My approach to both weight loss and long term diet is to keep my fat intake low and to not restrict my carbohydrates as long as those carbs come from whole foods like fruit.

I generally adhere to an 80/10/10 macro-nutrient ratio, meaning that I get 80% of my daily calories from carbohydrates, 10% from protein and 10% from fat. Sometimes I go over 10% fat but I rarely go below 10%.

Low Fat Diet For Weight Loss

For weight loss, I’ve found that a high carbohydrate (fruit, quinoa, rice, beans – whole foods!) and low fat diet are effective. There is no need to restrict whole food carbohydrates unless there is a medical reason to do so.

For example, if you are diabetic and eating more than two or three pieces of fruit in a meal causes your blood sugar to go all wonky, then you should work with a registered dietician who can help you create a meal plan that suits your specific needs. In the absence of a diagnosed metabolic disorder, your blood sugar should not go crazy after eating a fruit meal or drinking a large green smoothie, and a diet like mine might work well for you.

Sure, you can lose weight effectively with a low carbohydrate, high protein or fat diet. Fat isn’t what makes you fat, so even a low carb diet that is high in fat can melt the pounds away. On the other hand, carbohydrates aren’t necessarily fattening either. It would be a serious challenge to get obese from eating too many bananas.

It’s safe to say that America’s obesity epidemic isn’t caused by people eating too much fruit or healthy whole food carbohydrates! Bad carbs like pasta, bread, baked goods, white rice and concentrated sweeteners (yes, even agave and honey) are making your waistlines bulge.

The main reason I favor a high carb/low fat approach to weight loss is that carbohydrates give you energy. Carbohydrates are an efficient source of fuel for your body and that fuel gives you energy and powers your workouts. Exercise and fitness go hand in hand with weight loss. People on low carb diets tend to complain about fatigue or low mood. A high carb/low fat weight loss plan keeps your mood high and energy levels soaring to meet any fitness challenge.

Low Fat Raw Food Vegan Diet

In the context of a raw food diet, low fat is the way to go. The Raw Standard American Diet (I call it “Raw SAD”) with its complicated raw gourmet pizzas, “burgers”, burritos, nut-dressings, desserts, etc., is a failed attempt at replicating a diet that is among the unhealthiest in the world. Sure, that piece of chocolate cashew-based “cheesecake” is uncooked, but you’re kidding yourself if you think it’s healthy.

A person on the typical raw gourmet diet might get up to 80% or so of their calories from fat. Nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts, cacao and oils make up a significant portion of the food. A raw vegan meal at a raw food restaurant may contain up to a cup of oil! Follow that up with a post meal dessert and the amount of pure sugar in that agave soaked “cake” will make your jaw drop.

So what’s wrong with eating this much fat if it is raw and it’s the “good kind” of fat? Well, humans aren’t physiologically equipped to eat a ton of nuts and seeds all day long. While nuts are good and healthy in moderate amounts, basing your diet around nuts and other fat sources isn’t the healthiest way to eat raw.

My experience with a high-fat (it’s never called that!) raw food diet led to sluggish digestion, chronically bloodshot eyes, acne and intense cravings for sweets and dessert. Of course, raw foodists who experience these symptoms after going raw turn to extreme juice fasts, cleanses and all manner of superfoods or “candida cures” to solve a problem that is simply caused by an oil and agave soaked diet.

Raw (high fat) gourmet isn’t sustainable long term. It wasn’t for me.

Should You Cut All Overt Fats From Your Diet?

Some people, especially hard core fruitarians, like to cut out all sources of overt fats from their diet. Overt fats would be any food item where the majority of calories are in the form of fat. Ultra-low fat fruitarians might follow a 90/5/5 macro-nutrient ratio. They might abstain from avocados, coconuts, cacao, nuts, seeds and oils.

I HIGHLY advise against cutting all overt fats from the diet for more than a few days at a time. Doing a “no fat” diet for a day or two might be okay, especially if you are trying to “detox” from several days of binging of fatty junk food, or if you have wrecked your digestion from eating too much raw gourmet (Raw SAD) foods.

However, your body NEEDS fat. You have a dietary need for essential fatty acids. Fats are an important nutrient and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to completely eliminate all sources of overt fats from the diet. To do so pushes the boundaries into obsessive, extremist dieting. The long term health implications could be severe.

