As I continue on my journey to eat real food, I’m constantly trying new smoothie combinations and my newest incorporates adding in a nutritious, low-calorie beet.

You really must try it just for the color alone. I’ve been testing recipes every morning for the past two weeks and now ready to share my two favorites. Adding to my go-to base of greens, banana, flax, almond butter and milk, I’ve tried beets with …  

1. Blueberries
2. Mango and cherries
3. Mango
4. Pineapple and mango
5. Fresh whole orange

Which two do you think were the best flavor combinations? If you guessed 2 and 5, you’re correct! These fruits worked wonderfully with the root vegetable.

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Beet Smoothie with Mango and Cherries or Whole Orange

This lovely colored smoothie is a treat to start your day. Raw beets that are prechopped whip up nicely in a high-speed blender. If you’re using a lower-powered machine, you may want to try precooked beets.

This recipe makes one large or two small smoothies and has 300 calories (based on using skim milk).

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

With Mango and Cherries

• 1 small beet, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup (large handful) spinach or baby spinach and kale mix
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 6 frozen cherries (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup skim or nut milk (I use cashew)
• 2 tbsp ground flax
• 2 tsp almond butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water if too thick

With Whole Orange

• Follow above recipe except swap out the frozen mango and cherries with a whole orange (peel removed) and three ice cubes.

Instructions

Using a Ninja smoothie maker

• Put all ingredients in the container and select the smoothie setting (blends for 50 seconds). After the first time you process it, check how thick it is, and add water or ice cubes as needed. Blend it on smoothie setting once more.
  

Other blenders (high-speed recommended)

• Put all ingredients into the container and blend until smooth. Check the consistency, scrape sides as needed. Add a little water or ice cubes, as necessary, and pulse until incorporated.  

Notes

Optional/add in more fiber: Add in cholesterol-lowering oats which will make your smoothie thick, creamy and more filling. Add in 2 tablespoons of old-fashioned oats. Even better, try 1 tablespoon of steel cut if you have a heavy-duty blender; just pulverize first before adding in rest of ingredients. You’ll need to add in water if too thick.  

Your Guide on Creating Healthy and Delish Smoothies: Check out my “Smoothie 101” post for details!