A lot of health and wellness experts like throw around words like antioxidant... but what does it mean and why do I need it? After experiencing several members in my family battle cancer more than once, I started researching antioxidant foods and how foods high in antioxidants can help not only keep me healthy, but fight for me too.
Best antioxidant rich foods
If you're looking to up your intake of antioxidant rich foods, then take this list to the grocery store:
| Artichokes | Dark chocolate | Pomegranate |
| Beets | Goji berries | Raspberries |
| Black berries | Kale | Red cabbage |
| Blueberries | Orange vegetables | Red grapes |
| Cherries | Pecans | Red kidney beans |
| Cranberries | Plums | Strawberries |
A good rule of thumb when browsing the produce section: if you buy dark leafy greens, red fruits, or berries then you are getting a cart full of antioxidants. Not to say that the other fruits + veggies are out of the running, they just provide different nutrients for the body.
While the foods on the above list are quite delicious, they are also super helpful to our bodies.
Why we need antioxidants
Antioxidants are molecules that specifically fight free radicals in the body. Why is this important? Well, if free radical counts get too high, then they can become super harmful. I'm talking cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more.
While the body naturally has antioxidants, certain kinds of food also contain these special compounds, and eating these foods can give your defense system a big boost.
Free radicals also contribute to aging, so I'll eat all the antioxidant foods I can to age a bit more gracefully + naturally.
Vitamins C and E are common as well as necessary antioxidants, and all the foods on the above list are full of these 2 essential vitamins.
FAQs
Berries, fruit, nuts, beans, dark leafy greens... basically plant based whole foods are rich in antioxidants.
100% fruit juices, herbal teas, green tea and more plant based drinks are loaded. Green smoothies are full of foods high in antioxidants.
You can have too much of a good thing, even antioxidants. Check with your doctor before changing your diet to ensure you are still getting the balance you need to thrive.
Antioxidant rich smoothies
Many people in the Simple Green Smoothies community come looking for how to easily incorporate foods high in antioxidants into their diets. So I've created several smoothies using these powerhouse ingredients:
- Strawberry cherry smoothie
- Blueberry spinach smoothie
- Cranberry smoothie
- Berry protein smoothie
- Strawberry banana smoothie
- Citrus berry smoothie
- Blueberry smoothie
- Strawberry carrot smoothie
- Blackberry smoothie
- Goji berry smoothie
While these are a great starting point to boosting your health, I've gone even deeper to bring you some supercharged smoothie cubes that are loaded with antioxidant foods.
How to use antioxidant foods in smoothies
The recipe below is for antioxidant smoothie cubes. I use smoothie cubes to boost target nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, healthy fat, and electrolytes as well as to aid in eliminating inflammation in my body. These cubes pack a whole lot of natural health into small rectangles, and are a great smoothie booster to have on hand.
To utilize various antioxidant foods, blend up the below recipe, pour into ice cube trays, then freeze. Once frozen, store in a freezer safe container. To use, simply replace ½ to 1 cup of fruit in your next smoothie with a few of these antioxidant cubes, then enjoy.
Give your smoothie a viscous boost of ruby red goodness with these our natural DIY antioxidant berry cubes you can make at home.
Best Antioxidant Foods in Smoothie Cubes
Rate this Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup cherries (sweet or tart)
- 1 cup strawberries (hulled and sliced)
- 1 beet (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1 cup cranberries
- 8 ounces pomegranate juice
Instructions
- Place ingredients into blender in order listed. Puree until smooth.
- Pour liquid into two standard 16-well ice cube trays. (Each well holds about 2 tablespoons liquid.)
- Freeze until solid. Remove from trays and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to several months.
- To use add 4 cubes to replace ½-1 cup of fruit in your favorite smoothie recipe.
Notes
- Can swap pomegranate juice with ½ cup 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
Nutrition (estimated)
More smoothie cube recipes
If you love the idea of boosting your smoothie, then I've got more super fun + effective smoothie cube recipes:
Which one of these recipes sounds like something you need? Comment below letting me know your fav option, as well as how your antioxidant food smoothie cubes turned out!
Erin
These are a staple in my freezer! I play around with ingredients depending on what's in season, just trying to stick to the 'red' theme.
Kim
I love that this recipe is so easy and makes smoothie blending so fast! Delish!
Jo
I love the idea of these cubes. Sometimes I buy fresh fruit and something happens and I forget to eat it and it goes bad. This is a great idea to just make a batch at one point and have it frozen. Can you whiz up frozen berries as well? And what about fresh spinach?
Simple Green Smoothies
Sure thing, Jo! Frozen berries work just fine in this recipe. And for spinach, we'd recommend our Alkaline Veggie Smoothie Cubes or our how-to on freezing greens.
Sally
Oh how I lurve lurve lurve this brilliant idea.
My biggest obstacle is gathering all the ingredients daily. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Chronic Fatigue is such a drag.
So far I have made a medium sized jar of the organic powder supplements I like to add. Such as Kakadu plum, kale, beetroot, spirulina, maca, turmeric, matcha and hemp seeds. One rounded
teaspoon adds it all.
This one and your Vit C cubes really take it up a notch. BIG THANK YOU.
SGS Rawkstar Jess
So glad they're able to make your smoothie making easier, Sally!
Stephan
This is going to be one of my favorites.............for sure. As for blue....how about white cauliflower, blue berries, cucumber peeled, pineapple, coconut water, flax seeds (ground or whole). It comes out blue, not really a deep blue, but blue !
P.S. I like the popsicle idea !
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
Hey Stepha,
Ooo that sounds like a great option! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Christy
The photography for this recipe is beautiful! I'm going to try these as healthy frozen popsicles.
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
Thank you Christy! We really do have an amazing photographer. Cannot wait for you to try these out.
Olivia
These look AMAZING. So useful and practical. Gonna whip up a batch this weekend. Thanks Jen!
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
Thanks Olivia! Cannot wait for you to give them a try 🙂
Jen Hansard
So glad you're digging the smoothie cubes Dani! I have a few more coming up since they've been such a hit! As for swapping these for the cranberries in the Cranberry Kale Smoothie, that's the perfect way to do it! you'll be supercharging that smoothie with waaaay more antioxidants and the flavor will still be delicious. I would say any recipe that has cherries, cranberries, pomegranate, beets and strawberries will work really well to swap these cubes in. Thanks for rawkin' out with us!
Dani Mitchell
I'm not a big fan of beets, but after reading all those health benefits I think I'm gonna give this one a go. I love all the other ingredients, especially pomegranate juice. I've been on a kick with that lately. Do you think these would taste better in a certain smoothie? Like I'm thinking I could take the Cranberry Kale Smoothie https://simplegreensmoothies.com/cranberry-smoothie and swap out the cranberries for a few smoothie cubes. Would that work?
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
Hey Dani,
Yes that would totally work! This would definitely be great to use in a smoothie that has berries in it. That way it will be a super easy swap!