Sip your way to better gut health with this sensational smoothie that’s hard to beat! Our Strawberry Pomegranate Beet Smoothie is filled to the brim with an incredible fruity flavor, antioxidants, and is stacked high with natural fiber, natural protein, and billions of live probiotics from Lifeway Kefir.
Strawberry Lifeway Kefir adds the perfect strawberry flavor to your smoothies made from natural ingredients like real milk, live probiotic cultures, real fruit essence, and no artificial fruit flavors. Its live and active cultures soothe digestion and support your gut health making it a terrific smoothie base to combine with high-fiber fruits and veggies for better gut health in just a few sips. Here, we combined it with frozen strawberries, fresh pomegranate, cooked beets (or you can use beet powder), vanilla, and a few other ingredients.
Beets… in a smoothie? Yes! If you’re new to using beets in your smoothies, don’t be too scared. Once cooked, beets take on a sweet, caramelized flavor that makes them delicious in a variety of ways, including smoothies. They’re full of nutrients that boost blood flow, support healthy iron production in the body along with overall arterial health, and are great for gut health and digestion. If you can’t stomach the thought of using fresh beets in a smoothie, opt for beet powder which is readily available in health food stores and is easier to adjust to.
Strawberries and pomegranates are each filled with their own benefits for your heart, skin, and gut health. Both are rich in fiber, antioxidants that support healthy blood flow, and they each act as anti-aging ingredients supporting natural collagen production in the body.
Pairing fiber-rich fruits and veggies with probiotic Lifeway Kefir is a great way to support your gut health, and it couldn’t be easier to do than in a simple smoothie. You can pack as many good things into your blender as you want, and with Lifeway Kefir’s protein, you can be sure every single blend will keep you full from the first to the last.
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy for Better Health:
Research continues to show the importance of eating healthy foods, including cultured dairy such as kefir, for optimal digestion and gut health, a strong immune system, and to support the microbiome. Fermented foods like kefir hold important value in this line of research due to the link between the gut-brain axis and overall health. Specifically, kefir has been shown to help diversify the microbiome, improve digestion, reduce inflammation, support healthier blood sugar levels, and improve satiety since the bioavailable protein it contains triggers the release of GLP-1.
Lifeway Kefir is packed with variety of vital nutrients important for overall health, including bone and muscle health; these include vitamin D3, K, calcium, and vitamin B12. Along with our probiotic-rich kefir, Lifeway also offers artisan-made Farmer Cheese, a creamy high-protein cheese made with live and active cultures to support healthy muscles and healthy microbiome. Lifeway Farmer Cheese is easy to spread, free of gums and thickeners, and contains no added salt or sugar for optimal health benefits.
Prep Time: 5 mins Servings: 2Ingredients
- 2 cups Lowfat Strawberry Kefir
- --or use Organic Whole Milk Strawberry Kefir
- 1/2 cup cooked beets (pre-roasted or store-bought)*
- --or use 1 tsp. organic beet powder (dried)**
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/4 cup pomegranate arils
- a frozen banana
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- garnishes: fresh pomegranate arils, pumpkin seeds, fresh strawberries, unsweetened coconut flakes
Directions
- Add the Lifeway Kefir, 1/2 cup cooked beets (or beet powder), frozen strawberries, pomegranate arils, frozen banana, and vanilla to a high-speed blender. Blend until thick and creamy. Add extra ice if you want it thicker and chillier. Pour into two glasses and top with fresh pomegranate arils, pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, and/or fresh strawberries. Enjoy!
- *To roast beets at home, line a baking pan with parchment paper. Place washed, peeled, chopped beets on the pan in quarters, about 1 inch thick. Roast at 375 degrees, Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes until the beets come out soft and tender. They should have a caramelized look to them which makes them sweeter. Steamed/cooked beets can be found in the produce section if you prefer to buy them pre-cooked (such as Love Beets brand).
- **You can find dried beet powder in health food stores (and some grocery stores) where the other dried fruit powders like acai and goji berries/goji berry powder are found. Some stores also stock it with mixed superfood powders.
