Frozen Carrots Are The Best Kept Secret To Sweeter Smoothies

If you said bananas are the best kept secret to sweeter smoothies, you would be partially correct. It's true that the fruits add sweetness and creaminess, and can often mask the taste of leafy greens like spinach and kale. However, if you've been relying solely on bananas for a delicious and nutritious smoothie, you're missing out.

At first glance, adding carrots to your frozen drinks may sound a little gross (not to mention frozen carrots), but hear us out. Carrots have a firm foothold in the dessert world, as anyone who enjoys carrot cake cupcakes, zucchini carrot bread, and carrot souffle can tell you (don't knock it 'till you try it). And we know that fruit goes well with carrots, as pineapple, raisins, and applesauce can be delicious additions to carrot cake recipes.

We also know that carrots are highly nutritious, and are a good source of antioxidants, vitamin A, beta-carotene, and potassium – so if you're going for a healthy smoothie, these orange veggies are a no-brainer. But they can also make for such a delicious drink that you'll forget you're consuming veggies — and here's why.

It may be odd to think of vegetables as being sweet, but carrots do have some sugar, which makes them a great starring ingredient in carrot cake. They don't have a ton – only about 3 grams per carrot — but a bit more than other veggies. A cup of cooked carrots has about 5 grams of sugar, while the same amount of broccoli has 2. This makes the orange veggies an ideal companion to fruity ingredients in smoothies, but they're also low on the glycemic index scale and won't spike your blood sugar, according to Everyday Health.

When it comes to smoothie-making, you'll want to use frozen carrots to keep the drink cold and creamy. You could make a thick carrot cake-inspired beverage with Greek yogurt, oats, nuts, nut butter, and cinnamon, or just throw a handful of the frozen veggies in a fruit-based smoothie. Carrots pair well with bananas, mangos, oranges, pineapple, apples, and strawberries, so feel free to let your imagination run wild and come up with your own creative concoction. You'll find that the carrot and fruit combination is so sweet, you may not need to add any honey or maple syrup, which makes for a lower-sugar smoothie overall. And for some extra health benefits, throw in a pinch of turmeric powder, hemp seeds, or ginger.