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Emma Hartwell

The Fibermaxxing Smoothie (25g Fiber)

A genuinely high-fiber smoothie — 25 grams in one glass, close to a full day's worth — that is smooth rather than gritty, because the chia goes in first with the liquid and nothing else.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings: 1 large smoothie
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup milk of choice unsweetened almond, oat or dairy
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup baby spinach one big handful, packed
  • 1/2 avocado medium, ripe
  • 1/2 banana frozen
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed ground, not whole — whole seeds pass straight through
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt optional, for protein

Method
 

  1. Put the milk and the chia seeds in the blender on their own and run it for 20 seconds. With nothing frozen in the jar the seeds have nowhere to hide and break down completely. This one step is the difference between a smooth drink and a gritty one — do not add it later with everything else.
  2. Add the spinach and blend again until you cannot see any green flecks. Leaves shred properly in thin liquid and refuse to in thick liquid, which is why this comes before the frozen fruit.
  3. Add the avocado, frozen banana and frozen raspberries and blend until it stops sounding chunky, about 45 seconds. Add the Greek yogurt now too if you are using it.
  4. Add the ground flaxseed and blend for no more than 5 seconds, or just stir it in. Long blending warms the oils in flax and turns it faintly bitter.
  5. Pour and drink within about ten minutes. The chia keeps absorbing liquid, so a smoothie left standing turns spoonable and then nearly solid.

Notes

Fiber: ~25g per glass, from USDA values — 8.3g chia, 8.0g raspberries, 4.6g avocado, 1.9g flaxseed, 1.5g banana, 0.7g spinach.
New to this much fiber? 25g in one sitting is a large jump if you currently eat around 15g a day. Halve the chia for the first week and drink water alongside it — see our fibermaxxing guide.
Making it ahead: blend everything except the chia, refrigerate, and stir the chia in as you pour. Blended with the chia it will have set by morning.
Swaps: blueberries have less than half the fiber of raspberries and strawberries less again, so the raspberries are the one fruit worth keeping. No avocado — use 2 tbsp almond butter or 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower.