Is There A Way To Pack More Nutrition Into This Berry Smoothie
This recipe makes a simple berry smoothie that anyone can enjoy, but you can add whatever seeds or powders that youd like! For this one, I might add:
- Spinach or other dark leafy greens. Pack in some more vitamins and minerals with a handful or two of leafy greens like spinach. The berries have so much flavor, you wont even notice the greens!
- Ginger. Ginger has tons of health benefitsit is an anti-inflammatory, for oneand it adds a nice spicy bite to smoothies.
- Chia seeds. Chia is an omega-3 powerhouse, and has the added benefit of helping to thicken up your smoothie for an even better consistency.
Once you have a set of mix-ins that you like, you can freeze them as booster packs for future smoothies!
How To Build A Better Smoothie According To A Nutritionist
If youre turning to smoothies as part of your strategy to lose weight or take your healthy eating up a notch, your menu may need a little attention. Done right, smoothies can make nutritious sense, packing satisfying ingredients along with fiber, vitamins, minerals and other health-protecting substances. But even some of the most healthful smoothie ingredients can add up to a lot of calories and therefore, interfere with your weight loss goals or worse, lead to unintentional weight gain. Read on to find out if youre making some common smoothie mistakes, discover how to build the best smoothie and find nutritionist-approved recipes to get your smoothie-making up to speed.
What Is A Fruit Smoothie
A fruit smoothie is a drink made from blended fruits with a liquid base of fruit juice, yogurt, milk, ice cream, or other dairy product. Once you blend all your fruity ingredients into a smooth mixture, you have your perfect smoothie.
You can use various fruits to make a fruit smoothie, including bananas, oranges, apples, kiwis, peaches, and more. First, well look at some fruit smoothie recipes that you can try. However, before we dive in, lets look at the steps to make a basic smoothie.
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Can You Make A Smoothie Without Liquid
You might now be wondering if you can make a smoothie without liquid at all.
Once again, the answer is YES!
Just follow the same steps as above, but leaving out the water all together.
I went through a phase for awhile where I ONLY made my smoothies without liquid.
I just loved how thick and flavorful they were and I most often went with a super tropical theme!
My pineapple detox smoothie has no liquid at all and tasted like a tropical frosty!
Fresh pineapple, cucumber, and lemon were the water components, which I added to the blender first.
After that, I added in my frozen fruit, ice, and remaining ingredients and blended until thick and creamy!
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Are Smoothies Healthy For You
Before we dive into the quest of how to make a fruit smoothie, lets dive into the why. Our philosophy here at Wholefully is that smoothies can be an incredibly nourishing part of your diet. Just like with our juicing recipes, we say its always better to eat whole fruits and veggies where possible. But its not always possible! Smoothies do make it easy to pack in all the nutrients of your favorite produce into one drinkable cupwhich is great when youre on the go or short on time.
And lets be honest, smoothies are just freaking delicious! We are big believers that you also need to nourish your soul with your food, and if drinking a perfectly tangy and sweet smoothie brings a smile to your face, then thats healthy as healthy can be.
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Berry Good Workout Smoothie
Get the energy you need to power through your workout in minutes with this easy-to-make smoothie recipe. For an extra dose of calcium, try adding a teaspoon of Organic Kale Powder.
What youll need: 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup raspberries, 2 Tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 cup ice cubes. Blend until smooth.
Nutrition :162 calories, 1 g fat, 2 g protein, 41.5 g carbs , 32 g sugars
Orange Mango Ginger Smoothie
This smoothie recipe has loads of flavor from fresh ginger and ground turmeric, along with the mango, orange, cucumber, and celery. Since its light on protein, you may want to consider this a snack or experiment with your protein of choice.
Strawberry cheesecake? Yes, please! This decadent smoothie has just 5 good-for-you ingredients to get your day off to a great start.
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Orange Strawberry Squash Smoothie
This two-serving sipper is a delicious way to help you reach your daily fruit and veggie requirements. Like many smoothies, you could blend it into a drink or a smoothie bowl. If you want to make more of a meal out of it, add protein-rich enhancers, like protein powder or Greek yogurt.
This smoothie bowl packs 27 g of protein to power you through a long morning. Plus, wild blueberries are packed with antioxidants and fiber.
If a non-dairy smoothie is more your style, this one, with plant-based protein powder, makes a delicious and filling meal.
Cottage cheese provides the protein in this layered drink. Its made parfait-style so the smoothie and cottage cheese are kept separateperfect for days when you want to dig in with a spoon.
