Smoothies are a fantastic way to incorporate fruits, vegetables, protein, and essential nutrients like calcium into your diet. If you're looking for a quick, delicious, and healthy breakfast or snack option, especially while on the 17 Day Diet, look no further than kefir smoothies. Kefir, a cultured milk product similar to yogurt but with a more liquid consistency, is packed with protein and probiotics, making it an excellent addition to your diet. This article explores several kefir smoothie recipes that are easy to make, customizable, and perfect for those busy mornings or when you need a quick energy boost.
What is Kefir?
Kefir is a fermented milk drink, super simple to make with just milk, kefir grains, and a little time. It can also be made dairy-free using alternative milks like almond, coconut, or cashew. Kefir can also be made with water. You can easily find good quality milk kefir at your local grocery store. Kefir is a cultured milk product with the consistency that is a cross between milk and yogurt. It has several different strains of friendly bacteria that are not found in yogurt so it’s a healthy item to introduce into your diet.
Health Benefits of Kefir Smoothies
Kefir smoothies are not only delicious but also offer numerous health benefits:
- Probiotics: Kefir is full of health benefits. They are full of probiotics to help support a healthy gut. Milk kefir is full of health benefits.
- Nutrient-Rich: Healthy: Full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and protein.
- Easy and Quick: Great for busy mornings. This is a staple that we enjoy just about every morning.
- Blood Sugar Balance: Adding protein can help keep a steady blood sugar.
- Versatile: Kefir can be put into the blender to make smoothies, popsicles, etc. Make sure to strain out the kefir grains before adding it to a blender.
Basic Kefir Smoothie Recipe
Before diving into specific variations, here's a basic recipe to get you started:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain kefir (homemade or store-bought)
- 1/2 cup frozen fruit (berries, peaches, banana, etc.)
- Optional add-ins: spinach, kale, nut butter, collagen peptides, honey, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients into the blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve immediately.
If your blender struggles with frozen fruit, let the ingredients sit for a few minutes to soften slightly.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Very Berry Kefir Smoothie
This smoothie is flavorful, probiotic-rich, and a family favorite. The frozen fruit gives it the consistency of a thin sorbet. It’s a great way to sneak in probiotics, especially when you are ‘so over’ eating yogurt. Also, it works great when you have a busy morning where you have to be somewhere.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup kefir
- A mix of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
Instructions:
- Combine kefir and frozen berries in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Enjoy the naturally sweet and tart flavor.
Almond Peach Kefir Smoothie
This smoothie combines the tartness of kefir with the sweetness of peaches and the subtle flavor of almonds.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain kefir
- 1/2 cup frozen peaches
- 1/2 banana
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients into blender.
- Blend until smooth and serve immediately.
If your blender is not powerful enough to handle frozen fruit, let your ingredients sit in the blender canister for a few minutes until the peaches start to defrost and soften.
Blueberry Orange Kefir Smoothie
This recipe offers a refreshing blend of citrus and berries, perfect for a morning boost.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain kefir
- 1/2 banana (preferably frozen)
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 navel orange, cut in segments
- Optional: handful of fresh spinach and / or tablespoon natural peanut butter
Instructions:
- In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Serve immediately.
Tips and Variations
- Dairy-Free Option: For a dairy-free option, use coconut milk kefir. For a vegan option use coconut kefir and swap out honey for maple syrup or dates.
- Sweetness: If you prefer a sweeter smoothie, add honey, maple syrup, or dates to taste.
- Protein Boost: Add a spoonful or two of nut butter or collagen peptides for some extra protein.
- Vegetable Addition: Want to add some veggies to this recipe? Add a handful of spinach or kale. The kids won’t be able to even taste it.
- Fruit Variations: Switch up the berries if you would like. Use blackberries instead of raspberries, etc. Just use strawberries to make a strawberry kefir smoothie.
- Yogurt Substitute: If you do not have any kefir, you could substitute it with 1 cup of probiotic yogurt and 3 cups of milk. That way you still get the good probiotics. It is basically a drinkable yogurt anyhow.
- Smoothie Bowl: Use this recipe to make a kefir smoothie bowl.
Kefir on the 17 Day Diet
For the first 17 days, the diet mostly consists of lean proteins, cleansing vegetables, low-sugar fruits, friendly fats, and two servings of probiotics a day. One of the probiotics that Dr. Mike Moreno recommends is kefir. It has several different strains of friendly bacteria that are not found in yogurt so it’s a healthy item to introduce into your diet.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Common Questions about Kefir Smoothies
- Can you taste kefir in a smoothie? A little bit. The berry flavors cover the sour kefir taste quite a bit and it is really tasty.
- What can I mix kefir with? Fruit, jams, nut butters, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup or honey, herbs, and more. It can be made sweet into popsicles or smoothies or savory to make salad dressing (like this kefir ranch dressing). Use it in place of yogurt or sour cream.
- How much kefir should you have in a day? According to Healthline, you can consume between 1-3 cups of kefir per day without issue.
- Are kefir smoothies healthy? Yes. They are full of probiotics to help support a healthy gut, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Getting Back into the Smoothie Habit
If you’re trying to get back into a healthy routine, smoothies are an excellent way to start. Smoothies are an awesome way to get in some fruits (and sometimes vegetables), protein and other good for you nutrition like calcium. Like salads, it’s easy to get into a smoothie rut - but so easy to get out of it too especially if you start to play around with ingredients and flavor combos. I picked up some plain kefir last week and knew I wanted to make smoothies with it. If you aren’t familiar with kefir, it is very similar to yogurt (more liquid form), and can be found in the dairy aisle near the milks. It is high in protein and is a probiotic and if you use the plain version it is lower in sugar. It has a pretty tart flavor, like tart plain Greek yogurt, so if you are into the tart flavors at your fro yo shop then you will probably love how kefir tastes.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP