Whats The Best Blender For Making Smoothies
Blenders have gotten so advanced in the past few years, that its hard to pick one that wont blend up a great smoothie! If youre blender shopping, here are the three blenders we recommend for daily smoothie-making:
- MOST AFFORDABLE: Cuisinart Immersion/Stick BlenderDont let its small size fool you, this tiny handheld blender is packed full of power, and will easily make a smoothie for you every day! Its perfect if youre limited on counter space.
- MEDIUM: Ninja Professional BlenderFor under $100, you get an incredibly powerful blender that makes a dreamy, creamy smoothie. This was the blender we used in the Wholefully test kitchen for years, and its a great starter-level, but still high-powered, blender.
- SPLURGE: Vitamix Professional BlenderA Vitamix is the top of the line when it comes to blenders, and its what we use every day in the Wholefully test kitchen. It comes with a hefty price tag , so if youre just blending a smoothie every now and again, there is no need to make the splurge. But if you do a lot of cooking or make a lot of smoothies or blended drinks, you might want to start saving your pennies for a Vitamix. Its a lifetime appliance that is a dream to use!
Top Your Base With Cocoa Nibs And Coconut
The toppings themselves can also turn an ordinary smoothie bowl into one that is meant for dessert! Once again, you can use different types of chocolate toppings to create a dessert smoothie bowl.
Using cocoa nibs are popular since they are small pieces, but provide a lot of strong sweet flavor. However, you can also go the more decadent route with regular or mini-sized chocolate chips. There are unsweetened chips if you want chocolate without the added sugar content.
Another great way to make it a dessert smoothie is to add some shredded coconut on top if you enjoy that flavor.
Healthy Chocolate Coffee Smoothie Recipe
This rich, creamy smoothie is for all of you coffee lovers out there! This smoothie tastes like one of those fancy blended coffee drinks from the coffee shop, but its packed with healthy fats, calcium, potassium, and other vitamins to make it nourishing as a meal or snack.
The natural sweetness of banana helps make this smoothie really shine. Combine it with strong coffee, rich dark cocoa, and creamy Greek yogurt, and youve got a morning drink that is the best of all worlds!
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Creamy Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie
This creamy banana oatmeal smoothie tastes just like an oatmeal cookie. It is a wonderful smoothie to make if you feel like you need more fiber in your diet. This is also a wonderful break from other fruity smoothies because the only fruit in it is bananas.
It’s an excellent post-workout drink because the almond milk and almond butter are filled with protein for your sore muscles.
The Perfect Smoothie Ratio
- Fruits + Vegetables: 2 to 3 cups
- Thicken: ¼ to ½ cup of dairy 1 tablespoon seed/ nut butter
- Flavor: ¼ to ½ teaspoon spices 1 teaspoon sweetener
- Superfoods: 1 scoop protein powder Add supplements such as spirulina according to labels instructions
And now, how to make a smoothie, step-by-step.
Step 1
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How Do I Make A Berry Smoothie
For the best results, youll want to add the ingredients to the blender in this order:
Slowly increase the speed of your blender until it is working at full power. When fully blended, taste your smoothie for sweetness, and add honey or maple syrup to taste.
Do I Need Exotic Fruits And Superfoods For My Smoothie Bowls
Anything can but nothing must! Of course, fancy ingredients like pitaya or starfruit, blue spirulina and maca powder are cool and fun to get creative with. Superfoods are of course healthy and can help with various ailments.
But you don’t need them. Local foods can also achieve similar or even the same results. And especially in terms of sustainability, regional food is always a recommendable alternative.
Alternatively, you can use flax seeds instead of chia seeds for healthy omega-3 fats, for example, or achieve a pretty bluish-purple color by mixing blueberries instead of spirulina powder.
Of course, the effects achieved are not always one hundred percent identical to those that you see, for example, with the professionals on Instagram. But especially in the beginning, it is much more advisable to approach your favorite bowl without many unusual ingredients.
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Make A Creamy Nut Or Seed Smoothie
Using nuts in your smoothie doesnt only improve its taste, but also lends the beverage its creamy texture.
A distinctive difference that youll notice is the nutty taste, which isnt bad to the palate especially if youre a fan of nut butters.
On top of it, youll also get a significant dose of healthy fats in form of unsaturated fats, which have a good effect on cardiovascular health by lowering LDL cholesterol and raising the good cholesterol.
Contrary to popular belief, nuts aid in weight loss due to their high fiber and protein content that will make you feel full enough to avoid frequent food splurge.
While they might be higher in calories compared to most fruits, nuts have a lower amount of sugar which can help you avoid blood sugar spikes.
Below is the list of nuts you can add to your smoothies.
For every single serving of smoothie, you can add ¼ of any of the following nuts.
