The Ultimate Micronutrient Smoothie
This tasty “micronutrient smoothie” is packed with about 50% of your daily needs of most of the essentials vitamins and minerals and bursting with phytochemicals.
Today I’m going to show you how to make an insanely delicious and nutrient-dense smoothie!
This smoothie was inspired by one of my favorite health YouTubers, Dr. Rhonda Patrick of Found My Fitness.
The idea is to pack in as many micronutrients – that’s vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals — as you can into one tasty, filling beverage.
Now don’t get me wrong – I love to eat my fruits and vegetables. And studies do show that consuming them whole as opposed to in smoothie form does provide more satiety, aka fullness.
However, there are those days when you just can’t get in your five to seven servings with meals. With a smoothie like this, you can pack in way more micronutrients than you ever could by trying to eat them one by one like a rabbit.
So let me give you the stellar stats on this concoction.
This smoothie contains almost 15 grams of fiber. That’s over two-thirds of the daily value and more than the average American eats on a daily basis.
If you remember from my Super Seed Oatmeal video, fiber has widespread benefits including aiding in digestion and cancer-prevention.
VITAMINS
Thanks to the leafy greens and seeds, this smoothie has over half of your needs of folate, a B-vitamin important for normal red blood cell production, making DNA, and preventing birth defects in pregnancy.
Carrots and sweet potato contribute to its content of more than seven times the daily value of vitamin A. This comes mainly in the form of beta-carotene, an antioxidant, phytochemical important for healthy skin and eye function and for scavenging free radicals.
Flavorful fruit like orange, mango, and strawberries provide more than double your daily dose of vitamin C – another important antioxidant that helps with immunity and collagen synthesis.
This smoothie also contains over three times the daily value of vitamin K thanks to the kale and spinach. Vitamin K is an important micronutrient for bone health.
MINERALS
This thing is packing your full daily dose of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, and selenium. The hefty dose of selenium is due solely to the one brazil nut in the mix, which is important for making antioxidant enzymes and regulating metabolism.
Meanwhile, you’re getting about half of your needs of zinc and potassium and a hefty serving of iron and calcium.
MACRONUTRIENTS
Thanks to the fatty acid-rich hemp seeds, this super smoothie also has about three times the recommended intake of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid. Additionally, it contains about 10 grams of other essential polyunsaturated fats from avocado and brazil nut.
Finally, this 100% plant-based beverage also has 16 grams of protein without the need for any processed ingredients or powders.
- 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 medium carrot
- ¼ of a red beet, raw
- ½ a medium tomato
- ½ a medium orange
- ⅓ cup blueberries*
- ½ cup strawberries*
- ½ cup mango*
- ½ cup cooked sweet potato
- ¼ of an avocado
- 1 brazil nut
- 2 cups cold filtered water
- ice*
- Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender.
*Make sure to wash all of your fruits and vegetables thoroughly, especially if you’re pregnant!
Ok, so I know what you’re thinking, “This thing probably has a ton of calories.” You’re right – this is not a low-cal smoothie. It has about 460 calories total and it’s meant to be consumed in place of a meal.
It’s not supposed to be low-cal.
A healthy diet is not a low-calorie diet. It’s a nutrient-rich diet.
And although this is meant to replace one meal, it actually covers about 50% of your daily nutrient needs in total.
Soak that in for a second.
Alright, so your second reaction may be, “This sounds really weird.”
Well, it’s not a sugar-laden Jamba Juice. But I promise you guys, it’s actually quite tasty. Most importantly though, it’s really really good for you!
So the next time you don’t feel like roasting veggies or making a salad, but you want to ensure you’re getting in your micronutrients for the day, whip up this tasty smoothie and knock out your needs in a fraction of the time.
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Weigh in: Do you use smoothies as a way to get in your fruit and veggies for the day? Will you try this micronutrient smoothie?
Monique says:
This was surprisingly soo good! I made this for myself and my kids, ages 1 and 4, and they loved it too! Thanks for such a good recipe!
Whitney E. RD says:
So happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing!
Leah Kolesar says:
How many carbs per oz this have?
Phanes says:
I just put the whole recipe into Cronometer online where I have macronutrient ratios set to 25% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 35% fat. It’s showing 84.4 g of net carbohydrates (18.9 g fiber, 7.5g starch, 49.6g sugars), for a total of 64.6 g of net carbs; 501.77 calories. That’s just what the graphs show. I don’t know how those numbers are calculated. Adding the fiber, starch, and sugars don’t add up to either 84.4 or 64.6; they add up to 76.
It does show 17.7g of fat, with 1.3g from Omega-3 and 5.5g from Omega-6. It shows protein at 12.3g.
For vitamins, at least for a 218-pound male, it also maxes out and exceeds Vitamin A (1,149%), C (207%), and K (229%). For B-vitamins, it’s B1 at 40%, B2 at 34%, B3 at 33%, B5 at 45%, B6 at 59%, folate at 66%; Vitamin E is at 43%.
As for minerals, it maxes out and exceeds Copper (111%), Manganese (116%), and Selenium (175%). Calcium hits 22%, Iron 54%, Magnesium 49%, Phosphorus 55%, Potassium 56%, Sodium 7%, and Zinc 24%.
Since I’ve already reported that much, I might as well go ahead and include the protein breakdown: It shows a total of 12.3g (10%). Cystine 22%, Histidine 23%, Isoleucine 27%, Leucine 19%, Lysine 17%, Methionine 30%, Phenylalanine 34%, Threonine 28%, Tryptophan 29%, Tyrosine 24%, and Valine 27%.
Overall, if nothing else, it does look like a great way to get a lot of nutrition into one day. The only zeroes I see are for Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, trans-fats, cholesterol, alcohol, and caffeine.
Shandy says:
Do you think if I added the Orgain protein powder to this it would cover everything? I’ve become pickier and pickier throughout the years and full out hate eating now, so I’m looking for a way to get my nutrients and calories in one thing. I think I could stand eating 1 other meal a day, like oatmeal or something. Thanks!
Nat says:
Excellent info Thank you. Will definetly try this out
Megan says:
This smoothie recipe is delicious.
Elizabeth says:
I’m thinking meal prep here- Think I could freeze a baggie of this to pull out whenever needed and just omit the ice?
Whitney E. RD says:
Absolutely!
Moni says:
Lovely idea. Not just for this smoothie but this is genius for any smoothie
lea says:
I made this ‘cos I wanted the added nutrition. I followed your recipe except I steamed the carrot and I added 2 more Brazil nuts. I did add the 2 cups of water but no ice. I ended up with a 43 oz smoothie. Does that sound right to you? The reason I ask is your recipe says it only serves 1 or 2……
Grey says:
It’s supposed to be a meal replacement, of course it’s going to be more than a normal smoothie
Roxanne says:
I’m always looking for more calories on my new veggie/fruit diet. I’m going to double this. I breastfeed and I am very thin. I need more food. I’m allergic to brazil nuts so I will be looking for a replacement, otherwise I am excited to try this. thank you for all the information and the creation of this smoothie :)
Oriah House says:
Question: are the nutrients mentioned and the caloric count (460) for the whole recipe of for one serving if you divided into two portions?
Tammy says:
Is this an 8 oz glass or more? And does it all fit in a regular blender?
Marco Kraus says:
Do you have another recipe that would cover the other half of my daily needs of minerals/ vitamins etc? Maybe around 500kcal as well? :)
Sara says:
How are you calculating the macros? On two different websites I got around 580 calories. Still not bad for what you are getting! Just want to make sure I’m not missing something.
Joshua says:
This is awesome! Tastes great, and it’s very easy to make. This is the perfect recipe for someone trying to improve their diet, like myself. Smoothies are such an underrated nutrition hack!
yeppooniesmoothie says:
This was really excellent! I prepared this for myself, and I enjoyed it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
five nights at freddy's says:
Thanks. I have searched to find your guide again. I want something that provides nutrients not just taste great to have on the daily without thinking about it.
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