What Ingredients Do You Need To Make A Smoothie

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Potential Downsides Of Smoothie Bowls

How to Make a Smoothie Recipe Guide – Easy, Tasty, Healthy

What about the potential health downsides of smoothie bowls? Well, one thing to consider is the size of the bowl. Are you enjoying 2-cup servings, or crushing half a gallon in a bowl big enough to do a load of laundry in? Many of the Instagram bowls are quite large, possibly for photographic effect, but also because its really satisfying to polish off a thousand calories beneath the halo of good for you.

When you eat fresh fruit, the fiber in the fruit slows the absorption of the natural sugars. While theres some debate over whether thats still true in a blended smoothie, its clear that you can drink two bananas, a cup of cherries, a cup of raspberries, three apples, and a kiwi far faster than you can eat them. Also, its best to chew most of your food, as that not only slows things down, it also activates anaerobic bacteria in the grooves of your tongue that help convert nitrates in greens into heart-protective nitrites.

If youre following Bright Line Eating, remember that blending is not part of the program, so smoothies of all kinds are off the menu.

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Frozen Bananas And Wild Blueberries

Many dietitians like to add frozen fruit to smoothies including Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, owner of Better is the New Perfect. Her favorite combo is frozen sliced bananas and frozen wild blueberries, which supply fiber, potassium and beneficial plant compounds called phytonutrients, along with great taste. Plus, Ward says, “frozen fruit makes smoothies thicker and frothier without using ice, which dilutes the flavor.”

What Fruit Can You Use To Make A Smoothie

Apples, Pears, Bananas, Pineapple? What fruit should you use to make a smoothie? Its up to you. The main thing to think about is taste and texture. Some fruit blends up smoother than other fruit, and so you will get a smoothier smoothie! Also, some fruit has more of an intense taste and flavor. You will want to consider what types of fruit and liquid pairings you are going to make. I suggest some of the following:

  • Pineapple and Banana with Almond Milk
  • Blueberries and Yogurt and Almond Milk
  • Spinach and Pineapple and Coconut Water
  • Banana and Peanut Butter and Almond Milk

Once you get to be more of an expert in the smoothie making process, you will learn what fruits work with what other fruits to make a nice smoothie. Also, its important to never over do it on the fruit. While fruit is healthy and blenders do not destroy the fiber in a smoothie, you also want to be mindful of getting too much sugar. Thats why I suggest mixing fruit and vegetables and a base liquid that doesnt have sugar.

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How To Use The Blender For Smoothies

How to Make Smoothie with a Countertop Blender

A typical countertop blender like a Vitamix has the blade on the bottom and you add ingredients from the top. You should reference the specific instructions for your blender but below are the common steps to follow.

The best way to make a well-blended smoothie with a countertop blender is :

Step 1 : Add the liquid and soft ingredients like greens or soft fruits like bananas or oranges.

Step 2: Then add hard vegetables and frozen fruits on top.

Step 3: Have hard ingredients like nuts or ice on top. Some people will add their superfood or protein powders once the other ingredients are purified.

You want to have the softest ingredients towards blade. You should start the blender slow and move slowly to high speed to purify the ingredients.

You want to see the liquid create a vortex and the time to blend will depend on your blender strength and ingredients.

With a high powered blender like a Vitamix it usually takes 30-45seconds to purify the ingredients.

Example of how to make a green smoothie with a Vitamix

Add 1 cup of liquid: Choose 1 liquid Add 1 Green : 2 cups spinach / 1 cup kale / ½ head romaine lettuceAdd Fruit/Hard Vegetable :1 apple1 cup peeled mango

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Ingredients:

Thick and creamy strawberry avocado smoothie

To make this strawberry banana smoothie recipe, you will need the following ingredients :

  • Frozen strawberries: Or you can sub in any other kind of frozen berries that you have on hand.
  • Banana: I typically just use fresh bananas. But if you have frozen sliced bananas, you can omit some of the ice in this recipe.
  • Milk: Any type of milk will work for this recipe cows milk, almond milk, oat milk, you name it.
  • Ice: However much is needed to achieve your desired smoothie consistency.
  • Optional add-ins: See ideas below!

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How To Make Homemade Smoothies

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

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.

Best Milk Substitute For Smoothies:

Milk and water are not the only liquids you can use as the liquid base of a smoothie there are so many other options that will result in an excellent smoothie.

See our comprehensive Smoothie Ingredients List for more ideas of liquids to make smoothies with.

In addition to water and ice, other alternatives for milk in smoothies include:

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What Blender Should I Use For A Smoothie

I truly believe a good blender is worth it. I got a Blendtec a few years ago, and Ill never go back to a normal blender again. A good blender will whip you up a thick and delicious smoothie with no chunks in about 45 seconds.

