Wholesome Blackberry Smoothie (VIDEO)

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Drinking smoothies, you have heard are good for you, but not every smoothie is equally good for you. Let's see what I mean.

Smoothies can play many roles in our diet: Snack, Meal replacement, Dessert, Super high hydration drink, Immune system booster, Veggie, and fruit daily intake replacement, etc. Let me be honest, smoothies are just freaking delicious! In my family, we are big believers that you also need to nourish your body with good food, and if drinking a perfectly tangy and sweet, very refreshing smoothie brings a smile to your face, then that’s healthy as healthy as can be.

What do I like about this smoothie?

Made with local and organic seasonal produce!

Doesn't contain any sugar or juice!

Doesn't contain any yogurt, which can be full of artificial flavors, sugars, and colorings.

Made with real food!

Easy and convenient ingredients!

High in fiber, and healthy gut bacteria!

Perfect for Make-Ahead!

Summer, hot summer is the perfect time to consume more water-dense foods, like fresh produce. Eating more fruits and veggies on the go in one glass is the way to go. We love the convenience of this kind of meal.

Why is it even better the next day?

This beverage only gets better after sitting in your fridge due to the kefir, called the champagne of dairy, and makes this a magic drink. This smoothie is not only still good after being in the fridge for a few days it's even better. "How can this be?" you ask? It is due to the active good bacteria in the kefir, which continues to eat and multiply accomplishing a second fermentation of sorts. The good bacteria eat the sugar from the fruits thus creating additional good bacteria for you to consume. Your body will be very happy about it!

More smoothies for smoothie lovers:

Superfood Smoothie Bowl

Marvelous Mulberry Smoothie

Lowcountry Loquat Smoothie

What do I use to sweeten a smoothie?

All of these smoothies use frozen fruit as a base, like frozen bananas or frozen figs, which adds a nice baseline of sweetness and the perfect consistency. My recommendation is to blend up your smoothie without adding any sweetener, then taste and make your adjustments by adding either raw honey or maple syrup. I didn’t need to add anything! However, if you desire to drink a smoothie on the sweeter side, consider a great natural option for sweetening: pitted Medjool dates. They are incredibly sweet plus full of minerals and fiber.

What’s the best blender for making smoothies?

Blenders have gotten so advanced in the past few years and are so affordable that it’s hard to pick one that won’t blend up a great smoothie. If you are shopping, here are the three blenders I recommend for daily smoothie making:

• Most affordable: Cuisinart Immersion/Stick Blender—Don’t let its small size fool you, this tiny handheld blender is packed full of power, and will easily make a smoothie for you every day! It’s perfect if you’re limited on counter space. Great for travelling. Also, I use it to make soup puree since I don't like to pour hot liquid into a plastic bowl in a regular blender. This is a very handy tool to have on hand.

• Medium-strong: Ninja Professional Blender/system—For under $150, you get an incredibly powerful blender that makes a dreamy, creamy smoothie. This is a blender that I have been using since 2015 with a few replacements of parts here and there. It’s a great starter-level, but still is a high-powered blender.

• Smart: Vitamix Professional Blender—A Vitamix has been at the top of the line for years when it comes to blenders. Unfortunately, it comes with a hefty price tag, so if you’re just blending a smoothie every now and again, there is no need to make this purchase. However, if you do a lot of cooking, or make a lot of smoothies or blended drinks, you might want to start saving your pennies for a Vitamix. It’s a lifetime appliance that is a dream to use!

On Blackberries

Blackberries, without a doubt, have a ton of health benefits.

Because of the antioxidants, blackberries should be one of the main foods we all should consume regularly to protect our bodies from oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, which is responsible for a massive number of diseases.

What should you add to your smoothie to make it healthier?

High fiber veggies and fruit, probiotic drinks like kefir, or really any milk or yogurt with a clean ingredients list, it's important! Bee pollen, spirulina, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, milk thistle, nutritional yeast, brewer's yeast, beet powder; spices (cinnamon, vanilla beans, cardamom, turmeric, orange zest, Celtic salt, etc.) are exceptional options too. Let's not forget fat (nut butter, tahini, coconut butter), as well as proteins (I prefer a natural source such as hard-boiled eggs, kefir, yogurt, nuts, or seeds, previously soaked). Last but not least, any kind of greens are perfect to add to a smoothie, like spinach, Bok choy, celery, arugula, and the list goes on and on.

Why use a whole lemon?

Once in a while, I love to use citrus fruit in my smoothies and why not! It makes for a very refreshing drink. I love to pair the citrus with celery too. For this recipe, I used lemon, because its flavor goes perfect with blackberries and celery. Most people use lemon juice only in their recipes, which is great because lemon juice is full of minerals (potassium, magnesium, copper), and vitamins (B6, B1, B2, E, and C). But by using the WHOLE lemon, we are even extending this list of benefits. And what do I mean by the whole lemon? I mean that you use the peel, pits, pulp, and seeds. Oh, yes! According to Dr. Berg, if you consume the white part of the lemon and the outer peel, you will get even more amazing benefits from bioflavonoids. Here is a list of benefits from eating a whole lemon:

• Reduces the risk of kidney stones (especially important for those who are on a keto diet)

• Supports the immune system

• Inhibits collagen destruction

• Reduces fat on the liver

• Decreases cholesterol

• Supports weight loss

• Supports anti-aging

• It's anti-cancer

Let's do it...

Prep time: 3 minutes

Making time: 3 minutes

Total time: 6 minutes

Yield: 2 large glasses or 4 kids' size

Author: Inna of innichkachef.com

Ingredients

1 cup blackberries

half of a lemon

2-3 celery stalks

1 inch of fresh ginger root

3 frozen bananas

2-3 peaches or nectarines

1 cup plain kefir

2-3 Tablespoons raw honey, if needed

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend for a few minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender once in a while.

2. Pour in the glass and garnish, as you desire. I like to garnish with ingredients that I used to make the smoothie, for this showcase what is in the smoothie!

Enjoy!

I hope you'll make this recipe soon. If you do, please tag me #innichka_chef on Instagram, Facebook, Patreon or Pinterest.