Whole Foods Shared A Smoothie Recipe With A Unique 'Secret' Ingredient

Smoothies are delicious and, when the right ingredients are used, nutritious. According to NutritionFacts.org, when fruits and vegetables are blended, the nutrients are better absorbed by your body. They can be a quick healthy snack or breakfast when you're short on time, they fill you up and are a great way to stay hydrated.

Most smoothie recipes are pretty simple and include milk (or a milk alternative), fruit, maybe some protein powder, and, of course, a frozen banana or two. Frozen bananas are a very popular ingredient in smoothies because they serve three purposes: Bananas sweeten, chill, and thicken the drink. What's a smoothie without bananas?

Whole Foods answered that question when they shared a different kind of smoothie on Instagram. Their smoothie uses a unique ingredient that thickens and chills the beverage the same way as frozen bananas but with more fiber and nutrition. It's an ingredient that may surprise you.

In a short reel posted on Whole Foods' Instagram page, a smoothie is shown being made with fruit, milk, chocolate powder, and one unique ingredient — frozen cauliflower rice.

This may sound strange at first, but it does make sense. Frozen cauliflower rice adds texture without an overwhelming flavor, chills the drink, and packs a nutritional punch without the calories and carbs.

Cauliflower is a notoriously good substitute for high-carb foods, yes we're looking at you pizza crusts, making it a favorite vegetable of anyone following a diet that restricts the type and amount of carbs and fruit you can eat, like the bananas usually used in smoothies, for instance.

To sweeten the deal, the nutritional superiority of cauliflower over bananas is undeniable. Cauliflower provides vitamins C and K in copious amounts, far more than bananas do (per Healthline), and one banana has almost 23 grams of carbohydrates, whereas cauliflower's carb count is negligible. And cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable, like its cousin broccoli, which means it's been shown to protect against cancer (per National Cancer Institute).

You don't need to buy frozen cauliflower rice at Whole Foods or anywhere else if you don't want to. It's not hard to make your own. Remove the core from a washed, uncooked head of cauliflower and cut it into pieces. Next, take it for a quick spin in the food processor until it resembles rice.

No food processor? No problem. A box grater or even chopping the cauliflower with a knife will do the job just as well. Bonus: BBC goodfood says homemade uncooked cauliflower rice can be stored in the freezer in freezer bags for up to two months. It's a good idea to always keep a few bags of cauliflower rice in the freezer. Not only will it be ready to use in a smoothie, but lots of delicious recipes use the rice alternative as an ingredient.

So, move over bananas. There's a new, more nutritious ingredient to chill and thicken up a smoothie.