I am a smoothie fan, always have been! And not the sugar-filled, fake type of smoothie. I mean the real thing: fresh sliced fruit, milk, yogurt, natural flavors. Yum. My mouth starts watering just thinking about it!
Smoothies are a great way to add fruits (and veggies too!) into your everyday diet. A glass can be great to accompany a small meal, or can even be a meal or snack substitute. Plus, smoothies are fairly easy to make and leftovers can be frozen into popsicles or saved for another day. Yay!
I have a few smoothie tricks I thought I’d share with you:
- Some staple ingredients you need for a great smoothie: fruit of your choice, milk (I use skim so it adds a liquid, less thick/creamy base), vanilla yogurt, juice of your choice, ice (unless you’re using frozen fruit), honey/peanut butter, and veggies!
- You can easily sneak veggies into your smoothie by adding a handful for every 2 cups of fruit. That way the fruit masks the taste but you are still getting nutrients! Best veggies to add (in my opinion) are spinach, kale, or broccoli.
- Use a juice that goes with your desired taste. If you’re adding pineapple, mangos, and other tropical fruit, you could benefit with a tropical juice or an orange juice. For a banana or more subdued flavor, apple juice could perhaps be better.
- Honey and peanut butter help to add a sweet, natural flavor to your smoothie. The peanut butter helps to thicken and add protein, but be careful! A little goes a long way!
- Frozen fruit > ice. That’s my personal opinion. I think that ice can make a smoothie watery, but fruit, once blended, will taste just like ice and keep all the original flavors intact.
- Remember that acidic fruits will overpower other fruits. So, for example, if you want a plain banana smoothie, use less orange juice (more apple juice) and plenty of bananas, yogurt, and milk. The orange juice will add a zesty flavor, but if you limit it, the banana taste will be prominent.
A sample smoothie of mine:
– 4 frozen bananas, peeled
– 2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
– ¾ cup orange juice
– 2 ½ cups vanilla yogurt
– 1 cup spinach
– ½ cup skim milk
– 2 tbsp honey
– ½ cup apple juice
This blended is usually pretty awesome (and banana-y, if you like that flavor!) Tastes natural, fresh, and great. Love taking this to go in a cup for school or work and if I have a lot of leftovers, I’ll make banana popsicles! (See A Sweet Summer Treat!).
Questions, comments or suggestions about smoothie-making, or to share your favorite recipes, comment below!