A Morning Smoothie that Can’t be BEET

Do you like beets?

I admit it has taken me awhile to come around on these wonder roots, but now that I have, I’m sold. The easiest way to start enjoying beets is in a smoothie, which lets you use both the root and the greens at once. (Don’t throw out the greens!)

Even raw, beets blend smoothly and pretty much take on the taste of the other items in your drink. They also contain a unique compound called betacyanin, which is the pigment that gives them their red color, and has been shown to help fight cancer.

Aside from tasting great, this smoothie is high in fiber, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, among other vital nutrients. As a side note, it’s been shown that most people don’t get enough potassium in their day. Did you know that the RDA for potassium is 3500 mg? I know folks think that eating a banana a day covers your bases, but in reality, a medium banana only has 422 mg of potassium. That’s good, but it won’t cover your RDA all by itself!

I generally try to add a little healthy fat to my morning smoothies, and this one has coconut oil, which will fill you up and keep your blood sugar balanced. If you don’t have coconut oil – get some! – you could sub something like almond butter or 1/4 an avocado instead.

A word of caution when working with beets, if you never have before. The red color can stain your hands, clothes, counters, etc. Take precautions so you don’t have a mess on your hands (quite literally).  Don’t worry, your tongue won’t turn red from drinking it!

Beet Berry Smoothie

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1 small raw beet, or 1/2 medium beet, chopped into 1” chunks
• Handful beet greens, loosely torn into chunks
• 1/2 cup unsweetened frozen blueberries
• 1 scoop favorite protein powder – vanilla or plain
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Method:

• Add coconut milk, coconut water, beets, and beet greens in your blender and blend until smooth (I use the Ninja Pulse Single Serve Cup)
• Then, add remaining ingredients and blend to a consistency you like
• If too thin, add more beets or blueberries
• If too thick, a little more coconut water

Nutrition

Using Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Raw Protein.  Click to enlarge images.