If you can get past the color of this smoothie, you will enjoy a refreshing and tasty blend of crisp cucumber and tropical papaya. It’s a refreshing drink on a warm summer day. Cucumbers are a good source of beta-carotene and vitamin C and are an excellent source of dietary fiber. Papayas are rich in antioxidants and the enzyme papain, which helps promote digestive health.

Cucumber-Papaya Smoothie Recipe

• 1 medium organic cucumber with peel
• ½ large ripe papaya
• 1/4 avocado
• 4-6 ounces of filtered water
• A few ice cubes to chill, optional

Blend on high for 30 seconds until smooth. I added a couple slices of ripe avocado to make the smoothie creamier since both cucumber and papaya are water-rich fruits.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 104
Fat: 0g
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Calcium: 8% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Iron: 6% RDA
Vitamin A: 85% RDA
Vitamin C: 137% RDA

This smoothie is also a good source of folate, lycopene, vitamin B5, and vitamin K.

Find more cucumber or papaya smoothie recipes or send us your favorite smoothie creations!

Fresh ginger root is inexpensive and trust me, a little bit goes a long way. You can either grate it over your smoothie before blending or finely chop up a little piece of fresh ginger root and toss it in. I start with a little bit and add more to taste. I like a strong ginger flavor so I’ll usually add more then most people. If you’ve never added ginger to a smoothie, you’ll want to start with 1/2 inch or less and add more to taste.

Orange Carrot Smoothie Recipe With Ginger

• 2 oranges, peeled
• 2 large, organic carrots
• ½ to 1 inch ginger to taste
• 1-2 splashes of water
• Ice to chill if desired

Squeeze one of the oranges into your blender to provide enough juice to help it blend. Then add the rest of the orange pulp and the second orange, both carrots and the ginger. Add a splash or two of water to help it blend and thin out the consistency. You’ll need to add more water if you include the orange pith like I do and less water if you don’t. We like to leave the pith on as it’s loaded with fiber.

Once you have all your ingredients in the blender, you know what to do – blend on high until smooth!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 196
Fat: 0g
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 48g
Calcium: 17% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Iron: 4% RDA
Vitamin A: 1061% RDA
Vitamin C: 232% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate, vitamin B1 – B6, vitamin k, copper and potassium.

Browse more smoothie recipes with ginger or submit your own!

Lentil Nutrition And Health Benefits

Lentils are a good source of protein (3.5 grams per 1/2 cup, sprouted) with sprouted lentils containing a wider range of amino acids. Lentils are also a good source vitamin C as well as B-vitamins including folate (10% DV – Daily Value). Lentils also provide a good source of iron (15% DV), copper (15 %DV) , manganese (8% DV), phosphorus (10% DV) and zinc (5% DV) in just 1/2 cup.

How To Sprout Lentils

I’ve only sprouted green lentils. It’s really easy to do. Simply soak them overnight in a glass mason jar. Be sure to use a large enough jar to accomodate the expanded size of soaked lentils and their sprouts. You will need a jar that is triple the size of the dry lentils you add to it.

The next morning, drain the soak water, rinse and drain again. Then attach a screen lid to the jar and place it on it’s side out of direct sunlight. Two to three times each day, rinse and drain the lentils. You should see them start to sprout after one day. By day two, they are coming along nicely and by day three, you should have inch-long roots and your jar will be very full! I eat them once the roots are longer than a half inch.

How Much To Add To A Smoothie

I usually toss sprouted lentils into herb soups that I make. By themselves, lentils have a fairly mild flavor – fresh and “green”. In a smoothie, you notice them even if you put a lot of fruit in as well. The flavor is not for everyone. Davy doesn’t care for it but I don’t mind it in certain recipes like the one below.

When you are experimenting with sprouted lentils in your green smoothie, start with adding 1/4 cup and see what you think. I used 1/2 cup of sprouted lentils in the smoothies that I tried. The recipe below was pretty good, but some of the others I tried would have been better without the lentils.

I find that a half cup or more will make the smoothie slightly “chalky”, but not any more than it would be with a protein powder added.

Sprouted Lentil Smoothie Recipe

• 2 bananas, peeled
• ½ cup sprouted lentils
• ½ to ¾ cup frozen blueberries to taste
• 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach (or other mild-flavored leafy green)
• 4-6 ounces of water

Add ingredients to your blender and blend on high until smooth.

