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:

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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!
5. 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.
6. 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!