What Do I Need For Smoothies

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Peaches And Cream Oatmeal Smoothie

The Easy Guide On Making Just About Any 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 A Smoothie With Or Without Ice

If you want to skip the iceand the resulting brain freezeyou totally can. This is the beauty of making your own smoothie you can make it however you want.

I adore lots of ice in the summertime months which makes it fluffy and cold, and none in the winter, where it’s more comforting and dense, says Adler.

When Using Only Fresh Fruit

If frozen fruit is not available, thats okay! Fresh fruit still adds body to the smoothie as the ingredients become pureed. However, you wont get that cool chill. Add in ice cubes, start with ½ cup to 1 cup of ice , add more until the desired consistency is reached.

Just be aware that the more ice used, the more the flavor will dilute as the ice melts.

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How To Make The Best Banana Smoothie

My basic smoothie recipe calls for four simple ingredients:

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 banana smoothie, use frozen banana slices. Ive shared how I freeze bananas for smoothies below.

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.

Plain or Greek yogurt I dont always add yogurt to my smoothies, but when I do have it in the fridge, adding a spoonful ensures a protein-packed and creamy smoothie. For a smoothie without yogurt, add a little extra fruit or include veggies like spinach or kale.

Water or milk To help the ingredients blend, I like adding a splash of liquid to the blender. For a smoothie without milk, use water. It still tastes amazing. For more creaminess add 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.

We have more easy smoothie recipes! Try our 5-minute strawberry smoothie or this easy blueberry smoothie.

Do You Have To Add Ice

How To Make Healthy Smoothies  Just One Cookbook

No, ice cubes are not necessary to make a smoothie, as long as youre using frozen fruits. Replace 1:1 ice cubes to frozen fruit is recommended. The ice will create a smooth, thick, chilly texture, or frothy if only a small amount is used. I like to add both ice cubes and frozen fruit together to create the perfect consistency.

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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 Smoothie In 6 Steps

Learning how to make a smoothie is actually pretty easy if you follow the steps below.

Step 0: Get a Quality Blender

For this guide, we are assuming that you actually have a blender perhaps that is presumptuous of us. If you dont have confidence in your blender, chances are you should throw it out recycle it, and get yourself a new one! After all, we dont want to be beating our ingredients with dull blades, we want to be finely chopping and mixing precisely! Here are a couple of blenders we highly recommend:

You can check out more of our blender reviews here.

Step 1: Pick a Smoothie Recipe to Make

Determine the smoothie recipe you would like to make based on your purpose. Are you on a diet, looking to lose weight and in need of a meal replacement? Or are you trying to get more greens into your diet, protein after a workout, or simply looking to make a delicious dessert recipe or a tasty snack?

If you dont have a recipe in mind, peruse this site for plenty of healthy options, search the internet, or ask a friend for a good smoothie recipe.

Step 2: Add Your Liquid

The first thing to add into your blender is the liquid, which is usually around 1 to 2 cups. Follow what your smoothie recipe calls for, but keep a few things in mind. The more liquid you add the more watery or runnier your smoothie will be. Some people like it this way. If you prefer a thicker consistency, use slightly less liquid.

Step 3: Add Your Base

Step 4: Add Fruits and/or Vegetables

Sweeteners
Salt

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Are Homemade Smoothies Good For You

Whether or not a smoothie is good for you depends on your overall diet, what you add to your smoothie, and how often you are drinking them. Smoothies that are filled with fruits and vegetables, within your recommended calorie limit, and without a lot of added sugar, can very much be a healthy part of your diet.

Expert Tips And Tricks

How to make a smoothie
  • Skip the bananas. An avocado can be substituted for a banana along with a tablespoon or two of sweetener.
  • Go for the goat yogurt. If youre slightly lactose intolerant, goats milk yogurt is a wonderful alternative that tastes very similar to cows milk yogurt.
  • Add and adjust. Start by adding a little bit of optional ingredients and then taste after each addition to make sure you still like the flavor!
  • Sweeten it last. Youd be surprised how sweet fruit can be! Wait until the end to stir in any additional sweeteners.
  • Pay attention to the blade. You want to add your softer ingredients closer to the blade and the harder ingredients further away from the blade for easier blending.

