A basic healthy smoothie is already a healthier meal than many folks eat, especially for breakfast. A typical smoothie recipe starts with of a base of milk, milk substitute, yogurt, or fruit juice. You then add your favorite fruits and vegetables, trying different combinations to maximize the flavor and give yourself the most nutrition.

But if you want to put together a real nutritional powerhouse smoothie, you’ll want to try adding nutrient-dense ingredients such as green superfoods, superfruits, protein powders, healthy fats — even spices.

Following is a list of ingredients that I personally use interchangeable to supercharge the nutritional content of my smoothies.

Protein Powders

Use a dairy-free protein powder made from hemp seed, whey, brown rice, etc. Not only will these boost the protein content of your smoothie, some of these also add as much as 14 grams of fiber per serving!

Raw Organic Eggs

Eggs are nature’s highest-quality protein. Each egg adds another 7 or 8 grams of protein. This is the healthiest way to include eggs in your diet, and you won’t even know they’re in there!

Green Superfood Powders

Algae-based foods such as chlorella or spirulina are the most nutrient-dense foods known. They’re often blended with dehydrated green vegetables and superfruit powders to improve the taste and give you a wider spectrum of phytonutrients! Just one tablespoon of these powders gives you as much nutritional value as 3 servings of spinach!

SuperFruit Juices

Antioxidant superfruits such as acai, goji, mangosteen and noni have far more nutritional content than any other fruit. They also have unique phytonutrients not found in conventional fruits, which may be responsible for the significant health benefits that some users experience from using these superfuit juices. Adding just one ounce of any of these boosts the antioxidant content of your smoothie as much as a whole cup of strawberries.

Healthy Fats

Coconut oil, flaxseed or hemp seed powders are all rich in healthy omega fats. Adding a little bit coconut oil to your healthy smoothie will give it a richer, creamier texture, too.

Spices

Spices are, by far, the richest source of antioxidants of any food, ounce-for-ounce. You can boost the antioxidant level of your healthy smoothie by a country mile by adding the right spices.

The best spices to use for both flavor and antioxidant benefits are cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Oregano, rosemary and thyme also have very high levels of antioxidants, but won’t do much for the taste of many smoothie recipes. Parsley is an easy option to use if you want to add just a little bit of green to your fruit smoothies.

Turmeric, or curcumin, is another spice that has amazing benefits. Start by adding just a quarter-teaspoon to your healthy smoothie; you probably won’t notice the flavor in most recipes. As always with curcumin, add just a pinch of black pepper to it; that increases the bioavailability of the curcumin by a factor of 1,000!