Ayurvedic smoothie recipes are optimized for ease of digestion, and they follow traditional knowledge about food combining, and seasonal eating. They are also incredibly tasty and satisfying to mind and body.
Ayurveda is an ancient science of life from India. It sees a balanced diet and lifestyle as the key to optimizing digestion, and digestion as the key to optimizing health.
Unfortunately, many of the foods most people consume cause imbalances, and can harm digestion, whether they are aware of it or not.
Smoothies are enormously popular because people believe they are really healthy. They are healthy, but only when consumed in the proper way.
Ayurveda offers very critical wisdom around the healthiest way to make smoothies, and the correct way is different based on a person's unique body type.
To learn the Ayurvedic way of making smoothies, read on, or check out my ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AYURVEDIC SMOOTHIES.
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How to Enjoy These Ayurvedic Smoothie Recipes
Summer is the best season for smoothies. Spring is also okay to a lesser extent. The reason we enjoy smoothies so much in warm weather is because they have a cooling effect on the body.
Did you know there are optimal times of day to enjoy smoothies?
Breakfast is always a good time, on an empty stomach.
I enjoy mine as a pre-lunch after skipping breakfast. I have it at least 30 minutes before lunch, so the fruit has time to fully digest. I also enjoy mine as a pre-dinner if I am cooking, but I am feeling really hungry.
Having a smoothie as a lunch replacement on a hot day is also a good time.
Although smoothies are light, they are made from raw food, and Ayurveda sees raw food as more difficult to digest. This is why Ayurveda recommends enjoying smoothies when the digestive strength is strongest around midday, or at least early in the day.
Fruit And The Principle Of Food Combining
According to Ayurveda, fruit is best enjoyed on its own an on an empty stomach. I encourage you to try this simple food combining principle and see if it changes how you feel.
For certain people with very strong digestion, food combining doesn’t matter, but for most people it can make all the difference.
The reason for this principle of taking fruit alone is that fruit digests quite quickly (30 minutes for most).
Mixing fruit with other foods that take longer to digest can actually impede the body’s ability to digest the fruit at all, since different types of food require different digestive enzymes.
The danger is that mixing fruit with other food can confuse your body, and lead to putrefaction, and the production of toxins. This will not affect everyone. For people with very strong digestion, this is not as much of an issue.
Ayurvedic smoothie recipes make exceptions to the fruit-only rule, but its’s done with awareness, and in a smart way.
I love that Ayurveda’s rules aren’t really rules. They are more like guidelines that you can intentionally break when you know what you are doing.
What Is An Ayurvedic Smoothie?
The Ayurvedic smoothie recipes below combines fruit with simple vegetables and digestion-stimulating herbs and spices.
They also use room temperature water, and fresh (rather than frozen) fruit to temper the powerful cooling qualities inherent in a smoothie.
The combination of Ayurvedic smoothie recipes below maximize everything that is wonderfully sweet about smoothies, while minimizing any potential harm to health.
With these recipes we are aiming for a balanced cooling effect, so we stay balanced all day long and avoid the ups and downs.
These recipes are simple, super tasty, and easy to prepare. For optimal benefits, emphasize fruit that’s fresh and in season. Take a scroll of the recipes, see what you have in your fridge or garden, and go for it!
Enjoy Seasonal Fruit In Your Smoothies
Sometimes it can be hard to let go of a favorite fruit when its season is done, but it will never be as good as it was when it was locally grown.
What I am learning to do is: once a season has passed, I try to cherish what I have experienced with that fruit, and set an intention to enjoy it again even more next year.
You can even try planning out how to obtain more of your favorite fruits, like at farmer’s markets, farm share programs, or from visiting farms directly.
Here’s a preview of my Ayurvedic smoothie recipes. Which one will you try first?
Apples, Pineapple, and Kale Smoothie
Apricots, Cherries, Basil Leaf Smoothie
Blueberries, Strawberries, Banana, and Cardamom Smoothie
Apple, Lime, and Arugula Smoothie
Watermelon, Lime, and Cardamom Smoothie
And don't forget to check out this helpful post, "Smoothies and Your Health: 14 Tips and Tricks for Healthier Smoothies."
Ayurvedic Smoothie Recipes
Ingredients
1. Apples, Pineapple, and Kale Smoothie
- 1 apple, cored
- ½ cup fresh pineapple
- 3 ounces kale
- 1 cup cool water
- * Here the sweetness should come from the pineapple and the apple, but you could add a bit of honey if needed.
