How To Freeze Fresh Fruit For Smoothies
For the coldest, creamiest smoothie possible, use quality frozen fruit. Store-bought frozen fruit is a convenient option and is especially handy when berry season is long gone. Keep bags tightly closed and consistently frozen to avoid icy, dull-tasting fruit.
Its also easy to freeze fresh ripe fruit, and its a great option when strawberries are dirt cheap at the supermarket or you bought a few too many bananas.
To freeze strawberries: Give them a good wash, drain, and let them completely dry. Cap the berries and slice them in half, placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Theyll keep for two months.
To freeze bananas: Simply peel and slice into chunks. Stick the baking sheet full of fruit in the freezer for at least an hour, or until the fruit is frozen solid. Scoop into a zip-top freezer bag, squeeze out the air, and seal. Frozen bananas will keep for a month.
Frozen Fruit Smoothie With Yogurt
This smoothie with frozen mixed fruits tastes so delicious. The mixed frozen fruits and apple juice give it a nice sweet flavor. The yogurt gives it the nice creamy texture we all crave in smoothies. I love using Greek yogurt in my smoothies. Greek yogurt contains almost two times the protein of regular yogurt and less than half the amount of sodium. For more delicious smoothie ideas, check out these healthy Greek yogurt smoothie recipes.
What Youll Need:
- 1 cup mixed frozen fruits
- 1 cup mixed frozen berries
- ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
How to Prepare:
This frozen fruit smoothie recipe is super easy to make.
How To Prepare Fresh Fruit To Freeze For Your Smoothie
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How To Make An Easy and Healthy Frozen Smoothie
First, grab your blender and pour in about 2 cups of frozen fruit.
Next, add 1 cup of fruit juice or milk. You may need to gradually add more liquid if you prefer your smoothie to have a thinner consistency.
Optional Add your favorite protein powder or plant-based powder for added nutrients.
Place the lid on your blender and process the ingredients until smooth.
How To Make Your Smoothies Healthier
The benefit of making smoothies at home is that you have complete control over the ingredients. You can easily adjust the ingredients, which is helpful if you have specific dietary concerns.
Here are some simple and easy ways to add extra benefits to your smoothies:
Protein Powder *For a vegan option, use a dairy-free, plant-based protein powder. Many vegan protein powders are also gluten-free. Try Pea Protein Powder or Hemp Powder.
Plant-Based Fiber Powder or Organic Ground Flax Seed
Plant-Based Non-Dairy Milk Substitute Some options include Oatmilk, Almond Milk, Soy Milk or Coconut Milk
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Tips For The Best Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl
Dont add any sugar. You don not need to add any sugar to a full fruit smoothie. For sweetness, rely on whole fruit and sugar-free plant-based milk. And if you still need to sweeten your smoothie, choose maple syrup, agave syrup or fresh dates like Ive done for this recipe.
Froze your own fruit. Banana adds sweet, flavor and creaminess to your blend. So you cant go wrong with bananas in your smoothie base. And freezing them is just a matter of minutes. Peel them, cut in quarters and store in a sealed container in your freezer.
For other fruits you will have to core them or remove the pits, and chop them into small bite-sized pieces. Berries and other small fruits can be left whole.
Ice cubes. I do not tend to put ice in my smoothies unless its terribly hot and Im looking for a lighter and less creamy smoothie. Using a frozen banana in the recipe keeps the drink cold, but it doesnt water it down.
Liquid ingredients. Milk and yogurt are those I use the most. As you may have noticed, if you have spent some time in my blog, I love plant-based milks, specially oat, coconut and almond milk. Coconut and soya yogurt are great alternatives too. You can also use regular milk for a vegetarian option.
After Testing Many Variations Of This Recipe Heres What We Found:
- Yogurt rocks: We went back and forth about whether or not to use yogurt in this recipe and at the end of the day, a strawberry smoothie with yogurt is just better than one without! It adds a bit of a tang and extra protein.
- Orange juice is key: We also tested this recipe with different kinds of liquid such as almond milk, normal cows milk, and water and orange juice won over and over again.
Check it out!
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How To Make Fruit Smoothies With Frozen Fruit
You will not have to worry about the Dole frozen fruit smoothie nutrition because these fruits are premium-grade and are healthy. There are many more ways you can get creative with making smoothies.
The Dole brand has a variety of fruits you can choose from. You can check out alternate versions that have been included in this discussion and attempt each recipe as you wish.
This particular recipe contains pineapple juice, strawberries, and blueberries. Any recipe with berries turns out to be so delicious you would always want to have more.
So, here is the recipe that you can follow and make a really good smoothie using berries.
