Recently I had a major craving for Joule Crafted Nutrition‘s Fair Shake Smoothie. The problem? I now live 2,000 miles away from this very special restaurant. Oh Portland, how I miss your food scene!
So to try to solve this problem without getting on an airplane, I began studying the ingredients in Joule’s smoothie: fermented beet kvass, beets, blueberries, moringa, avocado, lime, turmeric, reishi, chaga, & bee pollen. And they even so kindly offered me guidance on Instagram. Talk about incredible customer service!
Well, spoiler alert? I quenched that craving (without getting on an airplane) and created an easy homemade version with everyday ingredients! And now you can too!
But P.S.- go to Joule if you’re ever in Portland- I pretty much guarantee you’ll want to order everything on their menu. Find all my Portland restaurant recommendations here.
Beet Kvass Substitute
My first attempts at recreating this smoothie were not so successful. First, I tried to find beet kvass. I went to 3 natural grocery stores and no luck. I found it online from Oregon Brineworks, but was too impatient to wait for shipping and too cheap to buy the minimum of 4 bottles.
So then I tried to make homemade beet kvass. It’s supposed to be easy: beets, filtered water, salt, and allow it to ferment! But I ended up with a moldy disaster.
Back to the drawing board I went. Beet kvass is tangy and slightly sweet. So I looked in my pantry and spotted apple cider vinegar- also tangy and slightly sweet. It turned out to be a very good idea: this delicious, antioxidant-rich wild blueberry beet smoothie was born!
Low FODMAP Substitutions
This recipe is not low FODMAP as written. I’ve previously shared why I’ve begun including higher FODMAP recipes on this blog. Short answer: they help me feel better! And I think they could help you too.
In the notes section of the recipe, you’ll find my ideas for how you might modify for low FODMAP. But I haven’t tried with those modifications. If possible, I would encourage you to try this beet smoothie as written because it’s very good and beets are nutrient powerhouses!
Health Benefits of Beets
I’d argue that every ingredient in this smoothie could be considered a superfood, but that might take all day to explain. So let’s just discuss my favorites: beets!
- Rich in folate, manganese, copper, fiber, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6 [source].
- Research suggests improvement in conditions such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and dementia
- Rich in betalains which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
- Known for aiding bile flow and supporting liver health. Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Sluggish bile flow can result in constipation and/or be an underlying cause of SIBO. Learn more about sluggish bile flow here.
Please let me know what you think of this recipe by leaving a review and rating below! It makes my day to see you try my recipes and it provides the motivation to sacrifice my weekends to write blog posts =) You can also tag me in a photo on instagram (@sibowithhope).
- ½ cup (~70-85 g) cooked, cubed, frozen beets (see instructions for guidance)
- ¾ -1 cup (~100-130 g) frozen wild blueberries (I get them from Trader Joe's // or sub regular frozen blueberries)
- Optional: 1 handful (~20 g) baby spinach (~1 cup loosely packed // or sub other mild greens such as kale, leafy lettuce, or mixed greens)
- ¼ large (~40 g) perfectly ripe avocado (too ripe or immature will cause unpleasant taste)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) lime juice (or juice of ~1/2 lime)
- 1 inch chunk fresh ginger
- 1 inch chunk fresh turmeric (or sub ¼-1/2 tsp ground turmeric)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Optional: ¼-1/2 tsp moringa powder (note: can have a laxative effect)
- Optional: 1 Tbsp (6 g) unflavored collagen (I like Great Lakes brand // I get it at Trader Joe's in the supplement section)
- If you do not already have cooked, cubed, frozen beets, prepare at this time (it's best to do this in advance, such as during weekend meal prep). I highly recommend using cooked beets instead of raw as it removes the "earthy" flavor. I like to cook beets in the Instant Pot, but you can also boil them on the stovetop (~45-75 minutes). For the Instant Pot, place 1 cup water in the inner pot and insert trivet. Place beets on trivet and cook on high pressure for 15-30 minutes, depending on size of the beets. I had very large beets and found 30 minutes to be perfect. Let pressure release naturally (~15 minutes), manually release any remaining pressure and allow beets to cool. Once cooled, rub on the skin of the beets to remove it (it should slide off easily if they are fully cooked). Chop into cubes and place on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a sealed container. Frozen beets will keep up to 3-6 months.
- To prepare smoothie, add all ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy and smooth (a Vitamix or other powerful blender is ideal for texture, but not essential). Add more water, if needed for blending (I didn't need to). Add more avocado to make it thick and creamy, blueberries for sweetness, lime juice or apple cider vinegar for tang, and ginger for zing. Enjoy!
*Nutrition information calculated with baby spinach and collagen included.
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