Shown below is what my daily beet-berry smoothie looks like, and the recipe!
Recipe:
1 lb of mixed frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries)
1 large beet (8-13 oz.)
1 vanilla bean (2-3 grams)
Put it all in the blender with ~10 oz. of water, blend, and drink!
For an extra boost of taste and nutrition, I also mix my beet-berry smoothie with my spinach-ginger-pineapple smoothie (https://atomic-temporary-71218033.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/09/pineapple-spinach-smoothie/). Enjoy!
If you’re interested, please have a look at my book!
Michael Lustgarten 
Thank you for posting this! Besides the taste aspect, can I ask the nutritional reasons for these ingredients?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Dax. Very few foods/supplements act as true ergogenic aids, meaning they improve performance. In several studies, beets improve performance in elite athletes, where it would be expected to be difficult to further improve performance! Plus, beets have known blood pressure lowering effects, which is of potential benefit to me because I have heart-disease related issues in my family tree. I’ll update the article with the relevant Pubmed citations for all this eventually…
LikeLike
Michael, do you have the studies showing improved performance also for elite athletes? All I can find in my pubmed research is positive data concerning “normal” persons or “hobby” athletes. For example, Wilkerson et al. (2012), Cermak et al. (2012) or Boorsma (2013) show no effect for fit/elite athletes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here is one of those studies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25202886
LikeLike
Interesting; this seems to be contrary to this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23580456
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, there is data that shows no effect. But here’s another that shows a positive effect on performance:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471821
At worst, there is no effect, but at best, there is improved metabolism. I’d say that’s a low-risk, high-reward strategy to potentially improve function!
LikeLike
Are the beets that you use in your smoothie raw or boiled? Thanks for your blog – it’s very interesting.
LikeLike
Raw, but I clean the skin. I drink it ~4-5 days per week, still yum!
LikeLike
OK, I just made a beet, berry, spinach, mango, flax smoothie and it was delicious although I was tempted to add a banana. Do you avoid bananas because of low nutrient value?
LikeLike
Bananas are not low in nutrients. I add frozen bananas, ~6 oz to the smoothie in my latest concoction that includes beets (~12 oz), parsley (2 oz.), and raw spinach (4 oz).
LikeLike