Healthy Recipes Healthy Lifestyle Diets Gut Healthy 16 Tasty Drinks for Better Gut Health By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 13, 2024 Close Photo: Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman Sip your way to better gut health with these delicious drinks, from frosty smoothies to fizzy mocktails and wellness shots! These beverages meet our parameters for gut health since they contain probiotic and/or prebiotic-rich ingredients and are free of added sugars and alcohol. Try options like our Watermelon-Lime Mocktail or our Pineapple Green Smoothie for a tasty drink that will help you feel your best, inside and out! 01 of 16 Green Wellness Shot Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This wellness shot recipe for the gut sets the stage for a healthy microbiome with plenty of prebiotic foods like kiwis, apples and spinach. This naturally sweet and well-balanced shot can keep in the fridge for up to one week to reinvigorate your gut anytime you need it. View Recipe 02 of 16 Watermelon-Lime Mocktail Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This gut-healthy mocktail is the perfect sipper, featuring refreshing watermelon and probiotic kombucha to support healthy digestion. It has a subtle kick of spice thanks to the jalapeño but if you want to tame the heat, you can leave it out. View Recipe 03 of 16 Pineapple Green Smoothie Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Use ripe bananas for this creamy Greek yogurt, spinach and pineapple smoothie. Chia seeds add healthy omega-3 fats, fiber and a little protein for an extra nutritional boost. View Recipe 04 of 16 Homemade Kombucha Making kombucha at home is quite simple: Make sweetened tea, add it to a jar with a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and let it ferment for about a week. View Recipe 05 of 16 Berry-Kefir Smoothie Ana Cadena Get a probiotic boost at breakfast when you add kefir to your smoothie. Feel free to use any berries and nut butter you have on hand in this healthy smoothie recipe. View Recipe 06 of 16 Carrot-Apple Smoothie Fred Hardy This carrot and apple smoothie is creamy and has a light tropical flavor thanks to coconut milk. It's naturally sweetened from the carrots and apple, and the combination of ginger and lemon juice adds just a bit of spice and helps balance the flavor. The turmeric, fresh or dried, gives the smoothie a vibrant bright orange color. View Recipe 07 of 16 Cherry-Berry Oatmeal Smoothies Add some oatmeal to give your fruity smoothie even more staying power—this quick breakfast will fuel your morning. View Recipe 08 of 16 Healthy Gut Tonic with Chia Photography / Jennifer Causey, Styling / Ruth Blackburn / Audrey Davis When you're feeling backed-up, this high-fiber chia concoction can help make your bathroom routine smoother. The chia seeds form a gel-like consistency to help move digestion along easily, and the kick of cayenne pepper acts as an intestinal stimulant. View Recipe 09 of 16 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Smoothie Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This mango green smoothie gets bright tart flavor from frozen passion fruit, and inflammation-fighting benefits from fresh kale. Dates add natural sweetness without added sugar. While cilantro may not be a typical smoothie ingredient, we love the herbal notes it adds to this smoothie. Feel free to leave it out if that's not your thing—it's just as delicious without. View Recipe 10 of 16 Cranberry-Apple Smoothie This riff on a classic fruit juice combines sweet apples with tart cranberries for a healthy, fiber-filled smoothie. View Recipe 11 of 16 Water Kefir Similar to milk kefir, water kefir is a probiotic drink made with fermented kefir grains, but it's entirely dairy-free. It's flavored with fruit and can even be carbonated (like kombucha) during a second fermentation. Be sure to use water kefir grains and not milk kefir grains. View Recipe 12 of 16 Mango-Turmeric Smoothie Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel Kick-start your mornings with this speedy smoothie packed with tropical fruit flavors. Its lively yellow hue is boosted by anti-inflammatory turmeric. Grate fresh turmeric with a microplane grater or use ground turmeric in its place. Ginger provides a zesty kick, but feel free to omit it for a milder flavor. View Recipe 13 of 16 Kale & Apple Smoothie Casey Barber Apple slices and nut butter are a favorite after-school snack, and they taste just as satisfying in this smoothie. Pick your favorite nut butter: cashew for a less-prominent nutty flavor, or almond or peanut butter for a stronger taste. View Recipe 14 of 16 Clean Breeze Smoothie This refreshing smoothie is made with cucumber and kiwi and gets a kick from ginger-flavored kombucha and fresh cilantro. View Recipe 15 of 16 Anti-Inflammatory Cherry-Spinach Smoothie This healthy smoothie is not only delicious—it also boosts your daily dose of anti-inflammatory foods. It starts with a base of creamy gut-friendly kefir and includes cherries, which can lower the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. Heart-healthy fats in avocado, almond butter and chia seeds deliver additional anti-inflammatory compounds to the body, while spinach offers a mix of antioxidants that sweep up harmful free radicals. Fresh ginger adds zing, plus a compound called gingerol, which preliminary studies suggest may improve inflammatory markers of heart disease if consumed daily. View Recipe 16 of 16 Fruit & Yogurt Smoothie Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This easy fruit smoothie recipe calls for just three ingredients: yogurt, fruit juice and frozen fruit. Mix up your fruit combinations from day to day for a healthy breakfast or snack that never gets boring. View Recipe Medically reviewed by Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit