We Have a Better (and Nutritionist-Approved) Hailey Bieber-Style Smoothie Recipe
The Hailey Bieber smoothie is really having a moment in the world of wellness. The model and socialite is the epitome of the Los Angeles healthy and wealthy lifestyle of the city’s elite. Having launched her own skincare range Rhode Skin, she has now set her sights on nutrition for glowing skin with her Hailey Bieber smoothie collaboration.
When we are looking for tips on how to start eating healthy, we often turn to celebrities and influencers for inspiration. Let’s face it: They are walking advertisements of the so-called healthy lifestyles they advocate. However, it’s important to be aware of what makes up a healthy diet and take with a pinch of salt the multitude of wellness trends that we are bombarded with. Some are not as good for you as you might first think.
Here, we pick apart the Hailey Bieber smoothie recipe, ingredient by ingredient, and judge it for ourselves.
Jump to Section
- What Is the Hailey Bieber Smoothie?
- Every Ingredient in the Hailey Bieber Smoothie Broken Down by a Nutritionist
- The Verdict
- Our Real-Food, Science-Backed Version of the Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze Smoothie Recipe
What Is the Hailey Bieber Smoothie?
The dewey-skinned model and daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin has made a literal name for herself in the wellness arena with her self-titled Hailey Bieber smoothie. The socialite has teamed up with Erewhon Market, an American upper-tier organic supermarket chain based exclusively in LA.
Los Angeles is the go-to place for companies peddling in health and wellness products to set up shop. Wealthier, health-conscious Los Angelenos are always first in line for the newest wellness potions out there, especially when they are celebrity-endorsed. The Hailey Bieber smoothie is not the first collaboration Erewhon has embarked upon. Previously the grocery chain teamed up with the likes of Bella Hadid and Kourtney Kardashian.
Endorsed by A-listers, you can expect that Erewhon’s smoothies are not so affordably priced. The Hailey Bieber smoothie will set you back $18 a cup, which works out at $126 a week if you make a daily habit out of it. Erewhon can charge such prices in store as they have a customer base willing to pay anything for their macrobiotic, organic and gluten-free products. Indeed, the chain has become a top celebrity hang-out and the only place to shop.
For smoothie lovers, skincare enthusiasts and trend watchers, the Hailey Bieber smoothie is definitely one of Erewhon’s most intriguing products to sample. As we mentioned in our piece on what's worth it at Erewhon and what's not, if your budget can stretch to splurging on this smoothie, then why not have a taste? However, for everyone else, are we really missing out on the skin-boosting health effects of this drink if we don't have the funds to justify nearly $20 a drink?
Every Ingredient in the Hailey Bieber Smoothie Broken Down by a Nutritionist
It’s clear that the Hailey Bieber smoothie is quite the financial investment, but is it worth it? Guided by a nutritionist, we analyze the Hailey Bieber smoothie ingredients list and see if it holds up to the health claims.
Almond Milk
One of the most popular plant-based milk alternatives out there, almond milk is made from ground almonds blended with water. Almond milk is a low-calorie alternative to cow’s milk, coming in at 39 calories per 240 ml. It also provides nutrients such as the antioxidant vitamin E, which is beneficial for skin health. In addition, store-bought almond milks are often fortified with bone-strengthening calcium and vitamin D.
Bananas
One of the most nutrient-packed fruits you can grab on the go, bananas are great for an afternoon energy boost, offering 112 calories per fruit. Bananas are a rich source of potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Furthermore, each banana can provide you with 3 grams of fiber to keep your gut healthy and working just the way it should. One of the key ingredients in the Hailey Bieber smoothie, bananas give that smooth, velvety texture to blended drinks and fruity desserts.
Strawberries
Like many berry varieties, strawberries are full of antioxidants, which help prevent cell damage that causes the onset of disease and aging. Not only this, but these little red flavor bombs are a good source of vitamin C, which stimulates collagen production. Strawberries are a low-calorie food, offering up only 23 calories per 100 grams of fruit. It’s no surprise that they are the star of the show and the primary flavor of the Hailey Bieber smoothie.
Avocado
Although these fruits are calorie dense at 322 calories per avocado, they are jam-packed with nutrients. With each avocado you can top up your levels of vitamins C, E, K, B6, B2, B3, B9, B5 as well as the minerals magnesium and potassium. These fruits are also rich in healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats, which are beneficial for cell production and maintenance. By adding avocado to the mix, this ensures that the Hailey Bieber smoothie nutrition content covers all the bases.
Dates
With their sugary caramel flavor, dates can add more than a hint of sweetness to a smoothie. Dates also offer 7 grams of fiber per 100-gram serving and 5% of your recommended daily allowance of iron. They are an excellent snack choice, providing a wealth of micronutrients along with an energy boost.
Maple Syrup
It's important to remember that maple syrup is still a free sugar, entering the body and having the same effects as all sugars do. The key is to consume in moderation to avoid spiking your blood sugar levels. We don’t exactly know how much maple syrup the Erewhon Hailey Bieber smoothie contains, but we are hoping they’ve exercised restraint.
There are a few additional perks to a little drizzle of maple syrup as it does provide a number of essential vitamins and minerals. For one, 80 ml of maple syrup contains 28% of your recommended intake of zinc per day.
Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen
Adding collagen to your diet may help to keep skin healthy and retain its elasticity as well as supporting strong and flexible hair, nails, bones and joints. Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen contains small pieces of collagen known as collagen peptides, which when ingested help to replace lost collagen as we age. Whilst there have been studies carried out to test this theory, the effectiveness of collagen on skin health and appearance when consumed this way is debatable.
Vanilla Stevia
The Hailey Bieber smoothie gets a double hit of both vanilla flavor and stevia. Not only does the Hailey Bieber smoothie recipe call for collagen powder with stevia and natural vanilla flavorings, vanilla stevia is also added into the mix. Stevia is a natural sweetener that is famously almost calorie-free and can help with blood sugar control and weight loss. However, there have been insufficient studies on the impact of stevia and long-term health.
Sea Moss Gel
Also known as Irish moss, sea moss is a type of algae associated with a variety of health claims. Sea moss gel has been linked to improving heart health, lowering cholesterol and aiding weight loss. Like seaweed, it is a rich source of iodine, which is beneficial for maintaining healthy thyroid function.
The effects of sea moss on health have not been studied in depth, and overconsumption may pose certain risks. For example, there is an iodine sweet spot, and if too much is taken this can negatively impact thyroid function. Sea moss can also absorb heavy metals, which can prove toxic if consumed in large quantities. So, with this alone in mind, it might not be wise to indulge in the Hailey Bieber smoothie on a daily basis.
Coconut Cream
Coconut cream is often touted as a low-carbohydrate and dairy-free alternative to conventional cow’s milk cream. However, coconut cream is also high in fat, and it is still under debate whether the type of fats present in coconuts can impact cholesterol. Considering this and the fact that a half cup of coconut cream equates to 200 calories and 20 grams of fat, this ingredient should be used in moderation. With this ingredient present in the recipe, the Hailey Bieber smoothie calorie content could provide a hefty chunk of the recommended calorie intake for an adult.
House-Made Strawberry Sauce
The Hailey Bieber smoothie recipe includes Erewhon’s house-made strawberry sauce, which is the strawberry glaze element of this celebrity collab smoothie. With no exact details on how the strawberry sauce is made, this is a bit like a secret recipe. We can only assume that it is a concentrated reduction of strawberries. Similar sauces still retain the nutrients from the fruit depending on whether the sauce consists of blitzed raw berries or they have been exposed to heat and cooked down.
Hyaluronic Acid
An unusual ingredient, you are probably more comfortable seeing the ingredient hyaluronic acid on the back of a skincare product than in a smoothie. However, similar ingredients have found their way into our foods and supplements such as collagen and vitamin C. Still, the word acid might be a bit off-putting.
Hyaluronic acid can be beneficial both if ingested or applied topically. However, there is doubt over whether oral supplementation of hyaluronic acid is the most effective way to experience positive skin-plumping effects, as the molecules have to be broken down, digested and absorbed.
The Verdict
On the whole, some of the the ingredients in the Erewhon Hailey Bieber smoothie are rich sources of a wide variety of micro and macronutrients. Others have some nutritional benefits but should be used carefully. Then there are the ingredients whose skin-boosting claims just aren't backed by science — but which can come with a high price tag.
Great To Enjoy Daily (If No Allergies)
- almond milk
- strawberries
- avocados
- bananas
- dates
Good To Eat Occasionally, But Be Mindful
- coconut cream
- maple syrup
- sea moss gel
- stevia
Could Be Good, Or Could Be a Waste of Money
- collagen powder
- hyaluronic acid
Our Real-Food, Science-Backed Version of the Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze Smoothie
We can’t pull apart the Hailey Bieber smoothie without offering you an alternative. Backed by hard science, the Better-Than-The-Bieber's Smoothie Recipe omits some of the ingredients included in Erewhon original but leaves all the deliciousness.
Our version is centered around real-food, extracting goodness from unprocessed ingredients wherever possible. By leaving out sea moss gel, collagen powder and hyaluronic acid, we have also considerably cut the cost of our strawberry glaze smoothie while retaining the benefits.
Real-Food Swaps for Alleged Skin-Boosting Ingredients
There is limited research into the effectiveness of ingesting hyaluronic acid and collagen powders for improved skin health and elasticity. Instead of these two higher-priced ingredients, we have chosen to include protein-rich cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, which provide the body with essential amino acids. Amino acids play an important role in forming structural proteins, which help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of skin aging. Good for the wallet and the skin? We can't resist!
No Sea Moss
There are also no clinical trials supporting sea moss gel's effect on improved skin health and appearance. The primary perk of sea moss gel is its high fiber content, which means it could easily be replaced by any other fibrous vegetable and whizzed up in a smoothie, though we opted not to use vegetables in our recipe for this sweet, pink drink.
No Vanilla Stevia
In keeping with the real-food theme of our smoothie, we omitted the vanilla stevia. To make up for the lost vanilla flavor you'd get from the stevia (and the vanilla in the protein powder), we added vanilla extract.
As Sweet as You Want To Make It
The Better-Than-The-Bieber's Smoothie Recipe is meant to be a delicious, occasional treat, after all, so you won't find a low sugar content. But the beauty of making your own smoothie is that you can control the sweetness by swapping out regular almond milk for unsweetened or by reducing the amount of added free sugars by moderating how much maple syrup you use.
The result? A sweet, fruity, creamy smoothie that tastes incredible, is gorgeous to look at and contains real, skin-boosting ingredients back by science!
Join 200,000+ Culinary Enthusiasts
It is perfectly okay to enjoy the Hailey Bieber smoothie from Erewhon every now and then if you're in the mood for a luxurious treat that looks great on Instagram (and if it fits your budget). However, if you're really looking for a sweet smoothie that also has science-backed, skin-boosting ingredients, making your own strawberry glaze smoothie using a real-food based recipe such as our version is a great alternative. Bonus: It comes with a much smaller price tag than the Erewhon version!
For even more ways to explore your favorite foods, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.
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