You Don't Need Fruit In Your Smoothie! We've Got 3 Recipes To Prove It


We're huge fans of smoothies at mbg—is there anything better than a healthy breakfast you can whip up in less than five minutes?—but often, even the healthiest ones contain banana, dates, berries, and other fruits that people on a low-sugar diet try to avoid. Inspired by the savory ice creams and yogurts that are growing more pervasive here in NYC, I decided to take a shot at creating a no-fruit smoothie—and I ended up creating three. If you're watching carbs or sugar, these contain three to four times less than traditional fruit-based smoothies. If you're not, well, they're just a fun treat to shake things up for your taste buds!
Carrot Cake Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1½ roasted carrots, cut into four pieces
- ½ avocado
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- ¼ cup toasted coconut flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Piece of fresh ginger, peeled, sliced
- 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon bee pollen
Preparation
Add all ingredients except for bee pollen into a blender and puree. Pour into a tall glass and sprinkle with pollen.
Coconut Coffee Cake Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1 small-medium golden yellow beet, cooked, peeled, and cooled
- ½ cup ice
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- ½ cup brewed dark-roast coffee
- ½ cup coconut milk cream
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons chia seed
- 1 tablespoon tahini
Preparation
Add all ingredients to a blender and puree. Pour into a tall glass and drink away.
Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- ½ avocado
- ⅔ cup mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 1¼ cups water
- ¼ cup original almond milk
Preparation
Add all ingredients in a blender puree. Pour into a tall glass and gulp away.

Carolina Santos-Neves is a graduate of the Chef Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts and is presently the chef of Hungry Beast, (CDMX) a kitchen & Juice Bar that focuses on flavors from all over the world with a focus on using organic and local products. Raised in Brazil, Mexico, and New York and an avid traveler, Santos-Neves was an editor at Epicurious for five years. She's been dinner partying it up with friends and strangers practically since birth. Her favorite foods are ice cream and Brussels sprouts...but not together.