Beet Berry Smoothie – A Sports Dietitian’s Pre-Workout Performance Boost
Hey athletes — looking for a tasty, nutritious way to boost your performance without the pre-workout supplement jitters? This Beet Berry Smoothie is it. Made with real, whole ingredients you can blend at home in minutes, it’s hands-down one of the most performance-packed smoothies I recommend to my athlete clients, looking for that competitive edge, as a Sports Dietitian. Here’s why:
Sports Dietitian Take: Why Beets Belong in Every Athlete’s Kitchen
Beets are naturally loaded with dietary nitrates — and nitrates are where the real performance magic happens.
When you eat beets, your body converts those nitrates into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, meaning it relaxes and widens your blood vessels — which means more oxygen and more nutrients get delivered to your working muscles faster.
The result? Improved endurance, strength, delay fatigue and overall performance – all from a beet!
Beet juice has been one of the most well-studied natural performance enhancers in sports nutrition research. It’s become a go-to pre-race ritual for all types of athletes who want a legal, performance edge. Pretty cool, right?
As a Board-Certified Sports Dietitian, I created the Beet Berry Smoothie so athletes could actually enjoy and reap the benefits of consuming beets.
What Are the Performance Benefits of Each Ingredient?
Every ingredient in this smoothie earns its place. Here’s the breakdown:
- 🟣 Beets: Rich in dietary nitrates that convert to nitric oxide, beets support increased blood flow and improved oxygen delivery to your muscles. They’re also a great source of folate, potassium, vitamin C, and iron.
- 🍌 Banana: Provides quick, easy-to-digest carbs to top off your energy tank. Plus, bananas contain a major electrolyte — potassium — which may help prevent muscle cramps.
- 🫐 Açaí: Packed with antioxidants — açaí can help protect against cell damage caused by exercise.
- 💙 Blueberries: High in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, helping to reduce inflammation and support overall health.
- 🥥 Coconut water: Naturally contains electrolytes like potassium and magnesium — nature’s sports drink! Ps. Coconut water doesn’t contain sodium – so if you like drinking it around your workout time add a pinch of salt to it or enjoy with a salty food.
Grocery List: List of Ingredients to Make the Beet Berry Smoothie
- Bananas
- Beets (pre-cooked is easy or roast your own, see below for how to roast beets)
- Pure, unsweetened frozen acai packet
- Coconut water
- Blueberries
⏰ When Should You Drink This Smoothie?
Drink this beet berry smoothie 2–3 hours before your workout or competition.
Here’s why timing matters: nitric oxide levels in the blood peak roughly 2–3 hours after you consume dietary nitrates. So if you blend this up and drink it right before you walk out the door to train, you’re not getting the full benefit. Give your body time to convert those beet nitrates — then go crush your workout.
You can also enjoy it post-workout for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory recovery benefits — but for that performance-boosting nitric oxide effect, 2–3 hours pre-training is the sweet spot.
How to Roast Beets
If you can’t find pre-cooked beets in the grocery store, you can easily roast them at home. Here’s how:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Slice the base of each beet and cut into halves or quarters (peeling is unnecessary before roasting—the skin helps retain juice and flavor).
- Place beets on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat evenly.
- Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Allow to cool, then peel using your fingers, a paring knife, or a vegetable peeler.
Tip: Store pre-cooked beets in your fridge or freezer and toss into smoothies when you need them.
How to Make the Beet Berry Smoothie (Step-by-Step)
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high for about 1-2 minutes until completely smooth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Drink it 2–3 hours before training or competition. That’s when nitric oxide levels peak in the bloodstream after consuming dietary nitrates — giving you the best performance benefit.
Absolutely! The antioxidants from blueberries and açaí help combat exercise-induced oxidative stress, and the potassium from coconut water and banana supports electrolyte replenishment post-sweat.
Possibly, yes! This is called beeturia and it’s completely harmless — your body is simply passing excess betalain pigments from the beets. Nothing to worry about!
Beet Berry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 large frozen banana
- 2 small beets, cooked
- 1 acai packet
- 1.5 cup coconut water
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
Equipment
- 1 high speed blender
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