I only used ½ cup frozen blueberries and I could still taste the lentils. I liked the flavor so I didn’t add any more, but if you want to mask the flavor, add more blueberries or flavorful fruit like strawberry or pineapple.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 300
Fat: 1g
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 75g
Calcium: 12% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Iron: 49% RDA
Vitamin A: 195% RDA
Vitamin C: 50% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of folate and other B-vitamins, vitamin E and K, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium.

The Verdict

After my experiments, I have concluded that putting sprouted lentils in green smoothies is not for me. While they supply additional protein, I don’t need them in my smoothie. Instead, I use protein-rich greens, seeds and protein powders because I prefer my smoothies to be sweet and fruity.

Do you put lentils in your smoothies? Leave a comment below and let us know what worked and what didn’t.

How To Use Durian In A Smoothie

Durian is an excellent base for a smoothie and it’s texture is similar to custard or yogurt. It is a perfect vegan alternative for non-dairy milkshakes and ultra-creamy smoothies. You can also freeze it to make durian ice cream or other sweet dishes.

It is a calorie-dense fruit with 357 calories and 13 grams of healthy fat in just one cup. A durian usually yields about 3 cups of edible fruit. It is a great source of calories on a raw food diet and can be used for concentrated meal-replacement smoothies when you don’t want to drink an entire pitcher full. I typically use one cup of durian when I am making smoothie recipe for just myself.

Because of it’s vanilla-almond flavor, durian blends well with banana which helps thicken it up. Durian is excellent when blended with spices like ginger, cinnamon, clove or nutmeg. Spices mingle with the vanilla flavor tones while masking the infamous funkiness of durian. Cacao is a wonderful companion to durian but will also make for a high-fat smoothie, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all. Add a dash of cayenne pepper to a cacao-durian smoothie for a chocolate smoothie with a kick!

I don’t like to blend durian with sweet fruit like pineapple, mango or oranges. You might be tempted to blend it with other tropical flavors, but I don’t think the durian flavor mixes well with citrus or most sweet fruits. My preference is to maintain the vanilla-like dominance and off-set the overall flavor with one to two spices, and sweeten the blend with a ripe banana. You can’t go wrong with that blend!

You can blend young, Thai coconut with durian which is excellent! Use coconut water for smoothie recipes to add a hint of sweet coconut to the mix.

If you wish to use durian in a green smoothie, I recommend choosing mild-flavored greens like fresh baby spinach. Durian does have a delicate flavor and bitter greens might be unpleasant. I consider durian a dessert fruit best enjoyed by itself or with complementary flavors. Save the greens for smoothies with sweet, flavorful fruit.

Durian Smoothie Recipes

Durian Smoothie With Lemon and Ginger

• 1 cup durian
• 1 whole banana, peeled
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 4-6 ounces of water

Add all ingredients and then blend on high until creamy and thoroughly mixed. Add additional lemon and/or ginger to taste, if desired.

Calories: 471 | Fat: 13g (grams) | Protein: 5g | Carbs: 74g | Vitamin A: 6% | Folate: 28% | B1 (Thiamine): 79% | B2 (Riboflavin): 44% | B3 (Niacin): 22% | B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 19% | B6 (Pyridoxine): 93% | Vitamin C: 68% | Calcium: 5% | Copper: 68% | Iron: 20% | Magnesium: 27% | Manganese: 68% | Phosphorus: 18% | Potassium: 32% | Zinc: 8%

Chocolate-Durian

• 1 cup durian
• 1 ounce cacao powder (more to taste, if desired)
• 1 whole banana, peeled
• 4-6 ounces of water
• dash of nutmeg or cayenne pepper (optional)

Add all ingredients and then blend on high until creamy and thoroughly mixed. Add additional seasonings to taste.

Calories: 633 | Fat: 26g (grams) | Protein: 8g | Carbs: 100g | Vitamin A: 6% | Folate: 28% | B1 (Thiamine): 79% | B2 (Riboflavin): 44% | B3 (Niacin): 21% | B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 19% | B6 (Pyridoxine): 92% | Vitamin C: 86% | Calcium: 2% | Copper: 66% | Iron: 331% | Magnesium: 50% | Manganese: 48% | Phosphorus: 17% | Potassium: 32% | Zinc: 8%

More durian smoothie recipes coming soon!

Durian Nutrition and Health Benefits

Durian provides an excellent source of calories and fat for meal-replacement smoothies. Just one cup of the fruit contains approximately 357 calories and 13 grams of healthy fat. It is a rich source of fiber (9 grams) and provides plenty of carbohydrates (65.8 grams) for energy. It is also a good source of the amino acid, tryptophan, which is an important nutrient required for regulating mood and sleep. Durian contains B-vitamins and vitamin C as well as minerals such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

How To Select and Store Durian

While it grows in the tropics, durian is a seasonal fruit and is available fresh from June through August. Outside of southeast Asia, you will need to visit your local Asian market to find them. If you can’t find fresh durian, or they are not in season, you can still find it readily available in the frozen section either pre-packaged “pods” or whole, frozen durians.

Inside the spiney shell is soft, custard-like fruit!

When selecting fresh durian, the recommended method for getting a good fruit is to carefully hold it up to your ear and give it a gentle shake. Use a cloth or wear gloves to protect your hands from the spikes. What you want to hear is a dull thump which indicates that the edible portions inside are soft and ripe. Of course, if you are buying a frozen durian, this method may not work and you’ll just have to trust that it’s good. For more tips on selecting, opening and storing durian, click here.

Durian can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to two days or stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. It probably wont last long anyway when you discover how delicious and nutritious it is in your smoothies!

Mango-Chocolate Green Smoothie

– 1 mango
– 1/2 cup pineapple, cubed
– 1 ounce of Sunfood cacao nibs (or use cacao powder)
– 3 large chard leafs
– 1 stock celery
– 4-6 ounces of water (or coconut water)
– 1 scoop hemp or rice protein powder (optional)

Blend ingredients on high until smooth. Grind cacao nibs or beans in a coffee grinder before adding them to your blender.

For a colder smoothie, either add a couple ice cubes or use frozen mango.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 380 (442 with protein powder)
Fat: 20 grams
Protein: 8 grams (20 grams with protein powder)
Carbohydrates: 62 grams
Calcium: 12% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 332% *
Vitamin A: 455% RDA
Vitamin C: 250% RDA

This drink is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin E, K and B vitamins including folate, thiamine, riboflavin and B6.

* We use Sunfood brand cacao (raw chocolate) because of it’s high iron content. Each serving has 314% RDA of iron. Other brands of cacao have much less iron content.

Browse more green smoothie recipes or submit your own!

Coconut-Banana-Ginger Energy Drink

– 1 cup (8 ounces) young Thai coconut water plus coconut meat
– 2 bananas
– 1 teaspoon ginger (more or less for taste)

Blend ingredients on high until smooth. I used one teaspoon of ginger, then I added a tiny bit more. You can also mix other spices into this like clove, cinnamon, nutmeg or even cacao. There are a lot of variations you can do. Add some powdered maca for even more energy!

For a colder smoothie, either add a couple ice cubes or use frozen bananas.

Make It Green

Okay, so you don’t have to put greens in everything, but this recipe is also good for sneaking those extra leafy greens. Banana and ginger will mask just about anything you put in there.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 400
Fat: 4g
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrates: 90g
Calcium: 18% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)

This drink is rich in vitamin B6 and is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin C and B vitamins including folate, niacin, riboflavin and B5.

Browse more ginger smoothie recipes or submit your own!

A Big, Delicious Green Smoothie!

Ingredients:

– 1 apple with skin, cored
– 1 orange, peeled
– 1 cup frozen, wild blueberries
– 1 small plum tomato
– 1 whole carrot
– 4+ cups or handfuls of fresh baby spinach
– 1/4 avocado
– 8 ounces of water
– 1 scoop protein powder or your favorite superfoods (optional)

Add fruit and vegetables to the blender and pulse it a few times. Finally, add the greens and blend on high until the entire smoothie is smooth and creamy. It will be brown in color because of the blueberries and greens, but will taste like apple and blueberry.

This will make an entire blender pitcher full of smoothie, approximately 32-26 ounces. Drink half in the morning and the other half later in the day by lunchtime.

Nutrition Information

For this smoothie, I’ve included the full nutrition information for this recipe. The source of data is from the USDA database. As you can see, this smoothie gives you an excellent start to meeting your full nutrition needs. Combined with healthy, whole foods throughout the day, you are ensuring that your body is getting what it needs from fresh, whole foods rather than relying on synthetic vitamin pills.