In the context of a super strict, low fat raw vegan (fruitarian) diet, restricting all sources of overt fats in the diet could result in deficiencies in minerals and essential fatty acids over the long term, especially if calories are not consumed in excess of 3000 per day. If you plan on going this route, then plan on eating a huge volume of food and lots of calories.

A super-low fat diet could also increase the risk of hormonal imbalances over the long term, especially when coupled with a diet that is excessively high in fiber (like a 3000 calorie low/no-fat diet would be), very low in protein, low in zinc, selenium and other minerals.

A familiar thing I hear from some long term fruitarians who restrict all overt fats is that they have a lower libido. They might make an excuse for this, claiming that it’s a spiritual/emotional maturity brought on by a “pure” diet.

Believe me, a tanking libido is NOT a sign of spiritual maturity. It does not make a man more “in tune” with his spiritual nature, or more respectful to women. It is a sign of a dangerous hormone imbalance that can have severe implications, for both men and women. If you experience fatigue, poor sleep and diminished libido from a long-term, ultra-low fat diet, it’s not a detox you need. It’s dietary re-balancing!

How Low Should Fat Go? How High Should It Go?

There are no “one-size-fits-all” dietary fat intake guidelines that work for everybody. Contrary to what some dogmatic diet gurus tell you, there is no such thing as a “holy grail” macro-nutrient ratio that is appropriate for all 7-billion humans on the planet. Our genetics, ancestral background and evolutionary adaptations are too complex to fit neatly within a “species specific diet” framework.

According to many mainstream dieticians, dietary fat intake should not exceed 30% of total calories. I would absolutely never let my fat intake drop below 10% of total calories over the long term. Some people might perform best athletically on an 80/10/10, high calorie diet while others may do best when their fat intake is at 15% or 20%

It might be difficult for someone to do a 100% raw vegan diet and keep their fat intake at 30% since nuts, seeds and oils don’t mix well with sweet fruit. However, a mostly raw vegan diet (still very healthy) that includes cooked, whole food carbohydrates like quinoa, beans and brown rice might have no problem maintaining a 30% fat intake.

For low fat raw vegans who are strict about staying 100% raw, I find that 10% to 20% of calories from fat generally works well, but may need to be adjusted over the long term depending on what blood tests reveal, or how your body is performing after a year or so on the diet.

Ultimately, you need to experiment and see how you feel and find what works for you. Don’t just follow mine or anyone’s dietary guidelines blindly.

I usually recommend starting at 80/10/10 for at least 30 days and then working your fat intake UP from there (not down), depending on how you feel. Doing periodic blood tests, however, is the ONLY way to know for certain that your diet is working for you. Be sure to test your hormone levels (testosterone/estrogen) to ensure that your body is functioning in tip top shape and that your body is getting adequate dietary fat.

Chia Seed Nutrition and Health Benefits

One ounce of chia seeds provides 138 calories, 4.4 grams of protein, 8.7 grams of fat and 12.4 grams of carbohydrates – 10.7% of which is fiber. Most of the fat in chia seeds are Omega-3 essential fatty acids – 311% RDA per ounce.

As far as minerals, one ounce of chia seeds contains about 179 mg of calcium (about 18% RDA), 38% RDA of phosphorus, 27% RDA of manganese and 9% RDA of zinc.

As with any superfood that is marketed online, there are a lot of over-hyped claims about health benefits and alleged miracle cures attributed to chia seeds. Some claim that chia seed is “medicinal” while others go as far as to say that it can assist in curing cancer. I don’t buy into these claims and prefer to not think of food as “medicine”.

A much touted benefit of chia is the “high digestibility” of its protein content. Studies have shown that ground chia seeds provide the most digestible protein content with raw and then soaked chia seeds coming in at a distant second place.

How To Use Chia Seeds In A Green Smoothie

Chia seeds have a mild, very slightly nutty flavor. A tablespoon or two won’t negatively impact the flavor of your green smoothie.

Add up to two tablespoons for a healthy dose of omega-3′s, protein, calcium, phosphorus and manganese. Adding too much chia might make your smoothie gelatinous and could add too much fat to your smoothie, which can cause digestive difficulty.

I recommend two methods for using chia in smoothies. The first method is to soak the whole seeds for about 10-15 minutes just prior to blending. The soaked seeds become gelatinous and blend up well in a high-speed blender. This provides a couple advantages because it keeps the chia as a whole food up until you consume it (which reduced oxidation) and soaking improves digestibility, as well as enhances moisture content.