Add Healthy Sweeteners To Make An Extra Sweet Smoothie Without Fruit
Natural sweeteners are your instant alternatives to unhealthy refined sugars whenever your sweet tooth craves.
While they may be processed into simpler forms, they still retain their natural goodness that lacks an exceeding amount of glucose and artificial enhancers, which may be harmful to health especially to diabetics.
Most of these sweeteners are sourced from plants having a long list of essential health benefits themselves.
No wonder many doctors recommend sugar substitutes such as stevia among many other natural sweeteners that also pack in nutrients such as enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.
Here are other healthy sweeteners you may use for your smoothies:
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What Are Some Great Smoothie Recipes
Alright, now that youre fully versed on how to make a great smoothie, let me share with you some of our absolute favorite combos! Click on any image to jump over to that specific smoothie recipe.
Classic Simple Smoothies
These smoothies are a great place to start. No weird ingredients that you have to special order, just fresh, real food that you can find at any typical supermarket.
Wild Blueberry Lemon No Banana Smoothie
How To Make A Fruit Smoothie
Making a fruit smoothie is as simple as tossing ingredients in a blender and letting it rip, but we want to make sure you succeed every time, so heres our exact process:
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Use Your Milk Of Choice
I have used and loved all kinds of milk for smoothies, including normal cows milk, raw cows milk, and lots of plant- and nut-based milk like rice, almond, coconut, and cashew. When buying nut milk, make sure the carton is marked unsweetened. You dont really need the added sugar when you are using fruit in your smoothie. I love cashew milk its super creamy and delicious. I most often use almond milk in the carton or a coconut-almond blend in the carton. Use what you can find in your area.
Peanut Butter Smoothie Recipe
Heres the tastiest drink that happens to be healthy, too: a peanut butter smoothie recipe! You can swear off milkshakes for good, because this easy smoothie is just as satisfying. Its got the best pure peanut buttery flavor, and the silkiest, creamiest texture. Even better: all you need is 3 ingredients! Its easy to make vegan or plant-based, and its the perfect breakfast or snack.
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How To Make A Smoothie Less Bitter:
- Pineapple and oranges both add lots of fruity sweetness. Banana, in addition to being sweet, seems to neutralize bitter flavors. Strawberries are also good choices for green smoothies. Also try adding a bit of vanilla bean or vanilla extract, agave, cacao, or unsweetened cocoa powder. Flavored protein powders will also mask the taste of bitter greens. After adding these ingredients, work your machine back up to its highest speed, and process for 10-20 seconds.
- Tip: Baby greens are generally milder than mature greens. Tastes do change and adapt to new eating habits. Try working up to bitter greens by combining small amounts of them with the spinach in your smoothie. Then gradually adjust the ratio as your taste buds adapt. Chalky taste: Add more fruit and/or other ingredients in the recipe. Work your machine back up to its highest speed, and process for 10-20 seconds. Adding more protein powder can give you too much of a good thing use amounts recommended on the label.
Chocolate And Peanut Butter Shakes
Peanut Butter Cup Shake – 53 g of protein
Don’t sacrifice your gains! With milk and egg whites for texture, this shake tastes as good as the real thing.
Peanut Butter Banana Shake – 65 g of protein
Peanut butter and banana is a classic combo and is great for fuel and muscle recovery.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake – 72 g of protein
This sinless treat allows you to enjoy your chocolate and peanut butter with the benefits of muscle-building protein.
Want to make your protein shake thicker, more decadent, and slower digesting? Use casein instead of whey.
Peanut Brittle Shake – 58 g of protein
This shake is just as tasty as any crunchy brittle. The secret is pudding mix!
Chocolate-Lover’s Shake – 51 g of protein
Chocoholics unite for this super chocolatey shake featuring both cocoa powder and sour cream!
Chocolate Almond Shake – 40 g of protein
A nutty candy bar in a glass, this shake proves protein doesn’t have to be bland. You will make it again!
Caramel Hazelnut Shake – 70 g of protein
Hazelnut creamer makes this into a Nutella-y dream of a shake. Yes, please!
Bad Girl Shake – 67 g of protein
This caloric beast is for the aspiring weight-gainers out there! Ground up girl scout cookies in a shake? Go ahead, be bad.
Tropical Punch Protein Shake – 30 g of protein
All the fruit! Tantalize your senses with this vitamin-packed tropical shake.
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Choose Your Infusion Option
There are many different ways to infuse your cannabis smoothie, and you can choose based on what product you have available and your personal taste preferences.
Below are just a few ideas to get you started.
Always remember to dose based on your own personal tolerance.
If you’re not sure how to start, follow the golden rule: start low and go slow.
Make A Coconut Smoothie
Coconuts flesh is among the most versatile plant-based foods that you can eat, and its also ideal for your smoothies!