Fruit Smoothie Vs Green Smoothie Vs Meal Replacement Smoothie
Green smoothies are all the rage now. To make a green smoothie you simply add leafy greens to a fruit smoothie.
If you want to make a fruit smoothie then just use fresh or frozen fruit and a liquid. If you want to make a green smoothie then you would add one of the popular greens listed below.
Keep in mind that the sweeter the fruit then the more sugar it will contain so try to avoid adding any sweeteners like maple syrup or stevia if you are doing a fruit smoothie.
Also, a typical fruit smoothie can hide the taste of greens and vegetables so you might as well make it a green smoothie to get the extra health benefits.
Fruit Smoothie = Liquid + Fruit + Boost
Green Smoothie = Liquid + Fruit + Boost + Leafy Greens
Meal Replacement Smoothie = Liquid + Fruit + Boost + Leafy Green + Healthy Carb *
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Your Blood Sugar May Spike
Without a doubt, the main drawback of drinking smoothies on the regular is that they’re often loaded with sugar. Ayesta says this is especially true of bottled store-bought smoothies since they often contain added syrups to enhance the flavor.
Fortunately, if you make your smoothie at home, you can minimize the amount of sugar by reaching for ingredients like whole fruit and unflavored yogurt. Ayesta recommends using water or unsweetened non-dairy milk to reduce the sugar content and overall calories in your smoothie.
The Right Smoothie Ratios
Start your smoothie with two mugfuls of a liquid base. This can be milk, or a dairy-free alternative such as soya or almond milk, natural or flavoured yogurt, fruit juice, or for a tropical flavoured smoothie, low-fat coconut milk or coconut water. It’s important to add the liquid to your blender before adding the fruit, as this will prevent the blade from getting damaged.
Next, add about three quarters of a mug of your chosen fruit. Banana is a great base flavour for any smoothie, and will give you a lovely creamy texture. Other fruits that work well are berries, mango, peaches, plums, nectarines, grated apple or pear, and melon. You may have to add more fruit or liquid, depending on the type of fruit you choose. Play around until you have a texture you like. Add a squeeze of honey, maple syrup or agave syrup if your smoothie needs it, and finally add a few ice cubes to the blender for a thick and frosty smoothie.
Smoothie combination ideas
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How Do You Make A Smoothie Thicker
One last thing to address in this post is how to make a smoothie thicker.
Smoothies in my opinion are all about texture.
I absolutely do not like runny, gritty smoothies.
I prefer my smoothies to be super thick and creamy, almost to ice cream texture.
This way it feels like a treat when I am drinking it!
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You Could Get An Easy Boost Of Protein
The average vegetable only has about 2.5 grams of protein per serving. But if you add other ingredientssay, a tablespoon of almond butter or hemp seedsyou can boost the protein by a significant amount.
Ayesta suggests adding a clean, high-quality protein powder to complement your daily needs, especially if you’re physically active three or more days a week, or trying to build muscle. He also notes that Greek yogurt is an excellent source of protein to add to your smoothiesand as an added bonus, it’ll make your blends a whole lot creamier, too. In order to cut down on the sugar content, opt for unsweetened Greek yogurt rather than the flavored kinds.
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S To Make A Perfect Fruit Smoothie
No matter what kind of fruit smoothie recipe you are making, you can follow these steps.
Now that you have a great idea of making any fruit smoothie let’s look at how to make some of the most popular fruit smoothies.
Adjusting The Blender Speed
Its best to gradually ramp up the speed on the blender. Start with medium speed for about 30 seconds. This gives the blades the chance to gradually break things up without burning out the motor. Use a plastic tamper to help push down all of the ingredients into the fast-moving blades at the bottom of the cup.
Turn the speed to high for 15 to 30 seconds for final processing. This is when I add any extra liquid or ice needed to help with blending. If the smoothie doesnt easily whirl and move, it needs a little more liquid, add small amounts at a time to keep thick but sippable consistency.
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Peaches And Cream Oatmeal Smoothie
No time for a leisurely meal? Try this grab-and-go, probiotic-rich take on morning oatmeal. Whole-grain oats contain prebiotic fiber that promotes gut health.
This recipe from Preventions Smoothies & Juicesmakes two smoothies: Blend 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 cup frozen peaches, 1/2 frozen banana, and 1/2 cup ice until smooth.
Nutrition : 217 calories, 5.5 g fat , 11 g protein, 33 g carbs , 15 g sugars
How To Make It
Unlike baking recipes, for instance, smoothie recipes do not have to use exact measurements. You can adjust according to taste. The only difference in choosing between fresh or frozen fruit is how thick you want it to be. Frozen will make for a more milkshake-thick smoothie, whereas fresh will get thickened up slightly by the ice, but have a more liquidy texture. Or you can combine frozen and fresh fruit.