Calories: 433
Fat: 13g (grams)
Protein: 9g*
Carbohydrates: 82g (includes 25 grams of fiber)

Vitamin A: 752% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
B1 (Thiamine): 44% RDA
B2 (Riboflavin): 37% RDA
B3 (Niacin): 29% RDA
B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 32% RDA
B6 (Pyridoxine): 58% RDA
Folate : 89% RDA
Vitamin C: 160% RDA
Vitamin E: 34% RDA
Vitamin K: 506% RDA
Calcium: 27%
Copper: 61%
Iron: 71%
Magnesium: 50%
Manganese: 247%
Phosphorus: 37%
Potassium: 40%
Selenium: 7%
Sodium: 10%
Zinc: 25%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 163%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids: 10%

* Without protein powder, this smoothie has 9 grams. If you do add protein powder, check the label for additional calories and protein amount. One serving of NutriBiotic rice protein brings this smoothie up to 21 grams!

Browse more green smoothie recipes or share your own!

Green Goodness Smoothie Recipe

- 1 orange, pealed
- ½ mango
- 1 scoop of protein powder (I use rice protein)
- 1 tbls flax seeds
- 2 cups chopped Swiss chard (or other leafy green)
- ¼ avocado
- 4-6 ounces of water

Blend on high until smooth.

NOTE: If you don’t have a high powered blender, you’ll want to grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder first.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 266
Fat: 5g (grams)
Protein: 16g*
Carbohydrates: 42g
Calcium: 17% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
Iron: 12% RDA
Vitamin A: 238% RDA
Vitamin C: 177% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of vitamin B1, B6 and K as well as minerals such as copper, magnesium and manganese.

* Check your protein powder for nutrition information. In this recipe, the rice protein provides 12 grams.

Browse other mango smoothie recipes or submit your own creation.

Grapefruit Smoothie Recipe

– 1 grapefruit, peeled
– 1 large orange, peeled
– 1 whole banana, peeled

Give a squeeze to both the grapefruit and orange when you add them to your blender so that you have some free liquid to help blend. This worked fine in my Blendtec blender without needing to add water. If you have difficulty blending this smoothie in your blender, add just a little bit of water or extra squeezed orange juice.

Blend on high until smooth. Makes about 16 to 20 ounces.

This smoothie is creamy without adding extra water. The banana sweetens it nicely. My husband is not a fan of grapefruit but he enjoyed this smoothie.

You can make this smoothie even sweeter by adding an extra banana.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 247
Fat: 0.8g
Protein: 3.9g
Carbohydrates: 63g
Calcium: 10% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Iron: 10% RDA
Vitamin A: 35% RDA
Vitamin C: 204% RDA

This smoothie is also a good source of iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, folate and vitamins B1, B2, B5 and B6.

Grapefruits are cleansing and help with detox. They are also a rich source of vitamin C like oranges.

Make It Green

You can easily make this recipe a green smoothie by adding two cups of fresh, chopped leafy greens. Kale or even dandelion would be excellent in this smoothie and will dramatically increase the amount of calcium to 30% RDA as well as boosting vitamin A and K levels. Fresh baby spinach, Swiss chard or collard greens are also good choices and should not affect the flavor too much since the banana and citrus will do a good job of masking bitter greens.

Browse more citrus smoothie recipes to get tasty ideas for increasing your vitamin C intake.

If you have a delicious grapefruit smoothie recipe, please send it to us so that we can include it on our website.

While it does contain coconut and flax seed, this smoothie only has 7 grams of healthy fat.

Fruity Coconut Meal Replacement Smoothie Recipe

- 1 young Thai coconut (meat and 6oz of the water)
- ½ large mango (about 1 cup cubed)
- ¼ large papaya (about 1 cup cubed)
- 1 tblsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tblsp maca powder
- 1 scoop rice protein
- 1 head of green leaf lettuce

Blend on high until smooth, makes about 32oz. If you are using whole flax seeds, be sure to grind them up in a coffee grinder before you add them to your blender if you are not using a high-end machine.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 406
Fat: 7g
Protein: 22g
Carbohydrates: 67g
Calcium: 33% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Iron: 20% RDA
Vitamin A: 1186% RDA
Vitamin C: 146% RDA

This smoothie is also a rich source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, folate, B1, B2, B6, and vitamin K.

Browse more coconut smoothie recipes or let us know if you have created your own version.