your Smoothies Easily
Make a plan for using the smoothies in your weekly meals. You can then make a list of all the ingredients you need and buy them at once. Put them together in their portion sizes in a pack for each of the recipes you’ll make. You then just get to pull everything out and pour into the blender. The most time-consuming part will be cleaning out the blender ready for the next use.
All the recipes above will give you one portion of the smoothies. You may get two depending on the size of your glasses. You can store the second in the fridge, but make sure it’s covered with some cling film. You then have something to grab when you get home from work and need something to brighten up the end of the day.
You can have delicious smoothies that don’t give you a heart attack! The recipes above are extremely easy to make and are packed with nutrients. Your heart, liver, digestive, immune, and skin health will all be protected, and much more. What are you waiting for? Choose your first 5-ingredient smoothie right now!
