The Berne Podcast with Dr. Sam Berne
My Warm Smoothie Ritual: Tea, Cacao, Superfoods & the Art of Listening to Your Body
DISCLAIMER: This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Dr. Sam Berne is sharing personal practices and general information about foods, herbs, teas, and nutritional supplements. Individual needs and responses vary, and some ingredients may cause adverse reactions or interact with medications or medical conditions. Consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional regarding your individual circumstances before making significant dietary changes or using supplements. Do not delay or discontinue medical care based on information presented in this program. I get so many questions about my smoothies that I decided to devote an entire episode to them. My approach is a little different: no ice and no cold liquid. I use warm herbal or green tea as the base and build from there with fresh ingredients such as ginger, turmeric, berries, beets, cucumber, avocado, greens, cacao, almonds, and Brazil nuts. In this episode, I share some of my favorite combinations and explore why I use matcha, mullein, and oat-straw teas; the potential benefits of cacao; creatine for muscle performance and emerging research on brain health; collagen; and why beets are especially interesting for endurance athletes. But this isn’t about creating the world’s most complicated “superfood” smoothie. My rule is much simpler: it must taste good. We also explore the larger idea behind these smoothies—learning to pay attention to taste, temperature, texture, and the signals coming from your own body. Nutrition meets Perceptual Ecology. Taste the garden. Why do I make my smoothies with **warm tea instead of ice? In this episode, I’m taking you into my kitchen: matcha, mullein, oat straw, berries, ginger, turmeric, beets, cacao, almonds, Brazil nuts, creatine, and more. There isn’t one perfect smoothie. Experiment. Taste. Pay attention to your body. I get so many questions about my smoothies. What do you put in them? Why do you use tea? Why aren’t they cold? What about ginger? Turmeric? Beets? Cacao? Creatine? So I thought: why don’t I do a whole show about it? But before we get into the blender, I want to tell you a little story. There was once a traveler who came upon an old gardener tending an extraordinary garden. The traveler looked around and saw berries, herbs, vegetables, flowers, roots, and fruit growing everywhere. He asked the gardener, “What’s the secret? What should I eat?” The gardener smiled and said, “Taste the garden.” The traveler was confused. “No, I mean, which plant is the best one?” And the gardener said again, “Taste the garden.” So the traveler began picking things. Something was bitter. Something was sweet. Something made him feel energized. Something didn’t agree with him at all. Finally he returned to the gardener and said, “I think I understand. There isn’t one perfect plant.” The gardener smiled. “Now you’re learning how to eat.” I made that story up, but it captures something I’ve learned over many years of making smoothies. There isn’t one perfect smoothie. I don’t believe you need seventeen superfoods, six powders, and the latest miracle ingredient. I want fresh food. I want variety. I want ingredients that work together. And here’s the most important part: I want it to taste good. Because food isn’t just chemistry. It’s color. It’s aroma. It’s temperature. It’s texture. It’s pleasure. And it’s information entering the body through all our senses. That’s actually very close to what I mean when I talk about Perceptual Ecology. We’re constantly in relationship with our environment. And eating is one of the most intimate ways in which the environment becomes part of us. So today I’m going to take you into my kitchen. We’re going to talk about why I use warm tea instead of cold water or ice. We’ll get into matcha, mullein, and oat straw. We’ll talk about ginger, turmeric, berries, beets, greens, and avocado. I’ll give you some combinations that taste good. We’ll talk about creatine and collagen. And then we’re going to make one of my favorites—my warm cacao smoothie with cacao, almonds, Brazil nuts, and a few other possibilities. You don’t have to make smoothies exactly the way I do. In fact, I hope you don’t. Use my recipes as a starting point and then taste the garden. Let’s get started. Sam’s Warm Tea Smoothies The basic idea is simple: tea is the liquid base rather than water, juice, milk, or ice. I prefer the smoothie warm or comfortably hot—not cold—and I don’t use ice. I find that much easier and more pleasant on my digestion, particularly in cold weather. Start with about 8–12 oz of freshly brewed tea. Let very hot tea cool somewhat before blending, especially in a sealed Vitamix. For the tea base, rotate among matcha/green tea, which supplies polyphenols including catechins and some caffeine; mullein tea, traditionally used as a soothing respiratory herb; or oat-straw tea, traditionally used as a gentle nutritive/nervine herb. I think of mullein—supports the lungs—and oat straw—supports joints —primarily as traditional herbal choices rather than proven treatments for medical conditions. Then build the smoothie. You don’t need everything at once: • Fresh ginger: about ½–1 inch of root. Adds warmth and zing; ginger contains gingerols and has evidence for digestive/anti-nausea effects. • Fresh turmeric: about ½–1 inch. Provides curcuminoids and other phytochemicals; great with ginger, citrus, and berries. • Celery: 1 stalk. Light, mineral-rich, and doesn’t overwhelm the flavor. • Cucumber: ¼–½ cucumber. Hydrating and gives a very clean taste. • Lemon: ¼–½ lemon, peeled. Brightens greens and adds vitamin C. • Grapefruit: ¼–½ grapefruit, peeled. Tart and refreshing; be aware that grapefruit interacts with many medications. • Berries: ½–1 cup. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries provide fiber, vitamin C, and colorful polyphenols. • Watermelon: ½–1 cup when it’s in season. Hydrating, naturally sweet, and contains lycopene, particularly in red watermelon. • Avocado: ¼ avocado. Adds monounsaturated fat, fiber, and creaminess, and makes a smoothie much more satisfying. Human studies support the view that avocado is a nutrient-rich whole food, although specific health claims shouldn’t be exaggerated. • Kale or spinach: about ½–1 packed cup. Folate, carotenoids, vitamin K, and other micronutrients. • Beet: about ¼–½ small beet. Gives sweetness, color, and dietary nitrate—particularly interesting for an endurance athlete. • Cabbage: about ½ cup. Cruciferous vegetables provide fiber, vitamin C, and glucosinolates. • Cinnamon-balances blood sugar: ¼–½ teaspoon. Excellent with berries, dates, and oat-straw tea. • Date: 1 date if it needs sweetness. Especially useful after a hard workout or when the vegetables make the smoothie too earthy. Creatine monohydrate: Jason, this is one I’d seriously consider—3–5 g/day is a straightforward maintenance amount. It’s exceptionally well-studied in muscle performance and training, and there’s interesting emerging research on brain energetics and cognition. A 2024 meta-analysis found benefits for memory and some measures of attention/processing speed. However, other reviews find the cognitive evidence less convincing so I wouldn’t sell it as a guaranteed “brain booster.” Collagen powder: about 10–15 g is an easy addition if you want extra collagen peptides/protein. It works well in berry or citrus combinations without significantly changing the flavor. Combinations that taste good Berry-Ginger: 8–10 oz green tea + ¾ cup mixed berries + ½ inch ginger + ¼ avocado + squeeze of lemon + cinnamon. Beet-Berry Endurance: 8–12 oz green tea + ¼–½ small beet + ½–¾ cup berries + ½ inch ginger + ½ peeled lemon + optional date + 3–5 g creatine. —Love this one for you! Cucumber Green: 8–10 oz oat-straw tea + ¼–½ cucumber + 1 celery stalk + ½ cup spinach + ¼ avocado + lemon + small piece ginger. Watermelon-Ginger: 8 oz mullein or green tea + ¾ cup watermelon + ½ cup berries + ginger + squeeze of lemon. Keep this one simple—the watermelon provides enough sweetness. Creamy Berry: 8–10 oz oat-straw tea + 1 cup berries + ¼ avocado + cinnamon + optional date + collagen. Grapefruit Green: 8–10 oz green tea + ¼ grapefruit + cucumber + celery + small handful of spinach + ginger. Tart, bright, and very refreshing. Skip grapefruit if taking a medication that interacts with it. The key is not to turn the blender into a pharmacy. Pick perhaps 3–5 fresh ingredients that complement each other. Ginger + berries + lemon works. Beet + berries + ginger works. Cucumber + celery + lemon + avocado works. Taste it and adjust. More berry/date for sweetness, lemon/grapefruit for brightness, avocado for creaminess, ginger for heat. You’re getting a concentrated mixture of plant nutrients, polyphenols, and fiber. Blending also retains substantially more fiber than juicing. For timing, I like these before breakfast on an empty stomach, but that’s a preference rather than a requirement for nutrient absorption. I do mine 7 days a week, but there’s no reason you need to start there. Try 2–3 mornings a week, figure out which combinations your body and taste buds like, and build from there. The rule: it must taste good. All of mine do. If it doesn’t taste good, change the proportions. One heads-up about beets: don’t be surprised if your urine or stool looks pinkish or reddish afterward. Beet pigments can pass through the digestive tract and cause this harmless color change, sometimes called beeturia. Given the kind of mileage you run, Jason, that’s worth knowing so you don’t automatically assume the red color is blood. For the recipe itself, ¼–½ of a small beet is plenty to start. It pairs beautifully with berries, ginger, and lemon, and the dietary nitrate in beets is particularly relevant to endurance exercise. Sam’s Cacao Smoothie Now I want to give you another one of my favorites, and this goes in a completely different direction: my warm cacao smoothie. Again, I start with tea. I’m not putting ice or cold water into this. I use about 8–12 ounces of warm matcha green tea, mullein tea, or oat-straw tea as my liquid base. Then we get to cacao. Cacao You can use 1–2 tablespoons of unsweetened cacao powder. When you buy cacao powder, read the ingredient list. Ideally, I want to see one ingredient: cacao. I don’t need added sugar, artificial sweeteners, flavorings, or a long list of ingredients. Cacao naturally contains flavanols and other polyphenols, along with minerals such as magnesium. The flavanols are one reason cacao