The other method of using chia is to add dry seeds to a coffee grinder and turn them into a powder, then adding that to your smoothie. If you do this, be sure to add a little extra water to your blender pitcher and drink your smoothie right away. Otherwise, if you let the smoothie sit, the fiber in the chia seeds might take up water turning your entire smoothie into a gelatinous blob clinging to your glass or blender pitcher.

How To Select and Store Chia Seeds

In the United States, chia seeds are mostly purchased online – particularly at websites that sell superfoods. In larger cities, they might be available at health food stores although they are starting to become very popular and I have been able to find them at Costco.

They are native to Mexico and Davy and I have found them in bulk at small specialty markets as well as large grocery store chains (like Mega) in Playa del Carmen where they sell for about 100 pesos per kilogram (about $4.50 USD per pound).

As with all nuts and seeds, store in a cool, dry place. I prefer to keep seeds and nuts in the refrigerator to avoid spoilage and rancidity. Only grind or soak seeds that you will be using within 24 hours as nutrient loss and spoilage can occur.

Chia seeds are highly nutritious and easy to add to a green smoothie. Give them a try!

These tips also help build muscle and burn excess fat.

Submit your own question about green smoothies, health and nutrition using our contact page.

When I started eating raw, I bought into the whole “eat anything you want as long as it’s raw” ideal. I bought raw food cookbooks and ate out at raw restaurants. I stocked up on plenty of nuts and seeds. I even signed up for a raw meal plan that a local raw food restaurant offered and was eating almost exclusively raw gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I happily munched away on all sorts of raw pasta creations, kelp noodles, cheesecake, cookies, flax crackers and nut-based burgers.

Once I got over the ecstasy of having my raw cake and eating it too, I woke up.

There’s Nothing Natural About Raw Kelp Noodles

The realization really hit home over a bowl of “Sea Pasta” made with translucent “raw” kelp noodles that looked nothing like the dark green, leafy kelp plant that grows in the ocean. I really took a look at what I was eating – fat, fat, more fat, dehydrated, processed, powdered, condensed, concentrated, packaged and bottled ingredients that were shipped great distances and stored on shelves for long periods of time.

How did the raw food diet devolve to the point where it began to look like the Standard American Diet that I moved away from? My eyes were opened as I found myself eating a very SAD raw food diet.

I’ve since moved away from complicated gourmet recipes as well as powdered/dried superfoods and concentrated fats like oils and sweeteners like agave. It’s really strange to me when I hear prominent raw foodists excitedly proclaim that they had raw chocolate cake for breakfast and that it was even “healthy”!

I attended a raw food pot luck recently where everybody ate low-calorie salad for lunch, then the dessert table opened up and everybody ate raw cheesecake, pie, cookies, cacao balls and cacao pudding. Two thirds of the calories from their meal was coming from dessert!

I’m sorry, but cake is cake whether it is made with a commercial cake mix, made from scratch using wheat flower or made from scratch with non-vital, non-whole (but unheated) ingredients. As Dr. Douglas Graham, author of The 80/10/10 Diet says, “if it looks like pizza and it tastes like pizza, it’s going to digest like pizza”.

Now does this mean that you should never indulge in the occasional raw dessert or gourmet creation? No, not at all. I mean, even I have some raw gourmet recipes published here on Incredible Smoothies that are excellent transition foods if you’re trying to kick the cooked food habit. Eating raw pizza once and a while isn’t going to derail your health. But if you eat from a typical raw cookbook or restaurant every day, that’s a different story.

How Do You Know If Your Raw Food Diet Is SAD?

1 – You regularly eat powdered superfoods like maca, cacao, goji berry powder or other processed and powdered “raw” foods. The problem with powders is that while they may have been sourced from raw foods, dehydrating them, turning them into powder, packaging and storing them on store shelves or warehouses for months or longer destroys nutrients and oxidizes the food making it much less healthy than fresh, whole fruits and vegetables. Really, there isn’t any reason to choose a powdered, dried, processed “superfood” in a package over fresh ingredients.

2 – You regularly eat dried fruits like dates, figs, kale crisps, zucchini chips, flax crackers, etc… Dehydrating removes water from food and dehydrates our bodies. Exposure to heat and oxygen degrades nutrients and promotes oxidation. Then these foods are stored for long periods of time where their nutrients further degrade. Eat fresh instead!

