With veganism growing in popularity every day, new trends keep popping up, and vegan smoothies may just be the trend for you to jump on this year.
No matter how you look at it, a smoothie is the quickest way to consume either fruits or vegetables, sometimes even both, all with the added benefit of the beverage being as tasty as they come.
Apart from helping you meet your daily intake levels of fiber, smoothies are filled with vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, giving you quick and easy access to all the things you need in one big gulp.
They’re particularly popular with anyone who exercises or is just looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and if you include vegan protein powder, you can skyrocket your smoothie’s efficiency.
Finally, a smoothie helps you get past some of the traits that fruit or veg nearing its expiry date may have taken on, minimizing the amount of food that is wasted in your household.
Is it affordable
Most of the time, smoothies are viewed as some sort of luxury, exclusive to those that can afford the highest quality ingredients and the many exotic fruits that can be blended into one.
However, that’s usually not the case, and you could easily get away with a smoothie as basic as a few oranges and apples blended together with some browning bananas you’ve had on your kitchen counter for days.
Anything you wouldn’t normally eat due to it being “icky” can easily be incorporated into a smoothie, without ever sacrificing any of the wonderful taste the smoothie would normally have.
Overripe fruits and vegetables are a great addition to any smoothie, vegan or not, and you’d be surprised with how cheap some of these smoothies can be, so much so that one could even call them a budget alternative to other workout supplements.
How does it tie in with veganism?
If you’ve set your sights on veganism, then smoothies are the best way to start, as they’re probably the easiest way to consume your daily dose of vitamins and minerals without ever resorting to animal production.
Essentially, the only thing to avoid here is dairy products, which can easily be replaced with almond or soy milk if you like your smoothies just a bit “smoother”.
However, greatness lies in simplicity, and the best smoothies out there are nothing more than a balanced mixture of fruits and vegetables, and if you wish to adjust the consistency a bit, you can add water, ice, or plant-based milk to your liking.
Even if you’re not making it on your own, chances are that the restaurant/bar you’re buying it at will give you a choice between a non-vegan and a vegan alternative to the smoothie.
The “best ingredients“
Even though some fruits and vegetables do carry more nutrients than others, there’s no correct way to make a smoothie, and as long as you’re not adding sugar and other additives to it, you can’t go wrong.
In fact, some of the weirdest combinations can be surprisingly tasty while also having some incredible health and wellness benefits for you to reap.
Of course, not all fruits or vegetables are created equal, and some will undoubtedly tower above the rest, with greens and kale usually being at the top of the list here, due to the high iron content in them.
Herbs and spices also make the list, and while they’re technically neither vegetables nor fruit, they can turn any smoothie up to 11!
You may notice that vegetables are usually at the top of most lists though, and if you can stomach a smoothie that isn’t necessarily sweet, you should give vegetable-focused smoothies a try.
Other benefits
Everyone has that one food they don’t like, and the beauty of smoothie making lies in the fact that combining all of those flavors allows you to add something you wouldn’t normally be happy to eat/drink.
Brazil nuts are one of the greatest sources of selenium we can consume as humans, but their unique taste is not for everyone, which calls for intervention.
Even if you add more than a few into your smoothie, the overwhelming taste of fruit will mask all the flavors you’re not particularly fond of, allowing you to get your intake of minerals and nutrients without having to sacrifice the overall taste of the smoothie for it.
You can do the same thing for a number of different herbs and spices, slowly incorporating them into your diet until you’re ready to consume them outside of a smoothie
Bottom line
Smoothies may well be one of the greatest gates into veganism out there, and they can show anyone that tasty beverages don’t necessarily have to include animal produce.
In fact, a smoothie shouldn’t even be classified as a beverage, as it’s packed with nutrients matching almost an entire meal, giving you a much-needed head start for the day.