Detox Smoothie Benefits and Superfood-Packed Recipe

Looking for a way to detox your body and get plenty of nutrients? Learn about this Green Detox Smoothie Benefits and how to make it in minutes! Made with superfoods like kale and chia seeds, it's packed with antioxidants and fiber. Best of all, it tastes great too! Whip up a batch today and enjoy the benefits of a healthy detox!

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Are you feeling a little blah lately? Maybe you're not sleeping well, or your skin looks a little dull.

A Green Detox Smoothie might be just what the doctor ordered! This recipe is packed with antioxidants and nutrients to help your body feel refreshed and energized.

Green detox smoothies are a great way to improve your overall health and wellbeing. They are packed with nutrients and vitamins that give your body the energy and nourishment it needs to function at its best.

Some of the main benefits of green detox smoothies include increased hydration, reduced bloating, and more sustained energy.

Our strawberry kiwi smoothie will be a great fit if you are into healthy breakfast smoothies, and our spinach blueberry smoothie is also a great way to start your day or finish your workout!

Detox smoothie ingredients

• Unsweetened coconut milk (or almond milk)
• Baby spinach
• Fresh ginger
• Swiss chard
• Avocado
• Pomegranate
• Medjool dates (or date paste)

Optionally: add a tablespoon of chia seeds.

Instructions

To make this delicious green smoothie, start by:

Wash your greens.

Remove the stems from the Swiss chard leaves, and save them for another use. We stir-fry Swiss chard with garlic powder for a delicious and quick side dish.

Remove the seeds from the pomegranate with a spoon. Optionally, you can juice pomegranate in a blender and then strain so no hardness is left.

Pit both the avocado and the Medjool dates.

Add everything to the blender, and add freshly grated ginger on top, followed by the unsweetened coconut milk and ice cubes.

Blend until smooth.

Variations

Making a detox smoothie is easy, and you should work with what you have handy! That's part of the fun of making smoothie recipes at home.

What you need to master are the basics of how to make a balanced yet yummy detox smoothie.

Make sure you use healthy foods, like chia seeds, green tea, almond milk, lime juice, baby spinach, and fruits and veggies. Trying to keep the sugars low and the fiber high.

Smoothie recipes can quickly pack tons of calories if you start dumping high-calorie foods like peanut butter and sweeteners.

Seeds

Add a tablespoon of flax seeds or chia seeds to add an extra portion of antioxidants.

Healthy fats

Add 2 or 3 walnuts or almonds to add some protein and healthy fats (these nuts don't have any saturated fat). Make sure to blend them well until you get a creamy texture.

Protein

Add a scoop of your favorite plant-based protein powder. We like adding a scoop of hemp seeds or powdered hemp protein powder.

Sweetness

You can agave nectar or maple syrup, but we try to keep detox smoothies sugar-free.

If you feel like you need extra sweet or don't have dates, I'd rather add a ripe or frozen banana, frozen fruit, or a green apple.

Frozen mango is another excellent option to add some natural sweetness.

Fruits and vegetables

When it comes to green detox smoothies, I try to stick to fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables. But it is ok to go for frozen fruits to supplement, especially frozen berries, which have been found to keep all of their properties.

If you don't have pomegranate or are not in season, replace it with the same amount of cubes, pineapple, or orange juice. This will make up for the acidity and sweetness.

You can use kale or any other leafy greens if you don't have fresh spinach or Swiss chard handy. You can use just spinach and supplement Swiss chards' quantity.

They are completely replaceable. You can also use frozen spinach or frozen kale.

Plant-based milk

I love using lite coconut milk or even coconut water because it balances out the earthy and greenish flavor of the leafy greens. It pairs wonderfully with ginger and pineapple if you use it as a pomegranate replacement.

You use any dairy-free milk, like unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, or homemade oat milk, but you will miss the coconut flavor.

One thing I do when I am out of coconut milk and coconut water is add two tablespoons of shredded or powdered coconut, things that I always keep in my pantry.

Top tip: Try to keep your meal replacement drinks below 400 calories and a snack-size smoothie under 200.

Health benefits of green detox smoothie

A green smoothie recipe usually comes with many healthy ingredients and great nutritional value, making a wonderful and healthy breakfast.

If you plan to have your detox green smoothie as a meal replacement, we suggest adding a banana, some nuts, a scoop of your favorite protein, or one tablespoon of almond butter.

This way, your nutrition serving will be optimal for a meal replacement while aiding a weight loss program.

