How to Best Combine Fruits and Veggies for a Rockin’ Nutritious Drink

It may be difficult to eat an entire plate of raw vegetables in one sitting, but it sure is easy to chug a tasty drink instead! That’s just one of many reasons to love juicing and smoothies. When you mix both fruits and veggies, that glass becomes a secret weapon to fulfilling your recommended daily allowance of several key vitamins and nutrients.

When you drink your fruits and veggies via juices and smoothies, you treat your body to a bunch of nutrients in a quick, portable manner that also tastes delicious. It’s a home-run choice for our health! Here are five ways to combine fruit and veggies for a rockin’ nutritious drink that tastes great, looks delicious, and gives you maximum nutritional power:

1. Balance sweet and sour.

Balance is one key to making a tasty fruit and veggie smoothie or juice. You don’t want too much tartness or too much bitterness. Try pairing a sour taste with a sweet taste. For example, combine apple, cucumber, and grapefruit. Try this great juice recipe: 1 apple, 1 large cucumber, 1-2 cups of grapefruit, 
and a bit of fresh mint.

2. Think about color.

When planning your drink, match similar colored fruit and veggies to give your nutritional drink a beautiful look, rather than that puke-green-brown color that often comes out when you’re mixing in green and red vegetables. Think orange and pick carrots and oranges. Think red and choose beets and berries. There’s a lot to be said about visual appeal of our food. Try this Carrot Cayenne Elixir, which calls for 5 large carrots, 2 navel oranges, and a dash of cayenne pepper. And try this Not-Too-Sweet Pear and Parsley Smoothie.

3. Choose the sweetest fruit.

Fruit like banana and pineapple have more sugar content than some fruit, such as blackberries. Choose the sweetest fruit to combine with your veggies and you’ll hardly notice the taste. In The Pink Lady smoothie, pineapple and pear are mixed with beets to give a sweet kick to the overall flavor of the drink.

4. Model the drink after dessert.

The joy of juicing and making smoothies is that with the balance of the right ingredients, you can create tastes that are similar to your favorite desserts. Consume a cup of rhubarb in this Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie, which will remind you of the classic pie. Get creative and see how many veggies you can sneak into a dessert drink, such as adding kale or carrot to this Dreamsicle Smoothie.

5. Remember the 1 to 1.5 guideline

To ensure that your fruit and veggie drink will end up tasting delicious every time, remember to use 1-2 cups of greens to 1-1.5 cups of fruit for a regular-sized smoothie or juice. This Strawberry Kale Smoothie has 1 cup of vegetables and 1.5 cups of fruit, and this Doesn’t Taste Green Smoothie has 2 cups of vegetables and just over 1 cup of fruit.

For more ideas in making green drinks specifically, check out 5 Tips to Make Your Green Smoothie Taste Less “Green.”

Remember, if you follow some simple guidelines, you’re doing one awesome thing for your body by making smoothies and juices. You can’t really go wrong, and, with these tips, your juices and smoothies will always look and taste great (beyond being great for you). So, drink up — there is just no way you can lose here!

Image source: Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie