Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie

Sip your way to healthier skin, hair and nails with our Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie.

Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie is high in fiber and contains the perfect balance of quality protein, carbs and healthy fats.

If you’re a smoothie lover like myself, you’re going to love the creaminess and tastiness of this smoothie plus the amazing nutritional benefits that comes with it that you’ll soon learn about in this post. I’ve been enjoying this creamy smoothie as a satisfying breakfast, pre-workout fuel or afternoon snack. It’s made with just a few ingredients and like any smoothie takes all of a few minutes to make. I’m all about fast and easy meals that taste good and are satisfying and this smoothie fits the bill on all accounts. In addition, smoothies are an easy way to get in whole bunch of nutrients all at once so if you need to up your intake of greens, feel free to add in a handful or two of spinach or kale. The greens won’t change the flavor all that much but they will change the color from pink to a grayish color.

Meet your NEW anti-aging best friend…Collagen Fuel!

If you’ve been following our blog or Instagram feed for some time now, you probably know that we like our collagen for many reasons, which I share below. So when we heard about Primal Kitchen Foods’ newest product, Collagen Fuel, we were super stoked to get our hands on it AND to be one of the first to review and share this anti-aging goodness.

Collagen Fuel is one of the key ingredients in this Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie. It’s a squeaky clean, high quality protein supplement that’s dairy-free, whey-free, gluten-free, soy-free and contains 0 grams of sugar. Two scoops provides an astounding 19,200 mg of collagen which is 3x the amount that’s in one cup of bone broth! In addition, it contains healthy fats from coconut milk that will help keep you full for hours. Collagen Fuel is available in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla, and makes a great addition to smoothies.

Quality Ingredients in Vanilla Collagen Fuel: Grass-Fed Hydrolyzed Collagen, Coconut Milk Powder, Natural Flavors, Inulin, Konjac (fermentable fiber), Monk Fruit Extract, Sea Salt, Vanilla Bean Powder.

Get 10% off your Primal Kitchen Foods order by using coupon code: realfoodrds

You may be wondering what all this hype is about collagen or what it even is.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is a crucial component of our connective tissues, cartilage, bone, skin and hair. Collagen is essentially the glue that holds us together. Likewise, in animals, collagen comes from the tougher ‘parts’ which is what we often throw out or cut off such as the gristle, ends of bones, tendons and skin. The parts that could be an abundant source of collagen in our diets if only we ate them on the regular.

Our ancestors actually did consume these tougher parts of the animal as part of their traditional diets. They made use of the entire animal, not just the choice cuts of beef or boneless, skinless chicken breasts like we often do today. But don’t worry, you don’t have to eat these tough parts of meat to get your daily dose of collagen. That’s where Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel comes into play. It’s an easy and delicious way to get more collagen into your diet.

Food first, supplements second.

As we age, our body’s production of collagen slows down which makes it even more important to get enough from our diet to help combat the signs of aging like osteoporosis, digestive troubles, arthritis, thinning skin and even wrinkles! This is why we recommend a high quality collagen supplement because let’s be real, most of us aren’t sipping on bone broth all day or eating the gristle from our meat. Our philosophy will always be food first, supplements second. In fact, we only have a handful of supplements that we feel everyone can benefit from and collagen is most definitely one of them.

Why Primal Kitchen Foods Collagen Fuel was born!

Earlier this month at Expo West, we had the opportunity to learn the nitty gritty about Collagen Fuel from the creator himself, Mark Sisson (the co-founder of one of our favorite product companies, Primal Kitchen Foods). During our conversation with Mark, he shared with us what inspired him to add Collagen Fuel to his line of already awesome products. In short, Mark had suffered an achilles injury and according to an orthopedic surgeon the only option to heal this injury was through surgery and up to 12 months of rest and recovery. Mark wasn’t having that, so he opted out of surgery and instead went with an alternative option of consuming an adequate source of collagen peptides as an agent of tissue repair. By increasing his intake of collagen along with his already healthy anti-inflammatory diet, he was able to repair and heal his achilles and return to his regular active lifestyle feeling better than ever. No surgery needed. Through all of this, Collagen Fuel was born as Mark wanted to create a product that was palatable and convenient for all to enjoy.  Now we can reap the benefits too!

Get 10% off your Primal Kitchen Foods order by using coupon code: realfoodrds

Health benefits of collagen.

Before we get to the delicious Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie recipe, we first want to highlight the benefits of collagen.

The short chain amino acids found in collagen peptides are easy to digest, highly-bioavailable (meaning your body can make full use of them) and they’re also a rich source of important amino acids such as glycine, proline, and glutamine which are necessary for detoxification, immune function, healthy digestion, bone health, skin health as well as growth and repair of tissue, tendons, joints and muscles.

• Promotes healthy skin, hair and nails. Collagen is a building block for the largest organ of the body, your skin. As stated above, as we age collagen production naturally decreases causing wrinkles and thinning skin. Supplementing with collagen daily can improve skin hydration, fine lines and overall appearance of skin. It also supports the growth of hair and nails.
• Maintains a healthy gut barrier and supports good digestion. Glutamine and glycine, two amino acids abundant in collagen are essential for healthy digestion. Glutamine is the preferred fuel for cellular reproduction in the gut and supports the healing and growth of new cells and tissue that makes up the intestinal tract. Glycine contributes to the production of bile salts which helps to digest fat and promotes adequate gastric secretion in the stomach needed for the breakdown of food.
• Enhances immune system. Glutamine, found in collagen, is a key amino acid for a healthy and strong immune system due to its involvement in several immune functions. Glutamine also speeds healing following an injury, stress, surgery and most major illnesses thanks to its involvement in both cellular turnover and repair and stimulation of immune cells.
• Improves joint and bone health. Collagen is essential for maintaining and building cartilage. Your body can produce its own collagen with proper hydration and nutrition, however, as you age your ability to produce the collagen essential for supple cartilage decreases and thus increases the likelihood of developing osteoarthritis or pain caused by bone rubbing on bone. Supplementing with collagen is an easy way to support joint health by providing the body with the collagen it needs to build and maintain cartilage in your joints. Collagen also contributes to bone health by supporting healthy bone and mineral density.
• Detoxification. Glutamine and glycine are important for liver health and supporting your body’s natural detoxification pathways. Both of these amino acids are necessary for the production of glutathione which is the antioxidant that’s required by the liver to properly do its job.

So as you can see, there are several very important benefits of collagen that support anti-aging and an active lifestyle. In addition, we know that you’ll love the flavor of this collagen, especially when blended into your favorite smoothie.

Reap the benefits of Collage Fuel with our Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie.  A smoothie that will support a healthy and active lifestyle and will keep you feeling and looking young.

To learn more about Primal Kitchen Foods Collagen Fuel click here.

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Let's Get Cookin'

Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie

Sip your way to healthier joints, skin, hair and nails with this Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie. Made with Primal Kitchen’s Collagen Fuel.

• Author: The Real Food Dietitians
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 5 mins
• Yield: 1-2 servings

Print Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Ingredients

• 1/2 small banana, frozen
• 3/4 cup mixed berries, frozen
• 1 handful of spinach (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter
• 1/4 avocado (optional)
• 2 scoops Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup ice

Instructions

1. Place ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe
• Calories: 185
• Sugar: 9 g
• Sodium: 120 mg
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbohydrates: 17 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 13 g

Let us know if you give this Anti-Aging Banana Berry Smoothie a try!

This post was made possible by our friends at Primal Kitchen Foods. Though we received compensation for this post, the opinions expressed here are  – as always -100% our own. Thank you for supporting the great companies we work with thereby allowing us to continue creating great recipes and content for you.

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she and her husband reside on 5 acres with their two pups, Walter & Lucy. She’s a creator of simple and wholesome recipes, a lover of nature, a crossfitter, a seasonal runner, and she’s on a mission to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life from the inside out.