has generated so much interest in cardiovascular and vascular health. But remember cacao and a candy bar aren’t the same thing. Once you add lots of sugar and other ingredients, you’ve changed the food considerably. If I want actual dark chocolate instead of—or in addition to—cacao powder, I might use roughly one-third of a high-quality dark chocolate bar, around 70% cacao or higher. The higher cacao percentage generally means more cacao solids and usually less sugar, although you still need to read the label. I like a good-quality dark chocolate at that 70%-plus level. It gives the smoothie this wonderful richness and makes it feel almost decadent. And here’s something people sometimes misunderstand about cacao and blood sugar. Unsweetened cacao itself is quite low in sugar. The glycemic impact of a chocolate smoothie depends much more on what we add to it—sweetened chocolate, dates, fruit, and other carbohydrates—than on the cacao itself. So I don’t think of cacao as permission to pour sugar into the blender! Almonds I’ll add about 8–12 almonds, or roughly ½ ounce. I prefer raw or dry-roasted, unsalted almonds rather than nuts roasted in added oils or covered with salt and flavorings. Almonds give us monounsaturated fats, fiber, protein, vitamin E, and magnesium. They also give the smoothie body and creaminess. You don’t need very many. If you’re using a powerful blender like a Vitamix, those almonds disappear beautifully into the drink. Brazil Nuts Here’s another possibility, but this is one where more is not better. Add one Brazil nut. Brazil nuts are extraordinarily rich in selenium, an essential trace mineral involved in antioxidant systems, thyroid function, and DNA production. One Brazil nut can contain roughly 68–91 micrograms of selenium, so one is plenty. Don’t throw a handful into the smoothie every day. Too much selenium over time can become toxic. Sam’s Warm Cacao Smoothie Here’s one version: 8–10 oz warm oat-straw or mullein tea 1–2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder 8–12 raw or dry-roasted unsalted almonds 1 Brazil nut ¼ avocado ¼–½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ inch fresh ginger Optional: 1 date Optional: 3–5 grams creatine Optional: 10–15 grams collagen peptides And if you want it richer, add a modest amount—perhaps about one-third of a good 70%-plus dark chocolate bar. Blend it until it’s completely smooth. Now taste it. That’s important. Maybe it needs a little more cacao. Maybe half a date is enough. Maybe it needs more cinnamon. Maybe the ginger is too strong. Work with the proportions until it tastes good. You could also make a Cacao-Berry version: 8–10 oz warm tea + 1 tablespoon cacao + ½ cup blueberries or raspberries + 8 almonds + ¼ avocado + cinnamon. Cacao and berries are fantastic together. Or a Cacao-Ginger version: 8–10 oz warm oat-straw tea + cacao + almonds + avocado + fresh ginger + cinnamon + one date. That’s particularly nice on a cold morning. heavy training, you could make a Cacao Recovery Smoothie: 10–12 oz warm tea + cacao + ½ banana or one date + almonds + collagen + 3–5 grams creatine + cinnamon. Now we’re giving him carbohydrates along with some protein and fat, while the creatine complements his training. The bigger principle here is the same as with all my smoothies: Don’t throw twenty “healthy” ingredients into the blender just because you can. I’m thinking about taste, texture, and how the ingredients relate to one another. Cacao, almond, avocado and cinnamon belong together. Berries, cacao and cinnamon belong together. Ginger, cacao and a little date can be wonderful. You want nutrition, but you also want pleasure. Because my final rule hasn’t changed: The smoothie must taste good. All of mine do. And if yours doesn’t, don’t blame the smoothie—change the proportions! So that’s my smoothie philosophy. You probably noticed that I haven’t given you the Sam Berne smoothie. There isn’t one. Tomorrow morning I may want berries and ginger. Another morning it might be cucumber, celery, lemon and avocado. On a cold Santa Fe morning, give me that warm cacao smoothie. And some days I’ll open the refrigerator, look at what’s there, and make something I’ve never made before. That’s part of the fun. Start. If you’ve never done this, don’t suddenly decide you’re going to make one seven days a week. Try it two or three mornings. Start with your warm tea. Choose three or four ingredients that make sense together. Blend them. Then stop. Taste it. Your mouth is giving you information. Your nose is giving you information. Your digestive system will give you information. Your whole body is participating. And maybe that’s the bigger lesson here. We spend so much time asking: “What’s good for me?” Maybe another question is: “Can I become quiet enough to notice what actually nourishes me?” That’s Perceptual Ecology too. Paying attention to the relationship between ourselves and what we’re taking in. So experiment. Change the proportions. Use what’s in season. Let your smoothies change throughout the year. And remember my one non-negotiable rule: It must taste good. If your smoothie tastes terrible, don’t drink it just because somebody on the internet told you it’s healthy. Go back to the blender. Change something. And taste the garden. I’ll see you next time.