And, if youre adding leafy greens, a good blender will make sure theyre blended up nicely and have a great texture! Mine gives me a count for how many times Ive used it, and its well past the 800 mark. So, its definitely worth the investment, in my opinion, especially if you have a family full of smoothie lovers!

Do I Need A High Powered Blender For Smoothies

The Easy Guide On Making Just About Any Smoothie

For years, I made smoothies using a $20 basic blender that wed received as a wedding gift. I thought it worked perfectly well for simple smoothie recipes using classic, soft ingredients such as bananas, yogurt, strawberries, mangoes and spinach.

But as I got more interested in using diverse ingredients, I found my old blender lacking. I wanted to use items such as blackberries and pomegranate seeds, and my cheap blender wasnt able to puree the seeds properly.

In addition, I wanted to use hearty greens such as kale, which can sometimes taste gritty when pureed in a traditional blender.

For that reason, after much deliberation and research, I recently upgraded to a VitaMix 750 professional series blender. Note: I dont think you need to make this investment unless you plan to make smoothies often, and youre wanting to go beyond the basics.

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S On How To Make A Smoothie

Below is the basic 4 step process listed in the order you should follow. We provide the most popular ingredient suggestions for each step so that you know the best ingredients you should use to make smoothies.

Add Your Liquid Base

The amount of liquid will depend on the ingredients, blender size, and how much you are making.

Generally the rule of thumb is about cup of liquid for every 1 cup of solid ingredients but it really depends on the ingredients.

You can always add liquid as you blend to get the consistency that you want since certain ingredients like bananas, mango, or oats will make a smoothie thicker, whereas fruits like melons have a high water content.

Popular liquids for healthy smoothies include: Water, Soy Milk, Coconut Milk, Coconut Water, Hemp Milk, Raw Milk, Almond Milk. ** You can also use yogurt like Greek yogurt which adds a nice texture.

Add Fruits And Vegetables

You want the softest ingredients closest to the blade so it can blender better. There are 1000s of fruit and vegetable combinations so following proven recipes will save you a lot of trial and error from mixing ingredients that dont taste well together.

Popular Greens : Spinach, Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard

Popular Fruits : Apple, Banana, Strawberry, Mango, Pear, Peach, Berries, Melons, Pineapple, etcetera..

Kale has a little more earthier taste but is good to switch up with spinach sometimes because Kale is nutritionally dense.

Add your Boost Ingredients

OPTIONAL

How To Make It

  • Put the ingredients in a blender and whir it up!
  • This will make two large smoothies.
  • 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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    What Are The Extras You Need To Make A Smoothie

    Once youve picked the fruit and vegetables and liquid that you are going to use to make your smoothie, the next thing you need to do is choose the extras. As the name states, this category is extra. You dont have to choose anything here. But if you are looking for something extra to put into your smoothie, then here are some good ideas:

    • Be sure to soak almonds
  • Be sure to soak chia seeds. I wrote a whole article covering if you can blend chia seeds.
  • My suggestion is to use an unflavored yogurt when making a smoothie. Also, you should choose Greek Yogurt if you want extra protein.
  • Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
  • If you want to speed up the smoothie blending process, or if you have a basic blender such as a Vitamix, you can use a nut butter instead of real nuts.
  • Ice makes a smoothie cold, which many people prefer, and it also helps with the liquid content.
  • You Also Need Fruit A Liquid And Then Extras

    How to Make a Perfect Green Smoothie â 100 Days of Real Food

    Once youve gotten a blender, then next step is to get the ingredients and get started making your smoothie. Basically you will need fruit a liquid and then if you want, extras. Im going to go over in detail the different type of fruit you can use to make your smoothie as well as cover the different types of veggies.

    Ill also cover liquid because without liquid, you dont have a smoothie.

    And finally, the extras. There are a lot of different extras you can add and Ill cover them all.

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    Frequently Asked Questions About Blending Smoothies

    How do I get a thicker smoothie?

    There are a couple of options that work really well. One, use frozen fruit in your smoothie to get a thicker consistency. Two, if you dont have frozen fruit, try adding ice. I like to add ice to the blender jar last to get the best blend.

    How do I get the best blend when making a smoothie?

    Put your ingredients in the jar in the correct order. Start with liquid, soft fruit, and leafy greens followed by frozen fruit or more solid ingredients. Add ice last .Then, start your blender on the lowest setting and increase slowly to the highest setting if you dont have a smoothie-specific setting on your blender. Add more liquid if you are having trouble getting the blend started. If your blender has a tamper then you can also use this to help get the ingredients pushed down into the blades and help that blend along. Not all blenders are the same. Be patient and figure out what works best for your blender.