3 – You regularly eat complicated raw gourmet recipes such as lasagna, pizza and “meat” pates made with nuts and seeds. Raw gourmet recipes might taste good and curb your craving for cooked alternatives. However, complicated raw gourmet recipes are loaded with fat and many (especially desserts) contain processed, fractionated ingredients like oils and sweeteners. There is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence or with eating a raw gourmet meal that fits into your overall macronutrient goal of less than 10-15% of your total daily calories coming from fat. Just don’t make it a breakfast, lunch and dinner habit!

4 – You regularly eat raw desserts like cheesecake, pie and cookies. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence, but if raw dessert makes up a daily part of your diet, you might be eating SAD raw. Many raw foodists who regularly eat goji berry “cheesecake” or other raw desserts made from nuts, seeds, coconut oil and agave nectar are those who claim that their diet is based on greens. Sure, they might eat a huge green salad for their meal and then finish it off with a little piece of raw pie, but in reality, two-thirds of their calories are coming from dessert (processed fat and concentrated sugar) rather than the low-calorie greens.

5 – Your raw food pantry is stocked with olive oil, coconut oil or sweeteners such as agave or yacon syrup. Oils and syups are not whole foods. They are processed, bottled and stored and don’t supply the same nutrient ratio as they would in their whole state, as they grow in nature. It’s always better to eat olives than olive oil and it’s better to eat sweet fruit than refined, concentrated sweeteners that come in bottles or boxes.

6 – You eat a lot of nuts, seeds, coconuts and avocado. One of the biggest mistakes that so many raw foodists make (and I did too!) is to base their diet on fat, fat and more fat. I didn’t even realize how much fat I ate when I first got into eating raw foods. Many raw foodists eat up to 80% of their total calories from fat. That’s 2-3 times the recommended maximum amount of fat in the diet that even mainstream nutrition experts say is healthy!

7 – You restrict the amount of sweet fruit you eat including bananas and watermelons. There’s a pervasive myth in the raw food movement that fruit is bad for you because of the natural sugars and therefore, you should avoid fruit. This myth becomes even more ridiculous when raw food gurus suggest that it is possible to base your diet around leafy greens and non-sweet fruits! The fact is, you can’t get enough calories by eating mostly greens and cucumbers. As long as your total fat calorie intake is low (experts say less than 10-15%), the sugars in fruit, even high glycemic fruits like bananas and watermelon, do not present a risk for obesity, diabetes or other ailments that fruit is erroneously blamed for. Find out more about that here.

Simple, Tasty Low Fat Raw Vegan Recipes

If you are ready for a break from all the oils and processed raw foods, here’s two great recipe books that I really like when I’m not eating my own creations.

The first one is Instant Raw Sensations by Frederic Patenaude. This spiral-bound recipe book is a collection of simple but delicious raw food recipes including fruit and green smoothies, sweet or savory soups, salad dressings, desserts and even some more complicated “gourmet” recipes that are minimally processed. Most of these recipes can be whipped up in 10 minutes or less (no dehydrating or soaking the day before) and there’s even a section for 2-ingredient meals!

The book does contain some recipes that call for dates, tiny amounts of olive oil or agave nectar. I’ll just reiterate that I am not 100% against the use of these product, but I do not recommend that you eat them on a daily or regular basis. Overall, the book has a higher percentage of raw food meals that are tasty, low in fat and minimally processed – unlike so many raw recipe books out there. I recommend this book if you are tired of blowing the dust off your complicated raw gourmet recipe books or want simpler meals without compromising flavor.

The second book I recommend is by the same author, and it contains 70 salad dressing recipes that are low fat. No more saturating your green salad with olive oil or tahini! You can make delicious, easily digestible salad dressings that taste amazing and adds variety to your meals.

There is research on both sides in support of high fruit (low fat) and high fat that make sense and are promoted by long term raw foodists with impressive credentials. There is also a lot of information that contradicts claims made by both sides. In fact, those who promote a fruit-based diet make claims that the raw fat diet is a health disaster and vice versa. It’s a confusing issue for anyone who is a veteran raw foodist, let alone a newcomer.

This debate gave me a little anxiety when I began eating a raw diet. I felt that my health was at stake and so I wanted to make sure that I was picking the “right” side. I was faced with having to sift through the conflicting research and make up my own mind and then have the peace of mind that I wasn’t doing something detrimental to my health?

Now I do not have a medical background so I will not assume a position of authority to tell you which side of the debate is correct. I will, however, share how I came to the conclusion of what the right version of the raw food diet was for me. I recommend that you use the same methods to figure it out for yourself.

My Personal Diet Experiments

When I began exploring the raw food diet, I embraced the high-fat diet. (By the way, it’s never called that by raw foodists who eat that way.) I indulged in raw nut butters, oil-based dressings on my salads, flax crackers, cacao (raw chocolate), avocados, coconuts and I snacked on nuts whenever I was hungry. I enjoyed the many nut and seed-based raw gourmet meals from raw restaurants or recipes from the many “un”cookbooks out there. It was filling and satisfying.

This way of eating helped me to transition from a cooked, standard diet to a high raw diet so I can’t knock it completely. It’s a great transition diet! During my initial 100% raw diet trials, I ate high-fat raw vegan and felt great. That feeling didn’t last long, however. I quickly arrived at a point where my digestion felt sluggish, my energy was low and I’d even get indigestion. I wasn’t experiencing the benefits of the raw food diet. I felt like what I was eating was actually not healthy anymore.

So I made the switch to a fruit based diet. After just three days, I had a dramatic increase of energy. My mood was more positive. My digestion was humming along efficiently and my energy levels soared. I slept better and woke up in the morning feeling more rested than I usually do. I also felt that what I was eating was right for my body. I felt healthy.

Right now, I am eating mostly sweet fruit throughout the day along with two bunches of leafy greens (usually in a smoothie). I have a little fat from avocado or nuts and seeds at the end of the day. I try to avoid overt fats until my dinner meal. I feel so much better than I did on high fat raw gourmet.

To support my finding that a fruit-based diet was optimal, I looked to nature for examples.

Observing Nature

I like to use nature as a model. In Victoria Boutenko’s excellent book, Green For Life, she describes in detail the diet of wild chimpanzees as a fruit-based diet rich in greens. I did some of my own research into into primate diets and found that of the four great ape species of which we are very closely related to, all of them eat a fruit-based diet.

Bonobos: Primarily frugivorous (fruit eaters). Supplements with leaves and small amounts of meat from small vertebrates.

Chimpanzees: Mainly vegetarian – raw fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, insects and occasionally hunts for meat.

Gorillas: Herbivore – raw fruit, leaves and shoots. Small amounts of insects.

Orangutans: Raw fruit, shoots, bark, mineral-rich soil, bird eggs, insects, small invertebrates.

In contrast, humans have moved away from the natural great ape diet. Instead, we consume foods that no other primate relative would consume in the wild. Below is a break down of what the typical American eats. I also compare this to what people eat on the two versions of the raw food diet.

Standard American Diet: Grain-based, processed and cooked carbohydrates, significant animal protein and dairy with minimal amounts of fruit and cooked vegetables.

High Fat Raw Diet: Nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts with some greens and small amounts of fruit and sprouts. Lots of dried foods.

High Fruit Raw Diet: Primarily fruit, leafy greens, vegetables. Small amounts of nuts, seeds and avocados.

It is obvious to me that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is about as far from a natural, primate diet that you can get. Beyond the obvious problems with the amount of processed, cooked and fatty foods in the SAD diet, the fact that cereal grains provide a significant foundation to the diet runs contrary to what we should be eating when compared to primate diets.

When I contrast the ape diets and the SAD diet with the high fat raw food diet, I saw additional inconsistencies. No great ape species are primarily nut and seed eaters. We aren’t designed that way. Besides, the whole raw gourmet lifestyle centers around processed, dried and fatty foods (but they’re the “good kinds” of fat) with sweeteners (like agave nectar) that simply isn’t healthy, let alone consistent with a natural, primate diet.

So that left me with the high fruit, low fat raw diet. When I looked at the menu of the low fat raw vegan and compare it with all four of the great ape diets above, it is familiar and consistent to what I observe in nature.

Thinking And Experimenting For Yourself

I used a bit of logic, observation and experimentation to find the right raw food diet for me. You should use the same methods to choose what’s best for you. Some people seem to do well on the raw gourmet diet and some people (myself included) do not. Some thrive on a low-fat, raw vegan diet while those who under-consume on calories do poorly.

Some people may do better with some cooked food or with different macro-nutrient ratios (ie: 70/15/15 instead of 80/10/10). You just have to do your own research, try out different macro-nutrient ratios for yourself for yourself and see which one makes you feel at your best. You should also followup with blood testing occasionally to ensure that your diet is giving your body what it needs.

What’s your take? Post a comment below and share how you sifted through all of the conflicting information to find the right diet for you. Do you eat a fruit-based raw diet or are you on the raw gourmet plan? Did you try both versions? What worked and what didn’t?

