Cauliflower isn’t just delish in pizza crust, it’s a smoothie superstar, too

At The Assemblage in New York City at a recent Well+Good TALKS panel, the crowded room was buzzing with one topic in mind: inner beauty. Well+Good co-founder Melisse Gelula held a conversation with beauty mastermind and wellness pro Bobbi Brown and Well+Good Council member and fellow wellness expert Lily Kunin on the topic, and, while everything from beauty supplements to skin care were discussed, the top smoothie add-ins were hotly debated.

Lucky for us, Kunin dropped some pretty game-changing knowledge that will totally alter what we put in our blenders. Cauliflower (yes the same stuff that upped the game for pizza crusts and oatmeal) is a smoothie superstar, as well. “It tastes delicious and makes your smoothie creamy,” she says. And what’s more, if you’re looking for a way to rotate out your banana base, this is a pretty good stand-in. “I’ll do a smoothie and sub cauliflower for bananas,” she says for those seeking a low-sugar alternative.

Though you won’t taste the cauli, it’s possible you might get a whiff of the pungent veggie as you go to take a sip. So to mask the aroma (which isn’t exactly appetizing, TBH), Ella Woodward—vegan recipe creative behind the food blog Deliciously Ella—recommends adding a certain fall-apropos spice to your recipe. “I didn’t add the cinnamon at first but that really really helped,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post after experimenting with blending the versatile ingredient into her smoothie recipe. She also notes that adding a date to the mix would probably help, too.

Apart from adding A+ texture to your smoothie, the ingredient could also be a potent way to deal with not-so-happy skin. Brown and Kunin agree that cruciferous vegetables also double as a beauty food. ‘They’ve been really important for me personally,” says Kunin. “Cruciferous vegetables kind of help sweep excess estrogen out of your system. And excess estrogen can cause hormonal acne.”

Move over, bananas.

Originally posted on August 23, 2018; updated on October 29, 2018 with additional reporting by Kells McPhillips.

To keep glowy skin from the inside-out, here are complexion-boosting recipes. And these are the best supplements for clear, glowy skin.