Some of the benefits of having a green detox smoothie as a replacement for one of your meals a day are:

More energy

Your body consumes a great amount of energy on digestion. I am sure you have experienced feeling lethargic after a big meal.

That's just because your body is focusing on sending blood to surround your stomach and be able to digest what you just consumed.

When you have lighter foods that are not too rich in protein and carbohydrates, your body needs to work less, and you can avoid energy deprivation.

After a meal, many individuals experience tiredness or difficulties focusing. A person's exhaustion level might be determined by what, when, and how much they ate.

Weight loss

If you are aiming to lose weight, you need to have a calorie deficit and foods that keep you satisfied for longer periods.

A Green detox smoothie does just that. High fiber, nutrient-dense foods, and low-calorie count. Simple!

Better sleep

Eating better, in general, helps to get better sleep. If you are aiming at this benefit specifically, it is recommended to add some walnuts to your smoothie and maybe change the pomegranate for kiwi.

Having kiwifruit is great to fight insomnia; check our kiwi fruit juice, another great detox juice.

Longer life expectancy

Including lots of fresh vegetables and whole foods in your diet in replacement of processed foods and saturated fat, which has slowly but quickly made their way to our breakfast, helps to increase your life expectancy.

Make sure you include more real food recipes as part of your healthy habits and your green detox smoothie recipes.

Clearer skin

Leafy greens are packed with Carotenoids and Vitamin C and A. Great for beautiful skin. Add extra chia seeds.

Chia seeds and avocados are high in omega-3 fatty acid ALA and omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid.

The omega-3 fatty acid EPA and the omega-6 fatty acid GLA have been shown in studies to improve moisture barrier health, particularly for individuals with dry skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Tips for making balanced detox smoothies

• To make a nutritionally well-balanced smoothie, keep protein, good fats, and carbohydrates in mind.
• If you want to make your smoothie more filling, especially if using them as meal replacers, add additional protein-dense ingredients.
• To reduce the amount of sugar, increase the fiber, and improve the nutritional value, add more vegetables than fruit to your diet.
• Add fruits such as banana, mango, or pineapple to sweeten your smoothie instead of sugar, honey, or maple syrup to avoid adding any extra sugars.
• To guarantee you don't go over your high-calorie additives, measure them. Protein powders can quickly add 100-150 calories to a smoothie in one scoop.

Ingredients for Detox Green Smoothie

Swiss Chard

Rainbow chard, green chard, red chard, or white chard, whichever you use for your smoothie, are considered among the best superfoods.

They are a fantastic bet on raising your nutrition game. This leafy green is packed with nutrients, and the caloric count is super low.

10 Health benefits of Swiss chard

Chard benefits include:

1. Loaded with fiber, which also helps to decrease insulin resistance, helps to feel full for a longer time, thus aiding weight loss, since it is very low in calories (45 calories per 100g)
2. Treating high blood pressure - Research shows that a flavonoid found in Swiss chard may help fight heart disease by lowering blood pressure and inflammation and also inhibiting blood clotting.
3. High cholesterol management is also a result of having a high fiber content (4 grams in one cup), which feeds beneficial gut bacteria and helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
4. Diabetes - as it may lower blood sugar and help decrease insulin resistance.
5. Skin problems - since chard is high in betacarotene, just like carrots, they are a great ally to fight skin problems and keep clear and healthy skin.
6. Arthritis joint protection - green, leafy vegetables like kale and Swiss chard are packed with antioxidants, which protect cells from free-radical damage that has been linked to Rheumatoid Arthritis.
7. Improving exercise performance - similar to beets, Swiss chard has dietary nitrates, which have been shown to make muscle oxygenation better during exercise.
8. Cancer prevention and treatment - chards contain chlorophyll, which may effectively block the cancer-causing substances generated when using high temperatures for grilling foods.
9. Eye health - Swiss chard also contains the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene, which reduce the risk of eye disorders.
10. Packed with disease-fighting antioxidants. Swiss chard has antioxidant properties that help protect the body from free radical damage.

Swiss chard is a dark green leafy vegetable that is part of the beet family. It is known by many different names, such as silverbeet, spinach beet, perpetual spinach, or beetroot.

Swiss chard is considered a superfood because it has a high nutrient density and a very low-calorie count.

Chard nutrition facts are amazing; they are packed with vitamins K, A, and C and many minerals such as iron, copper, magnesium, and zinc. For instance, chard iron content is a heaping 22% of the daily recommendation per serving (175 grams per cup of cooked Swiss chard).