2. Apricots, Cherries, Basil Leaf Smoothie
- 4 fresh apricots, depending on their size
- ½ cup cherries, I used defrosted frozen berries, but fresh is better if possible
- a few leaves of fresh basil
- 1 cup cool water
- * This one is my favorite. The basil adds a wonderful aromatic twist, and apricots when they are in season are a real treat.
3. Blueberries, Strawberries, Banana, and Cardamom Smoothie
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ½ cup strawberries
- ½ banana
- 1 teaspoon raw organic sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 cup cool water
- * This is an all-fruit smoothie, but the addition of cardamom does wonders for the digestibility of this smoothie. Since it has a bit of raw sugar, kids may especially love it.
4. Apple, Lime, and Arugula Smoothie
- 1 apple, cored
- ½ lime, juiced
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, chopped
- 1 cup cool water
- tiny pinch Himalayan pink salt
- * I used arugula fresh from the garden, so this smoothie really packed a punch. If you find this smoothie too sour or peppery, add a bit of honey to sweeten it up. A lot depends on how sweet your apple is. Mine was a bit tart, so I added the honey, and it made all the difference.
5. Watermelon, Lime, and Cardamom Smoothie
- 2 cups watermelon
- half lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom, for more information about cardamom, please see this post.
- * This is really lovely. The cardamom balances perfectly with the sweet watermelon. Thanks to Joyful Belly for inspiring this recipe.
Instructions
- For each of the recipes, blend all ingredients in a blender until well pulverized.
To serve
- Enjoy cool, or a room temperature.
- Enjoy the entire smoothie at once, or divide it into two servings. You can keep any leftovers in the refrigerator, but ideally not longer than one day.
Nutrition
Audrey
I have been adding hemp and chia seeds, organic greens powder, and pre / probiotic powder to my smoothies. Do you recommend?
Andrea
Hi Audrey, That is a lot of questions. In general, I prefer whole foods over powders. But this take a bit more time and effort. The issue with powders is that they can be heavy and difficult to digest due to the fact that they are processed and more complicated than whole foods. What if you added fresh greens instead of green powder. I would encourage you to try your smoothie without the powders and see if you feel any different or better. Hemp and chia seeds can be good. Make sure you soak the chia seeds overnight first to fully hydrate them. — Andrea
Christina P.
Hi! I've had 2 of these smoothies the watermelon and the berry. Both were delicious! I was looking for ayurveda inspired smoothies once I found out about the milk even plant based milk not mixing well with fruits. I was nervous this would be a hard change for me but I've enjoyed these. Can't wait to try all of them esp when apricots and cherries come back next year! And good ideas for a peach smoothie? Thoughts on green smoothies based with banana and water? I've made a few with seasonal greens, apple and celery and enjoy them with lime or lemon and ginger as well. I stick to these in spring and summer a few times a week.
Andrea
Hi Christina,
Happy to hear this!
Here are some ideas:
Pineapple, Banana, Kale with coconut water
Banana, Peach
Banana, Kale, Lime, Cardamom
— Enjoy - Andrea
Eva
I thought you are suppose to eat melons by themselves ... eg: watermelon.
Andrea
Hi Eva,
Thanks for the question. That is basically correct. In this case you are combining the watermelon with a bit of digestive support in the form of lime and cardamom. This is an exception. Spices are okay to combine with melons and can actually help them to digest better. It is not uncommon in hot countries to add chili powder, cumin powder, cilantro and lime to melons and other fruits. — Andrea
Cecile Jagoo
Hello, I thought in ayuveda bananas were supposed to be eaten alone and never with anything else including other fruit... what is your thoughts??
Andrea
Hi Cecile,
My understanding is that the big concern with banana is about mixing it with milk. Check this guide from the Ayurvedic Institute for more details. In my recipe for Blueberry, Strawberry, and Cardamom Smoothie, the berries are sour, and so is banana in its post-digestive effect. And the cardamom adds digestive strength to the fruits. Personally, I find banana a wildcard for digestion. I don't eat them often, mostly because they don't grow in my region, and I believe that local foods are the best. Hope this helps.
Joey Tipping
Those smoothies look awesome and I will be making some for sure. Of course the smoothies I make now go against all the Ayurvedic principles! Oh my! Although I don’t seem bothered by them and have them no more than 3 times a week. I am assuming the summer/winter part does not apply to me since I spend the winter in a much warmer climate. . Thank you for the recipes.