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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.

How To Make Homemade Smoothies

Drink Recipes » Smoothies » How to Make Homemade 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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Make Sure You Have A Good Blender To Make This Frozen Fruit Smoothie

You want to make sure you have a good blender. I have been thru some cheap ones and they barely last a week. They just cant handle the ice and frozen fruit.

Dont waste your time like I did with these cheaper models, and just get something nice from the get go. It will save you time and money!

I have a Vitamix now and I love it. We have had it for many years and its still working to make smoothies and more! Its paid for itself time and time again with all the money I have saved making smoothies and milkshakes at home.

Now, it is pricey but its truly worth it. You wont have to keep replacing it like with the cheaper blenders. Amazon has several of them on sale right now for a great price.

If you just cant make it work in the budget, I recommend a Waring professional blender. I think it is the next best thing and it will get the job done. Now, it is not as good as the Vitamix but its a close second for a more reasonable price. Amazon has several Waring blenders on sale right now.

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Choosing Fresh Or Frozen Fruits And Vegetables

I do need to address one thing..my concoctions are REAL ...

When it comes to what goes in your smoothie, only you can decide. There are no wrong answers here!

Pros of Fresh Fruit & Vegetables: Its a great way to use up fruit that is no longer visually appealing, but still tastes good. Think browning bananas, soft strawberries, blackberries so ripe they are falling apart. All still have good flavor, but arent what youd pick first out of the fruit basket on the counter.

Cons of Fresh Fruit & Vegetables: You have to make your smoothies on your fruits schedule, not your own. If those fresh fruits no longer taste good, they wont make your smoothie taste good. If the fruit is underripe, it will be harder to blend and may not make for the smoothest smoothie.

Pros of Frozen Fruit& Vegetables: Frozen fruit makes a thicker texture that stays colder longer without watering down the flavor. Most frozen fruit is picked at peak ripeness. You can have summer blackberries in January or tree ripe peaches in March. Also, unless you are shopping an in-season market stand, frozen fruit is usually cheaper than fresh.

Cons of Frozen Fruit& Vegetables: If you arent using a high power blender, frozen solid fruit may be more than it can handle. While my Vitamix does just fine with it, my stick blender would leave frozen fruit in chunks. Let the frozen fruit thaw on the counter for 10 minutes or so before making your smoothie.

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How To Make A Smoothie: The Simple And Perfect Home Recipe

Like smoothies? It’s a delicious drink that’s easy to make and adds fruitand vegetables to your diet! Don’t spend $7 on something you can make at homewith whatever ingredients you have on hand in your kitchen! This is the perfectquick and healthy breakfast option to give you energy all day long. Throweverything together and take it on-the-go. Or put things out for the kids afterschool hours.

This basic perfect smoothie recipe provides a great base for you to addprotein and fiber, as well as whatever flavors you like. We’ve tested thisrecipe and explain the physics of how it works so you’ll get something thatblends perfectly every time.

Five simple steps make the perfect smoothie recipe:

  • First, add your liquids. Start with water, milk, yogurt, or fruit juice.
  • Second, add any frozen ingredients, whether ice, juice, or fruit.
  • Third, add large ingredients, including chopped or sliced fruit orvegetables.
  • Fourth, add smaller, optional extras such as spices, peanut butter, orprotein or vitamin powder.
  • Finally, start blending at low speed. Gradually increase speed and blend toyour desired consistency. Blend until smooth.
  • You can throw everything in a cheap blender and get pretty goodresults, but you’ll get the best and most consistent results by following thistemplate. Why? Physics!

    The Best Strawberry Smoothie

    Even with such a seemingly basic recipe, theres actually a trick that makes some strawberry smoothies taste better than others.