You can use any kind of soft fruit you want, such as berries, bananas, peeled peaches or nectarines, melons, even grapes, and puree, and know you can always add a bit more fruit or ice to thicken it or a bit more milk to thin it out.
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Whats The Best Liquid For Making Smoothies
We like to use milk of choice. If youre a fan of coconut milk, use it. Like cows milk? Go for it. A fan of almond milk? Cool. Use whatever milk you like in your smoothiesyou cant go wrong. I just recommend you stick to unsweetened and unflavored versions. That gives you the most control over the smoothie.
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
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What You Need For A Juice Bar
Juice bars will need a variety of juicing machines, cups of varying sizes, lids, straws, napkins and equipment for cleaning machines. Youll also need cash registers or computers, point-of-sale software, writing pads and pens, and attractive menus.
What do i need to open a juice bar?
The most important 11 steps to open a juice bar are:
is owning a juice bar profitable?profitjuice bar
Contents
How To Make Any Berry Smoothie At Home
Its hard to top the classic fruity tartness of a mixed berry smoothie! This beautifully pink smoothie is a breeze to make, and its packed full of wonderful flavor and nourishing antioxidants.
This mixed berry smoothie is infinitely adaptable because you get to choose what frozen berries make up your smoothie! Craft your perfect combination of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberriesor take a shortcut and used mixed frozen berries from the frozen fruit section of your supermarket.
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Why You Should Make This Banana Smoothie
Ive made a version of this easy banana smoothie recipe more times than I can count. Its perfect on its own and is the best base recipe for adding more ingredients like fruit, nut butter, and veggies.
Here are a few more reasons we love it:
- You need less than 5 minutes to make it.
- You can use fresh or frozen bananas.
- Its easy to adapt to what you have in the kitchen.
- This smoothie is perfect for breakfast or a snack.
- Kids love it!
- You can even make the smoothie ahead of time, freeze it, and save it for later.
Caramel Apple Overnight Oatmeal Smoothie
This vegan, gluten-free breakfast smoothie is perfect for cold mornings when youre craving a fall treat. Dont worry: Theres no caramel in this recipe. Instead, this blogger subs in dates to add natural sweetness, along with antioxidants, fiber, and minerals. Rolled oats also pack fiber and protein, while apples and cinnamon give that undeniably heartwarming taste. This dreamy mixture sits in the fridge overnight, saving you so much time in the mornings.
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Can You Use Dried Fruit In Smoothies
Dont forget to consider using dried fruits in your smoothies. Because they have been dried, their flavor and sugar content are concentrated, so use sparingly. Dates, prunes, dried apricots, figs and raisins are all great additions to smoothies.
But remember, if using dried fruits you will need to add ¼ cup of extra liquid to the smoothie. Or you can reconstitute the fruit first by adding the extra liquid to the fruit and not the smoothie. Simply pour boiling water over the fruit until covered, then leave for 30 60 minutes or until the fruit is plump and soft. Remember to drain the fruit before adding it to the smoothie. The added bonus is that the liquid can be reserved for use in other recipes.
How To Make A Smoothie
A smoothie is so much more than blended fruit. It’s an art with all of its different elements blending perfectly together. Just in case these 29 smoothies aren’t enough, here is our guide to making the perfect smoothie.
Pick your fruit.
We chose strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and bananas to be our base, but any combo of fruit is great. Make a tropical smoothie of pineapple, mango, and banana or add blueberry and peach to switch it up a bit for a summer twist. Aim for about 3 cups of fruit.
Fresh or frozen fruit?
For smoothies, frozen fruit is best. It blends up thicker than fresh fruit and gives you a really cold smoothie to enjoy after blending. If you don’t have frozen fruit, freeze your fresh fruit for 30 minutes before blending or add about 1 cup of ice and blend until smooth!
Add a thickener.
We use unsweetened Greek yogurt in our smoothie, but peanut butter, almond butter, or vanilla yogurt are all great options. Traditionally about 1/2 cup is ideal. If you prefer thinner smoothies, you can either lessen the amount of thickener or skip it all together.
Choose a liquid.
Almond milk is great for the added nutty flavor, but coconut milk pairs well with a tropical smoothie and gives a richer, creamier flavor. Whole milk or fruit juice also work well. 1 1/4 cup of liquid makes the perfect consistency for our preference. If you skipped the thickener, use less liquid as well.
Throw some add-ins in.
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