    How can I keep my smoothie routine from getting boring?Can I make smoothies ahead of time?

    Yes, you definitely can. Blend and store in a sealed jar or container in the fridge overnight. I prefer freshly blended smoothies as the texture is the best but give your prepared smoothie a shake or stir and enjoy. We also like to prep our frozen smoothie ingredients ahead of time in freezer-safe containers. Then, when in a hurry we can just dump the prepped serving into the blender jar, add liquid, and blend. Can help save time when in a hurry.

    Four: Add Ice And Blend

    The amount of ice you use depends on how thick you want your smoothie recipe to be. Start with about 1 cup crushed ice for a fairly thick smoothie that is still drinkable with a straw. Omit the ice if using frozen fruit or if you want the smoothie to be thinner and less cold. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. Pour into a cup or thermal to-go drink container and slurp up every last drop.

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    Tips For The Best Fruit Smoothie

    The frozen fruit in this easy smoothie recipe can be substituted with fresh fruit, if desired. Youll need to add a handful of ice, though. If berries are in season, you can buy them fresh and freeze them the night before!

    Also, feel free to switch out the other ingredients as you see fit. Play around with the yogurt flavor you use, or use plain yogurt and sweeten with a little honey or maple syrup instead.

    And any non-dairy milk from Silk would pair nicely with the flavors of this smoothie, so dont feel like you have to limit yourself to cashew milk.

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    What Do I Need To Make A Smoothie

    How to make a strawberry banana smoothie

    Dont be embarrassed if youre searching for information about what you need to make a smoothie. Not everyone knows what things you need to make a smoothie, at least not at first. You might think that everyone already knows this and so its a stupid question. But relax. Everyone starts somewhere.

    Since this site is based around blenders and what you can do with them I figured it was time that I created the definitive article that explains what you need to make a smoothie. For beginners.

    So, this article will explain in detail every single thing you need, starting with the beldner, and ending with the cup. And yes, Ill cover everything in between. So its super comprehensive. You can skip some of the middle section where I cover extras that you can put in your smoothie. But I suggest reading the whole thing so that you get an idea about how you can customize your smoothie once you get a hang of the basics.

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    How To Make A Smoothie

    This healthy snack comes together in a quick 5 minutes! Heres how:

  • Add ingredients to the blender: Add all of your ingredients to a high powered blender in order from softest to firmest.
  • Blend: Blend until smooth, stopping to stir if needed.
  • Adjust as needed: Check the flavor and texture, adjust as needed, then serve right away!
  • What If I Dont Like Bananas

    Bananas are the backbone of my simple smoothie recipes to me, they add so much creaminess and natural sweetness for an affordable price. But, if theyre not your thing, you can add some Greek yogurt with a sweetener and ice, OR do half an avocado with a sweetener and ice. Those two combos will replace a banana nicely in a smoothie and still give you a rich, creamy texture.

    Make any of these 8 Simple Smoothie Recipes today for you or your family and enjoy the balance of vegetables and fruits in these creamy, refreshing drinks!

    Now you are a smoothie making expert and I hope that you have found some great smoothie inspiration to get you comfortable with making smoothies at home.

    This is just a starting point though, feel free to play around with these base recipes and come up with your own favorite smoothie recipes to meet your needs and preferences!

    Take the hassle out of meal planning with: Dinner Made Easy, a FREE 1 week meal plan with full shopping list, easy dinners, nutrition information, serving suggestions for each meal, and more!

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    A Good Blender Is Worth It

    I got a Blendtec just over 2 years ago, and I can never go back to a normal blender again. Mine tells me how many times Ive used it and Im a few smoothies away from 800 blends! Thats amazing, and it also shows how much I have used it. A good blender will whip you up a thick delicious smoothie with no chunks in about 45 seconds. If you are going to go green on any of your smoothies, a good blender is the key to getting all those healthy leafy greens to blend and have a great texture. I love my high power blender and highly recommend one.

    How To Freeze Bananas For Smoothies

    12 How To Make a Smoothie Recipes Without Yogurt

    Frozen bananas are a smoothies best friend. They add a nearly unmatchable creaminess and natural sweetness and make your smoothie perfectly chilled without the need to dilute the flavor with ice.

    To freeze bananas for smoothies, its best to use ones that are ripe with some brown spots, but not overripe or mushy. We like to slice them in 1-inch pieces, transfer to a silicone- or parchment-lined baking sheet or plate, and freeze until firm. This prevents them from sticking together, and the smaller pieces are easier on your blenders motor. Once frozen, transfer them to a sealed bag where theyll keep for about 1 month.

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