This Mixed Berries and Kale Smoothie makes for a super healthy breakfast – it’s so refreshing and the combination of the berries, yogurt and kale is a great nutritious breakfast or an afternoon snack.
The sweet fruity flavor of the berries makes me think I am having an indulgent dessert. At the same time, I know I am getting amazing health benefits from all the ingredients.
Berries
I love smoothies with mixed berries. Berries are very nutritious fruits – low on calories while also being high in fiber, antioxidants and vitamin C. They are also known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol thus improving our heart health.
Is it better to use fresh or frozen berries for smoothies?
When in season, I enjoy adding freshly picked berries. When available the choices are quite a few – that however is rare and expensive.
As a part of healthy budget-friendly meal prep, I prefer to use frozen berries. And it’s not only because they’re more affordable. It’s believed that frozen fruit has more nutritional value than store-bought berries. Frozen berries normally get frozen as soon as they’re harvested as opposed to being on the supermarket shelf for several days or even weeks.
Are smoothies good for breakfast?
It’s easy to quickly transform a healthy smoothie into an unhealthy unbalanced one by adding too many fruits or too many of the different superfoods. These will quickly add to the calories.
So it’s important to bear that in mind when making a healthy breakfast smoothie. If it’s a treat, then that’s a different story (and might be OK every now and again). It’s all about balance.
Why add Kale
Kale is such a ‘superfood’ leafy green. I’ve already talked about it at length over at my post How to make Kale Chips In The Oven. Still, here are some of its superpowers.
- Above all, kale is extremely nutrient-dense while being low in fat. It has a great combination of multiple vitamins and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also high in fibre.
- In addition, it has high amounts of antioxidants, which are anti-inflammatory and can thus improve our heart health.
Yogurt
I love adding yogurt to smoothies. Yogurt adds extra protein and calcium to our diets as well as gut-friendly probiotics, it also adds creaminess to smoothies. I either add homemade natural yogurt (Greek Yogurt) or homemade almond yogurt or homemade coconut yogurt. These are so much cheaper than store-bought versions where I know I haven’t added any extra additives or preservatives.
Finally, here’s is this kale berry smoothie recipe together with my tips on how to meal prep it in advance.
Needed for Mixed Berries and Kale Smoothie
- Banana, frozen mixed berries, kale (or your favorite leafy green- I love adding spinach)
- Almond or coconut or natural greek yogurt (the recipes for all these yogurts are on my blog)
- Oat flour (optional) and homemade protein powder (optional)
How to make a berry smoothie
Meal Prep (optional):
This is an optional step. It allows you to pre-prepare several healthy breakfast smoothies (rather than just banana smoothie) in advance. You just store them in the freezer until ready to blend and drink.
First, choose the freezer-safe container that you’d like to store your smoothie in. You can use glass containers or reusable freezer bags.
If you’re adding any of the optional ingredients like protein powder or oat flour, you add those first. Then, add the leafy greens (kale or spinach) followed by the banana and mixed berries.
Close the container and store it in the freezer. Label if you like and that’s a great healthy berry smoothie.
Please note: we are not freezing the blending liquid of choice or the yogurt. They will be added straight to the blender when we are ready to make the smoothie.
Blending the banana berry smoothie
Add the almond milk and natural yogurt in your blender/food processor, then add the frozen ingredients.
Finally, blend until smooth. It’s best to drink the smoothie immediately. But if you have any leftovers, you can freeze them in ice cube trays and use them within a month.
If you add less of the milk (or replace it completely with the yogurt), you can make this into a mixed red berries smoothie bowl. Just serve the smoothie in a bowl or a big mug. Then add some (optional) toppings like extra fruit, chia seeds, or shredded coconut or a spoonful of homemade nut or seed butter. One of my favorites would be almond butter.
If you enjoyed this Mixed Berries and Kale Smoothie as much as I do, you might also like these:
Citrus and Mango Smoothie Bowl, Cacao Acai Smoothie Bowl Recipe, Vegan Chocolate Smoothie Bowl Recipe, and Delicious Tropical Healthy Green Smoothie.
If you have questions, ask them in the comments. I also love seeing your recipe recreations, so feel free to tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie.
Mixed Berries Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup kale
- 1 cup mixed berries
- 1/4 cup natural yogurt
- 1.5 cups almond milk
- 1 tBsp protein powder
- 1 tBsp oat flour optional
Suggested Equipment
Instructions
- Add the almond milk and natural yogurt in your blender/food processor.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend till smooth and enjoy! If you add less of the milk (or replace it completely with the yogurt), you can serve in a bowl, add some (optional) toppings like extra fruit or shredded coconut, and enjoy that way.
- The smoothie is best consumed immediately. If you have any leftovers, you can freeze them in ice cube trays or freezer-safe container for up to a month.
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