If you’re someone who loves blending up a smoothie for a mid-afternoon snack, or maybe you take one with you first thing in the morning because sitting down for a breakfast meal isn’t something that you can fit into your busy schedule, you need to know how to create these properly.

By using the right mix of ingredients, you can make sure that you get your energy needs met and your nutrient requirements covered.

The classic ingredients most people already use include protein powder, skim milk, and some sort of frozen or fresh fruit. But, don’t be limited to just that. Try tossing in one of these four ingredients as well for even better nutrition.

Flaxseeds

The first healthy ingredient to include is flaxseeds. This food is great because it’ll provide some healthy omega fats along with fiber and a smidge of protein as well.

It’s one of the best well-balanced foods you could be adding and is going to go a long way towards helping ensure that you are satisfying your hunger after that smoothie.

Spinach

Moving along, don’t forget about greens. While most people turn their nose up at the thought of adding vegetables to a sweet smoothie, it really doesn’t impact the taste that much but it sure will boost the nutrition.

Both spinach as well as kale can be added and will give your smoothie an excellent nutritional punch.

Even if you just add a quarter cup, it’ll go a long way.

Dried Unsweetened Coconut

For the healthy fat side of your smoothie, consider adding some dried unsweetened coconut. This will give the smoothie a nice island-like taste and it works great if you happen to have bananas or oranges in the smoothie.

Dried coconut is a form of medium chain triglycerides, which is a fat that will be burned up rapidly as an energy source for your body.

Many people notice that as they cut their carbohydrates back in order to achieve their weight loss goals, their energy level starts to plummet, so some coconut added in can help to reverse this feeling.

Dried unsweetened coconut is a perfect choice if you are someone who can’t serve up nuts as well as nut butter is the other classic healthy fat often used in smoothies.

Xanthan Gum

Finally, the last ingredient isn’t one that has a high nutritional value, but is one that will sure change how that smoothie tastes. Just a tiny smidge of xanthan gum (around ¼ tsp.) will dramatically boost the creaminess of that smoothie, giving it a more milkshake like texture and taste.

Since obviously adding ice cream or real cream to your smoothie to try and increase it’s creaminess is out if nutrition is a concern, this is the next best thing.

So there you have some fast and simple tips to know and remember as far as improving your smoothie’s nutrition and taste goes. Next time you’re whipping one up, make sure you consider these.