Avocado

Avocados are one of the best foods you can eat and they help to create a thick, creamy texture in a smoothie. Avocado’s have a variety of health benefits and should definitely have a place in your daily diet. Their flavor is easily masked by flavorful fruits such as strawberries, pineapple or ripe bananas.

I recommend that you start with adding 1/4th of an avocado to your smoothie recipes. You might not want to put in more than a half of one, otherwise the smoothie might be too thick. Here are some great avocado smoothie recipes to get you started.

Seeds

Seeds contain vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats that can be added to smoothies. Because whole seeds are difficult to digest, I recommend grinding them up in a coffee grinder or food processor before adding them to your smoothie.

Sesame seeds are one of the best non-dairy sources of calcium and flax seeds are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids which studies have linked to a variety of health benefits. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are also great choices as well as hemp seeds, which are high in protein.

Nuts and Nut Butters

You will want to go easy when adding nuts to your smoothie. Raw almonds, cashews or macadamia nuts are great options if you have a high-speed blender that can powder them prior to mixing your smoothie. Alternately, a tablespoon or two of almond, cashew or peanut butter can add a nutty flavor to a banana smoothie.

Coconut

I love using young Thai coconuts in my smoothies. Unlike the more familiar brown, hairy mature coconut commonly found in supermarkets, young coconuts are filled with a sweet, coconut flavored water which is exquisite and is extremely healthy for you. The flesh is soft and similar in texture to hard boiled egg white. Mixing pineapple, mango or any tropical fruit to coconut tastes amazing in a smoothie! You can find coconuts at health food stores, Asian and Latino markets.

Oils

A tablespoon of coconut oil or even olive oil can add a healthy dose of lipids to your smoothie as well.

When adding fat to your smoothie, be careful not to go overboard. Too much fat, even the healthy fats, are not good for you. But the right dose of fat and oils in a smoothie can make it more satisfying and keep you energized and satisfied between meals.

Avocado Nutrition and Health Benefits

Avocados are high in fat (the good kind) and contain the fat-soluble vitamin E. Avocados are an excellent source of certain antioxidants that help slow aging and prevent certain cancers and heart disease. They are high in folate which also helps protect your heart and guard against stroke. Studies have shown that avocados can lower cholesterol, guard against eye disease, help fight oral cancer, prevent breast cancer and has been shown to inhibit prostate cancer.

Avocados promote the absorption of certain nutrients such as lycopene and beta carotene, so add a tomato and carrot to your avocado smoothies to help maximize your nutrition.

Smoothie Recipes

Avocado-Apple Smoothie
1 green apple
1/2 avocado
1 tbls lime juice
1/2 – 1 cup water

Calories: 233 | Fat: 15g (grams) | Protein: 2.4g | Carbs: 27.6g | Calcium: 2% | Vitamin A: 4% | Vitamin C: 28%

Avocado-Banana Smoothie
1/2 avocado
1 banana
1 apple
1 stock of celery
1-2 cups fresh baby spinach (or other leafy green)
1/2 – 1 cup water

Calories: 365 | Fat: 15.7g (grams) | Protein: 5.2g | Carbs: 61.4g | Calcium: 9% | Vitamin A: 50% | Vitamin C: 69%

Avocado-Kiwi Smoothie
½ avocado
2 kiwis
1 banana
2 cups fresh baby spinach (or other leafy green)
1/2 – 1 cup water

Calories: 379 | Fat: 15.8g (grams) | Protein: 6.3g | Carbs: 63.3g | Calcium: 12% | Vitamin A: 47% | Vitamin C: 290%

Avocado-Berry Fruit Smoothie
¼ avocado
½ cup of red raspberries
½ cup of blackberries
1 whole banana
1/2 cup water

Calories: 275 | Fat: 8.2g (grams) | Protein: 6g | Carbs: 53.5g | Calcium: 12% | Vitamin A: 84% | Vitamin C: 148%

Browse even more avocado smoothie recipes!

How To Select Avocados

Ripe avocados give slightly to pressure, but bruise very easily. Hard, unripe avocados ripen nicely at room temperature in a couple days. Simply remove the peel and discard the large pit in the center. The outer flesh should be light green, becoming yellow towards the center and cut easily with a knife.

Avocados have the lowest risk of pesticide residue (1 out of 100) according to the Environmental Working Group, so it is not necessary to purchase organic avocados if you are trying to save money on your grocery bill.