A delicious blues smoothie rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins that help prevent cancer, boost immune health, cardiovascular health, and fight free radicals.
Today I’m continuing the new smoothie series where I’ll uncover the best of the best antioxidants spanning each color in the rainbow. Up next, blue! I’ve already shared the Ultimate Reds Smoothie, Yellow and Orange, and just to recap, remember smoothies are one of the simplest ways to increase your nutrient density in a small yet filling volume that’s easy on your digestive system. The Ultimate Blues Smoothie is loaded with my favorite picks for blue whole foods, which are technically limited and cross over into the purple whole food list, too. The result is a delicious blue smoothie rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins, anti-inflammatory compounds, flavonols for cardiovascular health, anti-cancer benefits, immune function, eye health, and overall cellular protection from the punch of antioxidants.
Drink your blues!
Whole foods that are naturally blue in color, which are limited if you’re counting them alone outside of the purple category, are loaded with antioxidants, but most notably anthocyanins which are responsible for the beautiful blue, purple, and red hues found in blueberries and the list mentioned below. For the sake of the Ultimate Blues, I want to highlight blue (i.e. found in blueberries) more than purple today- more on that later. The Anthocyanins found in blue whole foods like blueberries have been shown to help support eye health (1) and cardiovascular health (2,3), as well as balance blood sugars (i.e. think fiber!), protect cells from cancer (4), improve cognitive function (5), and overall provide our bodies with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds to combat everyday stresses and improve cell health (6).
Blues that you can incorporate into your weekly smoothie sessions:
- Blueberries
- Spirulina
- Chlorella
- Currants
- Blackberries
- Red cabbage + other purple veggies and fruits found in the Ultimate Purples Smoothie (coming soon!)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 pitted dates
- 1/2 cup raw purple cabbage
- 1 scoop protein powder of choice (vanilla)
- In a high speed blender, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Add ice to the blender and blend or you can serve over ice in a glass. Enjoy immediately.
GET THE BLUES…
…the good kind of blues! Enjoy this blue smoothie and stay tuned for many more in this series so that you can rotate different smoothies throughout the week to increase your nutrient density and variety. Let me know how you like this recipe in the comments or if you have questions. It also helps when you rate the recipe when you try it so I can improve them for you. Be sure to snap a picture when you make it at home share it on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see!
xx McKel
Get even more delicious, healthy recipes that you can’t find on the blog in the Nutrition Stripped Cookbook. Get your copy here!
Resources:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4725955/
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20660279
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20384847
(4 ) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20388778
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20047325
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153881