    The trick is to use frozen strawberries instead of adding ice, because this will result in a thicker and creamier smoothie with a much deeper strawberry flavor.

    If using fresh strawberries, just cut off the stems and freeze them beforehand, or you can buy the berries already frozen. Before blending, thaw them just enough so they arent rock hard and can be easily blended.

    Serve for breakfast, with homemade Vegan Donuts

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    My Favorite $100 Blender

    Good news! The Toyota Corolla of blenders can save the day if you dont have surplus cash to burn on fancypants appliances. Meet the KitchenAid K150, the friendly and practical blender I bought for myself. Its under $100 and, at 650 watts, not a high-speed blender. But when following the blending basics shared above, it blends up a textbook smoothie.

    Its very straightforward: three speeds and a pulse setting. After just one blending session I had the hang of it. Its not so huge that it dominates a counter. Most importantly, it blends everything I love making, including nut-based sauces like our cashew cheese.

    For $100, I can live with slightly less minute blueberry skin specks. Especially now that I know a good smoothie isnt just about the blender.

    How To Make It Plant Based / Vegan

    How to make smoothies at home

    You can make this strawberry smoothie plant-based or vegan by doing the following:

    • Make our strawberry banana smoothie. Try our Strawberry Banana Smoothie: its vegan and uses only 2 ingredients!
    • Substitute non-dairy milk AND vegan yogurt or ½ banana for the yogurt. We like using oat milk or almond milk. Oat milk is usually a little sweeter and creamier so we tend to like that a little more. You could also try coconut milk, which adds a nice coconut essence, or soy milk. Then for the yogurt, use vegan yogurt or another ½ banana.

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    How To Make A Smoothie Without A Blender

    If you want to make a smoothie without a blender, there are a couple of other options. In a pinch, you can make a smoothie a food processor, but be ready for some more clean up. Your food processor might not be made to lock in liquids, so there could be some leaks. Plus, its got several pieces, including a removable blade, which will need individual cleaning.

    For making an individual smoothie, you can use an immersion blendera handheld version of a blender, which can come at a lower price. Simply dip the immersion blender into an unbreakable cup or bowl containing your ingredients and turn it on to mix. A good quality one will break up your ice just as well as a standard blender will. Plus, immersion blenders dont take up much space and tend to be easy to clean.

    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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    How To Blend The Perfect Smoothie

    Depending on the strength of your blender , the order you put your ingredients in the blender could influence the overall texture. Heres how we like to layer ingredients into the blender:

  • Liquids go first to make blending easier on the blades.
  • Greens go in next, which will help them to pulverize smoothly.
  • Soft ingredients, like fresh fruit and soft veggies, go next to help the blades start blending.
  • Hard ingredients, like frozen fruit and firm veggies, go last.
  • Start the blender off slowly, then gradually increase the speed. Blend for 30 to 60 seconds until the smoothie is as smooth as possible.

    Do Fruit Smoothies Need Ice

    I do need to address one thing..my concoctions are REAL ...

    The short answer is: No. You dont necessarily have to use ice as an ingredient when preparing fruit smoothies. Instead, it would be best to use frozen fruits in the same ratio you would have used ice. For instance, if you were to add half a cup of ice, replace it with half a cup of your desired frozen fruits.

    Once youve blended the frozen fruits in your smoothie mixture, it will have a soft, thick texture, which may even be frothy if you use a tiny amount of fruit. Nonetheless, you can also decide to blend frozen fruits with ice cubes to attain your preferred smoothie consistency and thickness.

    If you dont have immediate access to frozen fruits, you can add a half or a whole ice cup when combining the ingredients. The amount of ice that you will add mostly depends on the final volume of your smoothie.

    Scientific research indicates that frozen fruits are less likely to be spoilt. This finding meaning that you will enjoy all the nutrients the fruits have to offer when you blend them in your smoothie. You will enjoy the vitamins, minerals, and fiber in an almost farm-fresh nutritional state.

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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.

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