Superfood Smoothie: My Favorite Breakfast Recipe

Christine Simons
Jul 7
7 min read

A lot of people enjoy breakfast smoothies. I happen to be one of them. Today, I want to share with you my favorite recipe for a breakfast smoothie. This recipe is incredibly simple—just my variation of a standard berry smoothie. But it’s packed with additional ingredients to boost health and immunity.

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Superfoods: A Definition

Before we get into the actual recipe, first we need to ask the question: What exactly constitutes a “superfood” smoothie?

The problem with the term “superfood” is its overuse makes it difficult to define. Its hype is leveraged as a marketing ploy to trick consumers into buying more of these foods, or even processed foods or supplements with “superfood” ingredients. The U.S. National Institute of Health notes this problem in their study of superfoods, but they also give a helpful summary of the term: “There are many definitions of ‘superfood’, but it usually names foodstuffs characterized by their richness in macro- and micronutrients which have positive effects on human health and are useful for illness prevention.”

With this in mind, the ingredients I’ll be listing are nutrient-dense relative to their total caloric value.

Gear: A Necessary Process

For making smoothies, I absolutely love using my Ninja blender. My mom gave me her old Ninja compact blender when she upgraded to a newer, larger model. I got her money’s worth out of that thing, basically running it to the ground.

When the motor finally gave out, I was so sad to replace it. But instead of replacing the original model, I upgraded to a newer blender. One of the most beautiful things about this upgrade is that the new model is backwards compatible with the old Ninja blades and cups. So, I don’t have to replace those; I get to keep using them with my shiny new blender.

Ingredients: Superfoods Galore!

Now, on to the fun part of the post: the ingredients and the recipe!

Superfood #1: Berries

Most berries are considered superfoods, though blueberries regularly top the list. At this point in my homesteading journey, I’m not producing enough berries to meet my family’s needs. My father, on the other hand, is growing buckets upon buckets of blackberries (plus the seasonal wild dewberry crop on his land). Each family is different, and each family produces and grows different things. For my family, however, we’re still buying storebought berries.

I usually buy frozen strawberries and blueberries in bulk. Many debate the merits of freezing produce—some say freezing reduces food’s the nutritional value, while others say it preserves the nutritional value at peak freshness. I could go either way, but I opt for frozen berries for two reasons:

Frozen berries are less likely to spoil than fresh ones
Frozen berries are usually cheaper.

Additionally, I prefer my smoothies thicker, so I opt to use frozen fruit instead of ice cubes.

Another berry that’s become increasingly popular is the açaí (pronounced “ah-sah-EE”), which is the fruit of a palm tree native to the Amazon. According to the National Institute of Health, “Different parts of the acai plant have been used in folk medicine for treating fever, gastrointestinal and skin conditions, and infectious diseases.” However, despite this historical use, clinical research is still needed to validate açaí’s benefits. Like many Americans who consume açaí, I don’t purchase it fresh; rather, I buy dehydrated and powdered berry, which I then add to the smoothie.

Lastly, another berry with touted health benefits is the cranberry. But here’s the problem: I find the bitterness of plain cranberries off-putting. Instead, I use just a splash of cranberry juice in my smoothies to give some added taste. Personally, I like 100% juice with no added sugar, but my husband prefers diet cranberry juice with zero sugars total. To each their own.

Superfood #2: Aloe Vera Juice

Speaking of juices, another ingredient I like to include is aloe vera juice. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with acid reflux and told I had damage to my esophagus. One of the natural remedies for healing this kind of wound is to drink aloe vera juice… which, honestly, tastes disgusting. But, I found that if I hide a bit in my smoothies, it goes down a lot easier. The natural sugars in the berries provide the proverbial "spoonful of sugar" to make the medicine go down.

Superfood #3: Root Herbs

Okay, this seems like a weird one to add to smoothies. But trust me, it adds a subtle bit of flavor and a whole lot of nutritional benefit.

In a previous post, I explained how I process and store fresh ginger root by grating it up and freezing it into a candy mold. When I make smoothies, I often take a single cube (or just part of a broken cube) of ginger and toss it into the mix. It adds a nice gingery kick to the smoothie without overwhelming the flavor of the berries.

When I purchase fresh turmeric, I follow the exact same process I use on the ginger. The frozen turmeric is a much brighter, more vibrant color than the ginger, but it’s surprisingly mild in flavor. So, I usually add a cube of turmeric as well.

Superfood #4: Leafy Greens

This last category of plant-based foods is one that I haven’t been incorporating into my smoothies recently. But I’ve done it before, and they’ve added some nice bulk to the mix (even if the greens make a funky color when blended with the berries). Fresh spinach is an easy one to add, as it blends down nicely. Kale is also easy, though I prefer to freeze it first and crush it down before adding it to my smoothies.

One superfood I did try recently is moringa leaves. As y’all may already know from a previous post, a friend gifted me a moringa tree, so I now have access to the fresh leaves whenever I want. Admittedly, my moringa is still a baby tree, so I didn’t harvest a lot when I added it to my most recent smoothie. But the little bit I added made no noticeable difference to the flavor of the smoothie while still adding great nutrients.

Superfood #5: Dairy

Finally, I like to add a couple of dairy products to my smoothies to round out the flavor and texture.

The first superfood in this category is plain Greek yogurt, which shouldn't have any added sugar. Greek yogurt—especially if it contains live cultures—is ripe with nutritional benefit (pun totally intended). Just a spoonful or two of yogurt adds thickness to the consistency, helping me to feel full after drinking the smoothie. If I’m using whole-milk yogurt, it also includes healthy fats which help me stay full longer.

The last ingredient I include isn’t necessarily a “superfood” in the strictest sense, but it is nutritionally dense: whey protein.

Whey is a cheese-making byproduct. Curds are milk solids that separate from the liquid whey, and then those curds are processed into cheese. The liquid whey, on the other hand, can be dehydrated and turned into a protein-rich powder. Personally, I like the flavor of whey protein, and I don’t feel like my smoothie is complete without a scoop of it. But for others, it’s an acquired taste.

Recipe: A Super Delicious Breakfast

Now, onto the actual recipe!

Most of these measurements are inexact—I use the 24-ounce Ninja cups for my smoothies, and I tend to eyeball the amounts. Feel free to scale up or down depending on blender size or hunger level.

I start with my frozen berries. I add 1-1½ cups of mixed berries (usually just strawberries and blueberries, but I’ve used blends that include blackberries and cherries, too). Then, I drop in a cube of ginger and a cube of turmeric (roughly ½ teaspoon of each). Since all of these ingredients are frozen, I don’t add ice cubes.

Next, I add my juices. I add a splash of aloe vera juice (maybe ⅛ to ¼ cup) and a splash of cranberry juice (about the same amount). Again, scale up or down to preference. Next, if I’m using leafy greens, I add those in a handful at a time (maybe about ½ cup packed). Then, I move onto the Greek yogurt, which I add by the dollop (maybe ¼ to ½ cup). Finally, I add my powders. I use the measuring scoop included in the whey protein jar to scoop out a single serving. I use a regular spoon to scoop out açaí powder to taste (maybe 1 tablespoon total).

Once all my ingredients are assembled, I fill the blending cup with a liquid of choice (water or plant-based milk) until it reaches the “max liquid” fill-line. Then, I screw on the blade top, and off to the blender it goes!