There are a lot of things that can be added to Smoothies to enhance their nutrition content. Protein powder, chia seeds, vitamin supplements can all be purchased and added to a smoothie. The sky is the limit when it comes to blending fruits in a smoothie. Strawberries and bananas are common and often serve as a great base but get creative.
Smoothies have to potential to be a great snack full of vitamins and minerals or with the addition of protein smoothies can even function as a meal that is easy to have on the go.
When making Smoothies with the intention of being healthy it is important to avoid using ice cream or frozen yogurt as an ingredient. It may seem obvious, but by adding frozen yogurt or ice cream to a smoothie, drastically increases the calorie content as well as the fat content of the beverage.
Smoothie ingredients to not have to be limited to fruit and juices though. Some vegetables can be easily added to a smoothie and blended so no one would even know they are there. Spinach is one of the most common vegetables hidden in a fruit smoothie. Spinach can be blended in fruit smoothie with a standard blender. Another vegetable that is frequently added is Kale. Kale is more fibrous and requires a high powered blender to blend completely- the VitaMix is the most readily available high powered blender. They can be very expensive though. By blending vegetables in a fruit smoothie people (especially kids) can get the vitamins and nutrients found in vegetables without having to know about it or argue about it. The smoothies, especially with the addition of spinach or kale, turn green and may look less appetizing, they taste fantastic.