More Fruit Smoothie Recipes:
- Skinny Pina Colada Smoothie Under 100 calories for a creamy, rich & satisfying smoothie that tastes like the real deal!
- Blueberry Pie Smoothie A healthy, no-sugar-added smoothie that tastes like a blueberry pie! So good!
- Tropical Peach Pineapple Slushies No added sugar! Cool, refreshing and they go down so easily! Optionally add alcohol and makes a great party drink.
- Strawberry Banana Pineapple Smoothie No sugar needed in this refreshing, 3-ingredient, healthy smoothie!
- Make-Ahead Smoothie Freezer Packs Prep your breakfasts and snacks for the week with these easy and DELISH freezer pack smoothie recipes!! Theyll make your mornings and your life so much EASIER!!
- Strawberry Coconut Pina Colada Smoothie A smoothie that tastes like a strawberry pina colada!! Fast, easy, refreshing, naturally sweet, and made with ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS!!
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Should I Put Yogurt In My Smoothie
A lot of smoothie shops and restaurants use ice cream to create that signature flavor and texture.
Kim and I drink a lot of smoothies and the idea of eating that much ice cream on a regular basis would do a number on our health.
So, we started using yogurts and frozen fruit to re-create the same texture without all the added sugar and fat.
In closing, if the choice comes down to yogurt or ice cream, then yes, you should put yogurt in your smoothies.
Additional Smoothie Making Tips
ADD PROTEIN TO KEEP YOU FULL: When I dont have time to make breakfast, I add my favorite protein powder to this smoothie. I love that I cant taste the protein powder but I know its there because it keeps me full until lunchtime.
REDUCING ADDED SUGAR: By swapping sugar with Monk Fruit In The Raw, you can save up to 700 calories per cup. The Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag measures cup for cup just like sugar making it convenient for adding to smoothies but also great for any baked good.
USE FROZEN FRUIT: I like to use frozen fruit instead of ice cubes in my smoothies. Unless its the summertime when I love using all the fresh fruit!
FILL UP YOUR BLENDER: You always want to layer your ingredients softest to hardest . First, add the milk, yogurt, Monk Fruit In The Raw®, strawberries, and banana.
EXTRA SMOOTHIE LEFTOVER? If you have some leftover smoothie, you can put it in the fridge for later. Once youre ready to drink it, I like to add a little extra yogurt to the smoothie to thicken it up again.
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How To Make The Best Strawberry Smoothie
Our basic smoothie recipe calls for four simple ingredients:
Strawberries I love adding a heaping cup of whole strawberries and particularly enjoy when the smoothie is made with frozen berries. For a smoothie made with blueberries, try our easy blueberry smoothie recipe.
Banana I use one banana to make one large or two smaller smoothies. For the best tasting smoothie, use a ripe banana. For the creamiest smoothie, use frozen banana slices .
Half an orange When I have oranges in the house, I love adding them to my morning smoothie. It adds extra vitamin C and tropical flavor. If you dont have oranges on hand, dont worry, you can substitute other fruits like mango, pineapple, and berries.
Milk To help the ingredients blend, I like adding some liquid to the blender. For a smoothie without milk, use water. It still tastes amazing. For more creaminess use milk .
To make the smoothie, I add everything into a blender, and then blend until smooth. For an icy cold smoothie, throw in a handful of ice or use frozen fruits.
How To Make A Smoothie In A Blender
Smoothie aficionados will tell you a blender is the way to go for smoothie making. A good quality blender is going to break up your ice, pulverize your fruit, and yield a not-too-thick, not-too-thin smoothie consistency. Plus, a blender is an incredibly useful multipurpose kitchen tool to own for way more than just smoothies.
A great blender is the one thing I think every healthy kitchen needs, says Alder. You can make amazing soups, desserts, smoothies, sauces, and more in it. And clean-up is effortless.
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Why Use Frozen Fruits In Smoothies
Its so convenient!
Most supermarkets sell frozen smoothie packs these days.
Theres no need to wash or cut the fruits. Everything is done for you already. Its a huge timesaver!
You wont even have to defrost the fruits before making smoothies. Just open the bag, add some to your blender and youre good.
Just because its convenient doesnt mean its less healthy!
Fruits are picked and frozen at peak ripeness. Studies show again and again that frozen fruits retain at least as many vitamins, minerals, as fresh fruits. Some fruits can even retain more vitamins when theyre frozen than when theyre bought fresh.
Using more frozen fruits also means less spoilage.
Frozen fruits are good for months, instead of just days. You can easily enjoy your favorite fruits at any time of the year.
Using frozen fruits actually makes your smoothies taste better.
