How to Judge a Winning Wild Blueberry Smoothie

It’s here! The official voting period for the Wild Your Smoothie Recipe Contest! For the past month, registered dietitian nutritionists and food bloggers got wild and whipped up their best smoothies using antioxidant-packed frozen Wild Blueberries in hopes of winning a chance to visit the Wild Blueberry Barrens in Bar Harbor, Maine and win a little spending money. Now, it’s up to YOU. You have the chance from now until Tuesday, March 6 to vote for your favorite smoothie recipe from our list of 10 finalists.

With flavorful Wild Blueberries as the shining star of the smoothie, it can be hard to choose a favorite, as they’re all so delicious. But don’t let that stop you from voting! I’ve got five tips to share with you today to help you judge a winning Wild Blueberry smoothie.

1. Get creative. Most people can whip up a smoothie with some frozen Wild Blueberries, banana and milk. But what people are really looking for are new ideas to shake up their smoothie routine and get them excited about breakfast or snack time. This is why creativity counts big time. When judging smoothies, give weight to those that use creative and surprising ingredients like jalapenos, green tea, lavender, kombucha or beets.
2. Appearance is everything. We eat with our eyes first. Our sight is the first sense we engage when sitting down to eat a meal and so our visual perception of food influences our overall judgment. If a smoothie is brown in color, we probably won’t be salivating at its sight as much as we would if the smoothie was a vibrant bright blue. To help narrow down your choices, notice the appearance of the smoothies. What catches your eye and draws you in?
3. Know your nutrition. Health is one of the most common reasons folks choose smoothies for a meal or snack. For that reason, let’s give bonus points to the smoothies that pack a powerful nutrient punch. What should you look for to gauge the nutrition of a smoothie? Sources of protein like yogurt, kefir, protein powder or tofu, sources of fiber like leafy greens, nuts or seeds, and health supporting boosters like turmeric, ginger or green tea. The more nourishing the smoothie, the better.
4. Make sure it’s satisfying. I use this guideline with my private practice clients a lot. So often my clients forget the importance of pleasure and satisfaction for health and wellness and happiness. They choose foods based on calories and health redeeming qualities and forget about the pleasure piece. We should choose foods that are satisfying to us; the more satisfied we are after a meal, the less likely we are to overeat later on. So when you’re choosing your winning smoothie, ask yourself would this be satisfying to me? Does it have enough sustenance to hold me over until my next meal or snack? And do I like the taste of it enough to find pleasure from it?
5. Taste rules. Taste is the #1 reason a person chooses one food (or one smoothie) over another. Taste trumps nutrition, cost, convenience, etc. and it should be no different with judging a smoothie contest. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices based on creativity, nutrition and appearance, try the final contenders out at home! Taste them to see which smoothie surprises and delights your taste buds the most. Taste will never steer you wrong.

While you’re judging these amazing Wild Blueberry smoothies, you’ll need some fuel to carry you through. Sip on this Wild Blueberry Rooiberry Tea Latte Smoothie and practice judging it – does it use creative ingredients? Is there visual appeal? Does it pack in nutrition? What does it taste like? And lastly, does it satisfy your hunger and your taste buds?

Don’t forget that the voting period runs from February 28 – March 6 so start judging and tasting today!