Craving a simple, quick yet hydrating smoothie that won't suck up your morning? Try making this nutritious 5-minute watermelon, berry, basil and chia smoothie.

Smoothies Can Be A Hassle

I love making smoothies in the morning for breakfast. But they can become technical and time-consuming when I get too creative. For instance, I like to experiment with flavors, textures and consistency.

I also like smoothies that will hold me until lunchtime, so I often use cashews, avocado, banana or oats to provide fat or fiber, on top of a nut milk base.

However, sometimes I just want a quick burst of energy without all the fuss.

A Fast and Nutritious Smoothie

So today it was back to basics.

This smoothie is a super-simple sipper. It is bursting with antioxidants, including lycopene, and takes less than 5 minutes to prepare (really, truly 5 minutes, not 5 minutes in a perfect food blogger scenario).

An Abundant Source of Antioxidants

The pomegranate arils (what most people call the “seeds”) contain plenty of polyphenols, such as tannins, flavonoids and anthocyanin. The blueberries are also high in anthocyanins, as is the purple basil. The benefit of these antioxidants is that they help protect the body against inflammation and free radical damage.

A Major Source of Lycopene

You might know lycopene from tomatoes. It is the phytochemical antioxidant that bestows tomatoes with their red pigment. And it’s also present in red watermelon! Several early lycopene studies suggest that the lycopene from watermelon is as bioavailable as that from tomatoes. The watermelon in this smoothie contains around 15-21mg of lycopene – 40% more than what’s in a comparable amount of tomatoes.

In addition to its lycopene content, watermelon also contains copious amounts of vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B6 and C.

An Abundant Source of Fiber

Chia seeds are truly a superfood. Among their many nutritional powerhouse attributes, rhey are 40% fiber by weight! Just a single tablespoon, which is what’s in this smoothie, contains 5.5g of soluble fiber, 3.5g of unsaturated fat and 9% of the RDA for calcium. They’re also the world’s richest plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water

• 2 1/2 cups red watermelon (you can also use yellow)

• 2 cups frozen fruit (1 pack of Rushmore organic antioxidant blend from Costco)

• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (we used purple; you can use any variety)

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Instructions

Here's how to make this smoothie:

• Chop the watermelon into bite-sized cubes so they fit in the measuring cup. They will also blend better.

• Toss everything into a blender and blast away for 1 minute. A high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec will perform the best.

Notes

1. The water is included so the blender does not get stuck on the other ingredients. You might still have to use your blender's tamper to get the rest of the fruits to blend.

2. Watermelons are abundant this time of the year, basil is easy to find and your local Costco probably carries the frozen fruit mix (the brand I use is Rushmore). Each packet contains 2 cups of raspberries, cherries, strawberries, blueberries and pomegranate arils. If you can't find it, you can use any frozen berry mix. The key is convenience and speed combined with nutrient density.

3. There are, deliberately, no other sweeteners added (not even dates or maple syrup). Your smoothie will only be as sweet as your watermelon is ripe.

Try out this smoothie. Let us know what you think!