While many of you will argue that coconut is a fruit, its variety of applications in meal preparation makes it impossible to be categorized as such.
The fiber content found in coconut meat is comparable to that of most fruits at 14% of the daily dietary allowance.
And despite its 60% fat content, coconut flakes are zero cholesterol and low in sodium.
Protein in forms of 18 amino acids can also be found in coconut meat, further making it nutrient-dense edible plant food.
Depending on how it is prepared, dried coconut can have more or less 130 calories per ¼ cup serving although the other nutrients it contains as well as those of the rest of ingredients can easily offset this amount.
Adding coconut by-products such as butter, cream, shreds, and flour to your smoothies can give you a rich texture that is occasionally grainy, yet easily drinkable.
Below is a list of coconut derivatives that you can add to your smoothie at a ¼ cup per single serving of the beverage.
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Choose Your Liquid Smoothie Base
Add 1 cup of any of the following liquids as your smoothie base.
If using tea, youll have to brew it first or steep the bags in hot water before transferring the liquid into the blender.
Occasionally youll find green tea powders more convenient as youll only have to pour the contents into the blender and blend it with the rest of the ingredients.
Non-dairy milk alone is likely to thin out the smoothie, so it is necessary to couple it with fillers that will help thicken the consistency.
Finally, with water kefir, it is somewhat thinner than a yogurt yet more forgiving on people who have lactose intolerances and allergies due to its incredible strain.
Bear in mind that coconut milk from a can has a significant amount of calories, so if you choose this option, you can probably avoid adding any nuts, or other high calorie foods to your smoothie.
That said, heres a list of liquid bases you can use for your smoothies:
- Water
If you want to make coconut milk at home watch the video below where I show you how to make coconut milk from coconut butter.
Can I Make A Coffee Smoothie Without Banana
Absolutely! Heres how:
- If youre a peanut butter fan, try our Peanut Butter Mocha Smoothie Without Banana. It uses canned pears to sweeten and thicken the smoothie in place of banana. You can also sub in almond butter if you prefer!
- Replace the banana with another half cup of yogurt and a handful of ice cubes. Youll need to use a tablespoon or so of added sweetener as well.
- Use half an avocado and a handful of ice instead of the banana.
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Ditch The Ice And Freeze Some Fruits
Want your green smoothie to be extra chilly? Freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas , grapes, pineapple or berries. This is also a great way to not waste ripe fruits . You can also freeze your leafy greens in a freezer-safe bag. Just make sure to add your frozen greens straight to the blender .
How To Make Homemade Smoothies
Categories Breakfast and Brunch Recipes, Drink Recipes, How to Make, Lifestyle, Recipes, Smoothies
Homemade smoothies are a tasty way to add extra servings of fruits and vegetables into your diet. Whether you are looking for a delicious way to start your day or just need a healthier afternoon snack, knowing how to make a smoothie is a great way to expand your culinary knowledge and build your kitchen confidence.
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Best Heavy Duty Blender
You just can’t go wrong with a Vitamix Professional Series blender – it will last you for years! Small businesses love this blender and use it in their coffee shops and even gyms.
The best feature of the Vitamix is that the way the blades move actually whip air into the mixture, giving you a light and creamy smoothie-like nothing else can.
Another fantastic thing about the Vitamix is that it can do so much more than just smoothies! You can use it to make homemade ice cream, healthy shakes, and even soups.
This heavy-duty machine can also puree tough things like kale and nuts into your smoothie. There are so many reasons this blender is worth the splurge.
Glowing Green Smoothie Recipe
Why not drink your green food? This glowing green smoothie recipe is the perfect immunity-boosting drink with a sweet tart flavor! It stars green apples, loads of spinach, and protein-packed nuts. The tangy is balanced with sweet, and it has a loose but creamy texture thats easily drinkable and a vivid, glowing green color.
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How Do I Make Smoothies If I Dont Like Bananas
Lucky for you, we have an entire post of recipes to make a smoothie without banana. Try those recipes, or tweak any of the recipes below by:
- Subbing in 1/2 cup additional plain Greek yogurt , plus 1 tablespoon additional sweetener and a handful of ice cubes in place of the frozen banana in these recipes.
- Other options: canned pineapple, sweetened yogurt, canned pears. Adding half a ripe avocado can really help make up for the creaminess that bananas usually add, too.
And Check Out Some Of Our Favorite Smoothie Hacks Too:
- How to Freeze Strawberries. There are lots of ways to use frozen strawberries, but smoothies are definitely one of my favorites!
- Smoothie Booster Packs. Never let spinach go bad again! Drop these frozen smoothie packs into your smoothies to boost the nutrition.
- 3 Ways to Meal Prep Smoothies. Yes, you can make ahead smoothies! And we have three ways to show you how.
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