Brazilian Health Smoothie with its raw vegetables and vitamin rich fruits, was popular in Brazil before I ever heard of smoothies here in America.
American Health Smoothie
Until 2006, when I moved to Brazil for a few years, I had never heard of a smoothie. There were no smoothie shops or kiosks selling smoothies as we known them now.
Milkshakes were the closest thing to a smoothie I had encountered.
Well… of course the odd blender drink for a Pina Colada, made with pineapple juice, coconut milk and lots of rum.
Blenders here in America were a way of pureeing a sauce, or mixing a cocktail base, but to use them for daily health drinks…It just hadn’t happened yet.
Even the Magic Bullet blender had only just hit the market in 2003, but still not yet popular to puree raw veggies for drinking.
Needless to say, once I jumped in with the health benefits of smoothies, I went crazy creating as many as each season offered:
- Detox Green Smoothie – This Detox Green Superfood Smoothie recipe is a flavor packed puree of pineapple, mint, kefir and kale. Perfect with, or in place of, a meal.
- Healthy Kids Fruit Smoothies – Healthy Kids Fruit and Veggie Smoothies are the best way to sneak healthy ingredients into kids diets, and let them think it’s a treat!
- Brazilian Protein and Fruit Smoothie Bowl – Protein and fruit balanced smoothie bowls, first created in Brazil, now enjoyed here in America.
Brazilian Health Smoothie
Health – ‘Saude’ – Conscientious Brazilians, and their health drinks, taught me all I needed to know about drinking raw vegetables with fruits, herbs and protein additives.
Every mall, every city street throughout Brazil, back in 2006, had a kiosk with veggies and fruits piled high, for the making of smoothies.
Walk up to the kiosk, pick your blend, maybe have other additives to boost your health, like a scoop of protein rich bovine powder, and go about your day.
Brazilian Health Bovine Powder
Protein rich bovine powder, with more cows than people in Brazil, produced some of the best animal protein powders I’ve ever had.
Now that I am back home in America, I still add them to my morning drink each day.
It was in Brazil that I had my first smoothie bowl, first known as an acai bowl.
Acai, being a reddish-purple grape-looking fruit, richer in antioxidants than cranberries and most our other berries. T
he Acai bowl has been common throughout Brazil for a long time. New to Americans now.
Best Health Smoothie
Let’s be honest, we could just as easily enjoy a big bowl of everything we put in a smoothie, only perhaps enjoy chewing it!
Opting often to switch off with a Homemade Granola, mixed with yogurt and fresh fruit.
But let’s also be honest; there are things we might drink in a smoothie we might not otherwise choose to chomp on, especially children; which inspired my recipe for Grandma’s Sneaky Meatballs!
The best health smoothies are those you will actually drink!
The more raw veggies, the better. The less sweeteners, the better.
Protein additives, whether vegan or creature, are a great way to get a huge number of health foods into your body in one big cold drink with a straw.
AND, it’s a to-go health food, just like my Salads In A Jar!
Beet and Carrot Brazilian Smoothie
Beterraba e Cenoura – Beets and Carrots. The primary health benefit for this Brazilian Health Smoothie is … well, Everything!
Beets are best known for aiding in digestive health, loaded with fiber and a wonderful natural approach to dealing with IBS, constipation, diverticulitis and a bunch of other digestive related issues.
Because of the gorgeous color pigment, it has a number of anti-inflammatory properties; so I would recommend using the red beet as apposed to the golden beet for this purpose.
Carrots, much like the beets, are loaded with fiber but carrots also are high in calcium and vitamin K, both important for bone health.
Carrots also have significant health benefits from the carotene antioxidant properties.
How To Make Saude do Brasil – A Brazilian Health Smoothie
Peeling the skins from the beets, ginger and carrots and then grating, chopping or grinding them, is where it starts.
From there, a little sweetness is added from a ripe banana and a little sweet juice from a few strawberries.
Everything goes into a strong blender, a little ice and water and give it a whirl until a creamy, thick luscious smoothie is ready to sip on for your health!
Ingredients Needed
- Raw Beets
- Raw Carrots
- Banana
- Strawberries
- Raw Ginger root
- Honey (optional)
- Water
- Ice
Equipment Needed
- Quality Blender – using a powerful blender makes the job easier and this one is very affordable!
- Vegetable peeler
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Box grater (optional)
Brazilian Health Smoothie – Brazilian Root and Fruit Smoothie – Brazilian Health Smoothie – Saude do Brasil
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Cutting board and knife
- Box Grater
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Grated raw beets
- 1/2 cup Grated raw carrots
- 1/2 Ripe banana
- 3 Strawberries
- 1/4 tsp Raw ginger root
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Protein powder
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Ice
Instructions
- Place the grated carrots, beets and chopped ginger root into the blender. Pour a little water into the blender and pulse a few times to breakdown the vegetables.
- Cut up the banana half and add to the blender along with the chopped strawberries, protein powder, remaining water, ice and honey and puree to a creamy smoothie.
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