Some people like to use ice cubes in their smoothies, I like using frozen fruits. A chilled smoothie simply tastes better, theres no question about it. Save the ice, and add some frozen fruits instead.
How To Make An Avocado Smoothie With Almond Milk
Are you ready?
Take your frozen strawberries, your milk of choice, your peeled and pitted avocado, and your sweetener, and drop them into your blender. And blend.
BAM! So easy, right?
Now youll be able to have a keto smoothie every day if you want, and know that youre eating wholesome, yummy foods. In just minutes. Go enjoy your strawberry avocado smoothie but remember that this avocado smoothie recipe is so versatile that you can always try with other low carb fruits, too!
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How To Make Strawberry Banana Smoothie With Frozen Fruit
Wanna learn how to make Strawberry Banana Smoothie With Frozen Fruit ? Im going to show you how to make an easy Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Frozen Fruit.
Are frozen fruits just as healthy and nutritious as fresh fruits? Yes! Frozen fruits are not only helpful for making smoothies but also for minimizing food waste. Heres a super simple recipe for strawberry banana smoothie with frozen berries to prove my point.
Tips To Making A Low Calorie Frozen Fruit Smoothie:
My second cookbook, Lose Weight by Eating Detox Week is packed full of low calorie smoothies. In testing for this book, I learn lots of tips and tricks to help keep smoothies low in calories.
This best selling cookbook, is popular because the smoothies are so flavorful, and filling. And this easy frozen fruit smoothie recipe is no different Ive used all my tips and tricks, to make the best low calorie simple smoothie in this yummy recipe.
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How To Make This Strawberry Mango Banana Smoothie
This smoothie is crazy easy to make. My recommendations are to have a really nice, high powered blender . This will allow you to get the best consistency.
SMOOTHIE BOWL INSTRUCTIONS: To make a Strawberry Mango Smoothie Bowl, simple reduce the coconut water to 1/4 cup. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender as necessary to ensure that all of the fruit gets blended in.
Why This Recipe Works
This strawberry smoothie recipe is definitely one of my favorites, especially during the warmer months. Refreshing smoothies with strawberries are rich, creamy and bursting with the bright flavor of fresh strawberries.
I also add a banana to make a thick and milkshake-like consistency. Plus it adds another pop of healthy sweetness to the drink that is great to get your morning going!
When making a smoothie with bananas, I prefer to use coconut milk or almond milk. Using plant-based milks makes this a tasty vegan smoothie recipe, and is a bit easier on your stomach.
I have read that according to ayurveda, eating certain fruits and dairy milk together can create all kinds of digestion problems. For instance, banana and dairy tend to cause gut issues. However, I always find that beverages made with coconut milk or almond milk are lighter and easy to digest.
I have not used any sweetener in this 3 ingredient smoothie recipe, but you can add some sweetener if your strawberries arent quite ripe or you prefer a sweeter smoothie.
Smoothies, fruit juices and milkshakes are terrific to make for a quick and healthy breakfast. Here are just a few Smoothie Recipes I have shared on the blog:
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How To Freeze Strawberries
If you have a lot of fresh strawberries you can always freeze your own. Then use them to add to your smoothie later!
In order to prevent the strawberries from sticking together when frozen, you can follow these steps for freezing fresh strawberries:
How to Freeze Strawberries
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Its A Coconut Milkshake With A Twist
Do you love coconut shakes?! Well this is like a coconut shake, but with a bit of a twist it also has strawberries in it! That strawberry flavour adds quite a lot to this, so its not quite so strong a coconut flavour. Combined with the yogurt, this turns it into a strawberry coconut smoothie that you will want to keep coming back to.
Fruit smoothies with coconut milk are amazing. The same can be said for coconut yogurt. If you like this recipe or like the sound of it, I would really recommend trying out this keto strawberry coconut milk smoothie, or, if you are needing some protein too, this strawberry protein shake with coconut milk. Stepping away from strawberries, for other coconut yogurt or coconut milk fruit smoothies, check out this healthy mango watermelon smoothie for weight loss, this strawberry mango smoothie recipe, and this mango and coconut smoothie recipe!
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Expert Tips And Tricks
- Freeze fresh strawberries. Fresh strawberries will have the most flavor and will be the sweetest. Freezing them captures that flavor and still results in a cold and creamy consistency.
- Add extra nutrients. Make this smoothie even healthier by adding in spinach, protein powder, oats, and even more fruit.
- Start with the banana. Loading the blender with the softer ingredients next to the blade allows for easier mixing.
- Test for sweetness. The amount of sweetener you need depends on how sweet your fruit and yogurt is. Sample the smoothie then add the sweetener as needed to taste.
Only Have Fresh Fruit
If you only have fresh fruit, then you have a couple of options.
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