In recent years, kale has risen to popularity as a superfood. Many are searching for creative ways to incorporate kale into their diets in order to reap the benefits of this leafy green. If you’re looking for an easy and convenient way to eat more kale, you may consider adding kale to smoothies.
Kale can be added to smoothies in order to provide a delicious and nutrient-dense source of vitamins and minerals. Wondering how to use kale in smoothies? Read our comprehensive guide below.
What are the Benefits of Drinking Kale Smoothies?
Kale is a nutritious leafy green that offers a variety of health benefits when eaten in moderate amounts. If you’re looking for new ways to eat kale aside from adding it to salads or cooking it in meals, kale blends quite well into many flavors of smoothies.
Kale contains high levels of vitamins and minerals, including:
Antioxidants: contains anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant properties, while keeping your heart healthy and lowering blood pressure.
Vitamin C: boosts immunity and aids in the formation of cartilage, muscle, collagen, and blood vessels.
Vitamin A: vital for vision health and cell production.
Vitamin K: supports bones and helps with blood clotting/healing injuries.
Fiber: regulates digestive system and lowers cholesterol.
Potassium: regulates the heartbeat, aids in the process of metabolizing carbohydrates and synthesizing proteins.
Kale even contains a decent amount of protein for a vegetable, at 2.9 grams per cup. Kale offers all of these benefits while still being low in calories and fat.
Should You Put Raw Kale in a Smoothie?
Raw kale can be added directly to a smoothie, but only in moderation. Adding too much kale to smoothies can make your smoothie taste bitter, but can also have consequences to your health. While kale is an excellent source of vital nutrients, eating too much raw kale can have a negative impact on your thyroid.
Raw kale contains high levels of iodine, which can negatively affect those who have thyroid issues. Unless you are predisposed to thyroid issues, you will likely have no problems from eating raw kale, but if you frequently eat kale, it may be best to cook the kale before eating it.
Cooking kale reduces the levels of iodine significantly, making it safer to eat in high doses. While it may seem strange to cook kale and add it to a smoothie, it will blend into a smoothie even more effectively than before it is cooked.
If you prefer to use frozen ingredients in your smoothie, kale can be frozen after being cooked. Especially if you plan to add larger amounts of kale to your smoothie, this can improve the overall texture and flavor of your smoothie.
What Part of Kale Should You Put in a Smoothie?
Kale consists of leafy greens and a hard stem. All parts of kale are edible, but the stem will be more difficult to chew or blend into a smoothie, and it will be much more bitter than the leafy greens.
All parts of kale are edible and can be added to a smoothie, but the leafy greens taste better than the stems and will blend into a smoothie more easily. If you wish to add the stem you can, but the leafy greens will provide plenty of nutrients without overpowering the flavor of your smoothie.
What to Add to Kale Smoothies
Kale blends well with almost any ingredient in smoothie, but it may feel strange to add kale to a smoothie if you aren’t accustomed to it. Here are a few suggestions for ingredients that pair well with kale in a smoothie:
Mango
Mango is a popular smoothie ingredient and is known for its sweet, juicy flavor. Mango will help to counteract the slight bitterness of kale to create a delicious smoothie.
Mango also offers high levels of potassium and magnesium, which can regulate your blood pressure and pulse.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit make a great addition to a kale smoothie. They offer a sweet, tart flavor that will create a delicious, green smoothie perfect for summertime. Be mindful of adding too much of a sour citrus fruit such as lemon or grapefruit, because kale does not taste sweet enough on its own to counteract these flavors.
Citrus is also known for having high amounts of vitamin C, so combining citrus with the high vitamin C content of kale will create an immunity boosting smoothie.
Pineapple
Pineapple offers a variety of health benefits such as reducing swelling and inflammation and reducing your risk of cancer. Adding fresh or frozen pineapple to your kale smoothie is another way to create a refreshing kale smoothie.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are a powerful seed that is known for being high in antioxidants, omega-3s, fiber, and minerals. While chia seeds won’t have much of an impact on the taste of your smoothie, it is an excellent way to add even more nutrients to your kale smoothie.
Coconut Water
Coconut water is an excellent source of electrolytes and hydration while also having a positive impact on the flavor of your smoothie. As the name suggests, coconut water will add a sweet, coconut flavor to your kale smoothie.
Instead of using regular water, try using coconut water in order to reap the health benefits and enhance the flavor of your kale smoothie.
Banana
If you’ve ever made a smoothie with banana, you probably know that the flavor of a banana tends to overpower other flavors in a smoothie. If you don’t like the taste of kale but want to reap the health benefits, add banana in order to disguise the flavor of the kale.
Banana is used frequently alongside other fruits in a smoothie to add a smooth, creamy texture.
Banana is also a rich source of potassium and magnesium, and can regulate blood sugar levels.
Protein Powder
Adding protein powder to a kale smoothie is an excellent way to add more protein to your diet while you’re on the go. Protein powder comes in a variety of flavors, such as vanilla and chocolate. The flavors of the protein powder will disguise the flavor of the kale and pairs well with a variety of other ingredients.
Spinach
If you’re looking to reap the benefits of even more greens in your kale smoothie, spinach is an excellent option to add. It has a rather neutral flavor, while packing high levels of nutrients including Vitamin A, C, K1, iron, folic acid, and calcium.
Spinach can reduce oxidative stress, benefit your vision and eye health, and prevent cancer.
Kale Smoothie Ideas
Now that you have an idea of what to put in your kale smoothie, here are a few suggestions for combinations that make excellent smoothies:
Blueberry Smoothie
– Kale
– Banana
– Blueberries
– Vanilla protein powder
– Yogurt
Tropical Smoothie
– Kale
– Coconut water
– Mango
– Pineapple
– Chia seeds
Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie
– Kale
– Almond Milk
– Peanut butter
– Protein powder
– Banana
Detox Smoothie
– Kale
– Ginger
– Apples
– Cucumber
– Lemon Juice
How to Use Kale in Smoothies: Final Thoughts
While it may seem strange to add a leafy green such as kale to a smoothie, you’ll find that the flavor of kale is quite neutral when added to a smoothie. Adding kale to a smoothie is an excellent way to eat more vegetables and reap the health benefits of kale.
Freezing kale to add to smoothies is an excellent way to use kale that may be reaching the end of its shelf life. In order to monitor the shelf life of your kale and other produce, download the Lil’ Broc app.