Learn how to use white swiss chard on this delicious authentic Tuscan soup, made with hearty and healthy ingredients that make up for a full meal.

Spinach

Another excellent leafy green high in beta carotenes and similar health benefits to those of chard, increase the nutritional value, fiber, and protein content of your smoothies.

Pomegranate

Adding pomegranate to your diet may reduce inflammation and the risk for chronic disease and is an excellent antiviral. Pomegranate is high in nutrients and full of antioxidants.

Avocado

Since avocados are packed with potassium, which helps to take sodium out of the digestive tract through urine, they may help reduce blood pressure and regulate cholesterol.

Dates

This natural sweetener is great for aiding gut health and bone health. They are also packed with antioxidants! You can also male date paste and use it in all kinds of recipes, even for baking!

Coconut milk

According to Medical News Today coconut milk is beneficial for weight loss, boosting the immune system, and heart health. Remember that it is a high-calorie-rich food, so use a lite coconut milk for your smoothies.

Frequently asked questions

Are smoothies a good way to lose weight?

What is optimal in a weight loss program is having a balanced diet and gradually suppressing calorie intake. Twenty percent is a good start.

It is not a good idea to cut the calorie intake abruptly because the body recognizes that signal as "famine is coming, so I need to prepare and reserve my calories."

So we don't want to shock the body; we need to teach it that it needs fewer calories to function well than the amount it has been consuming so far, and that is achieved gradually.

Where does the green detox smoothie come in? On the balanced diet part.

One of the reasons for overeating is the bad quality of the food we ingest. When we just give simple sugars and fats that our bodies metabolize quickly, they soon will ask for more.

With a well-balanced detox green smoothie, we can give the body what it needs to feel satiated and nurtured.

When should I drink a detox smoothie?

I use detox smoothies in two ways.

Meal replacements

For different reasons

Saving time - When you don't have much time to fix yourself a properly balanced meal, making a green banana smoothie might be one of the easiest ways to have a good meal. Making a healthy spinach smoothie is an excellent way to save time making breakfast or snacks.

Upset stomach - at times, your body needs some rest; listen to it. If you don't feel like eating or your stomach hurts, you probably need to give it something nurturing and "already chewed," which won't require much work to digest. Check our detox juice and upset stomach juice.

Lack of appetite - first, make sure to consult with your doctor to understand what the cause is. If your doctor tells you, you need to eat, either to replenish your energy or to be able to take your medication, then a smoothie would be a good resource, as it is easy to ingest.

Weight loss - smoothie recipes might be a good answer if you want an easy way to measure and control your calories and macros intake and lose weight. Just make sure you don't live on detox smoothies. It is unnatural. Your digestive system needs to chew as part of its digestive process. Don't assume you can live on liquids. Check our juice for weight loss.

Snacks

Pre or after a workout - 30 minutes before working out or until 90 minutes after you finish your exercise routine, it is a good idea to give your body a well-balanced smoothie. We have designed this post-workout green detox smoothie to do just that!

Mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack - detox smoothie recipes are great to keep handy when you are away from home and want to have your healthy snack fixed. Just remember to make it a half portion so it does not surpass the 200 kcal line. You don't need a 400 kcal snack unless you perform a high-calorie burn activity.

Is a smoothie detox good for you?

Yes, as long as the calorie count also makes sense. If you are using green smoothies as a meal replacement, make sure it has the calorie count you would have in a meal, 400-600 kcal. You can easily adjust this with chia seeds, nuts, and protein powder.

More healthy smoothie recipes

Check out these 11 Refreshing Juices and Smoothies, which are great for starting the day, or have a sneak peek at these smoothie recipes.

Frozen berries smoothie

Pineapple coconut smoothie

Easy Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Thick Smoothie Bowl

Healthy Detox Juices recipes

Since we are carrot lovers and admirers of great skin, the Carrot, apple, and celery juice, and health benefits is the juice that we drink the most, along with our Morning celery juice which has great anti-inflammatory benefits.

The Beetroot, apple, and celery juice is our juice of choice previous to workout, given beets' amazing recovery benefits, and after working out, we either have our Post-workout smoothie for protein or the Carrot, Cucumber, and Celery juice for enhanced hydration.

You’ve already learned how to make the perfect detox smoothie; let’s keep the momentum going! We also have some great resources to get the best out of juicing: detoxifying! Be sure to check out these hydrating, low-calorie drinks that can help you detoxify like a pro:

Read on: 10 Most Hydrating Drinks and Juicing Recipes for Detox »

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!

Recipe

Food safety

We sometimes take for granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking points to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.

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