Image by: Alihan Laugesen
By Jake Bradshaw

If there’s one thing every healthy man needs in his pad, it’s a blender. Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to get all the nutrients you need in one giant serving. Not to mention, they hide the funky tastes you may not like in certain fruits or vegetable. Men’s bodies are built for strength and endurance, much of the fuel we get for this is in our foods.

Though the conscience of health is getting better, it’s still incredibly easy to choice the less nutritious option. Not only can smoothies give you natural energy, but they also detox the bad chemicals stored in your body which prevent muscles to feed from their rightful sources. So turn on the blender and start sipping your way to better health, and a better body.

When it comes to making a “clean” smoothie, forget the protein, glutamine, and creatine. Stick with mother nature’s finest: organic fruits, veggies, and herbal remedies. These are the secrets to a better metabolism, digestive track, fat burn and muscle gaining life.

#1) Detox Smoothie

1 handful organic spinach
1 rganic pear
1 organic green apple
1 organic banana
1 organic cup pineapple
2 tbsp. of organic apple juice

This has all the things you need to give your body a nice clean up. Drink one of these for a week, and you will see a quick turn-around in your energy levels, mood, and the overall “clean” feeling you have when your body is working right. When all the nutrients within these ingredients combine, they act like an army against bad toxins in your liver and kidneys.

*Tip: substitute the pineapple juice with tomato juice and a splash of hot sauce, you have the best drink every created to kill a hangover. Not only will immediately hydrate you, but it will clean quickly replenish your body with electrolytes.

#2) Muscle Fruit Smoothie

1-4 tbsp. natural protein powder made from eggs
1 cup almond/soy milk or organic apple juice
½ organic banana
1 tsp. wheat germ or bran
3 – 4 frozen organic strawberries or 1/3/ cup of blueberries
A few ice cubes

Natural powder from eggs are great because they’re filled with amino acids, like cysteine and taurine. Taurine is fights your liver against diseases, while cysteine fights toxins left over from binge drinking or eating. It’s also high in Vitamin B. Combined with almonds, strawberries and bananas, this smoothie is like candy for your muscles, providing not only clean fuel, but a faster recover period.

#3) Wake ‘n Work Smoothie

1 avocado
1 banana
1 cup of frozen strawberries
½ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 – 2 handfuls of spinach (or celery)

This makes for a perfect morning treat because it feeds every part of your body the exact way it should. It creates a boosting metabolism and gears your digestive track in the right direction, while fueling your muscles with the nutrients inside the spinach. Have one every morning, and after a few days, you’ll quickly see your body adjusting to its appropriate biorhythms and metabolic balance.

#4) Protein Booster

1 organic avocado
1 cup frozen organic raspberries
1 cup organic mango
1 organic orange
2 handfuls of greens (spinach, celery, or kale)
1/3 cup of raw almonds

Not only will this give you energy, but it will stack you up like a prize-winning chicken if you’re not careful – in a good way, of course. Muscles thrive on the nutrients this smoothie provides. It gives you enough “good fats” and protein to last all day, while providing cleansing nutrients to clean your lower intestines, i.e. belly fat.

#5) “Build Your Own Shake”

ScrawnytoBrawny.com provided a concise way to building your own natural smoothie. It’s not rocket science, all you need is to know 7 easy steps. These steps will help you create your dream smoothie, one that you will never complain about drinking morning, noon, or night.

• Ice cubes (1 – 4 cubes for thin shakes, 5 – 10 for thicker pudding-like shakes)

• Pick a fruit – Whichever is your favorite. I mostly tend to go with strawberries and blueberries because they have incredible antioxidants and Vitamins.

• Greens – Spinach or celery is best since you can hardly taste them in the smoothie, yet they’ll still nourish you with all the goodies they contain.

• Pick Your Protein – Take this from natural sources, like egg, soy, or almond powder.

• Choose A Nut/Seed – 1/3 of whatever you decide is good. Nuts can be walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, coconut flakes. Seeds can be flax, hemp, chia, or pumpkin seeds.

• Add Liquid – Water, green tea, almond/soy milk, espresso (for preworkout).

• Give It A Topper – Coconut, oats, or granola are a nice choice.