Over the past couple of months I went from being “eh” about smoothies to drinking at least one every day. To me, smoothies are the best way to get the health benefits of fruits and vegetables while also being, fast, easy, and delicious.
The perfect smoothie, though, requires a few simple techniques that can make all the difference in the world. Here are my 5 tips for a perfect smoothie.
1. if you’re going to use greens, don’t overdo it.
This is the number one mistake I see people do - they assume “the more greens, the better.” While that may be true health-wise, your smoothie is going to taste like crap. If you actually want to enjoy your smoothies and keep up with drinking them, keep the greens to about 1 cup. If you want to cover up the flavor of the greens all together (I always do), add at least 1/2 of a banana to the mix.
2. use a FROZEN banana (and/or berries).
On that same note, I always have at least 1/2 of a frozen banana in my smoothies. Bananas (and berries) add great flavor, but when you use them frozen it makes your smoothie thicker, creamer, and more filling.
3. use almond or coconut milk.
I prefer milk over water as the liquid in my smoothies, but I’ve found that a lighter milk works better to blend everything together without being overbearing. I’m not a fan of skim milk (AKA foggy water), but almond milk and coconut milk are light, creamy, and add great flavor.
4. use a good blender.
For a long time I thought I didn’t like smoothies, but the main reason I wasn’t enjoying them is because I was using a weak smoothie maker. Texture and consistency are KEY when it comes to a tasty smoothie. I’m a huge fan of my NutriBullet
and highly recommend it. I’ve also heard great things about VitaMix (although that’s much pricier).
What I love most about the NutriBullet is it doesn’t just blend – it adds air to the smoothie, which makes it creamy and fluffy – almost like a milkshake.
5. keep it simple.
Another reason I didn’t used to love smoothies is because I was overdoing it with the components I added. You’d think that all fruit tastes good when blended together, but that’s not always the case. Now I highlight whatever flavor I’m going for (tropical, banana, berries, dessert-ish), never using more than 2-3 different fruit combinations.
For example, here are my two favorite go-to smoothies:
Simple Morning Energy Smoothie
- 1 cup spinach or kale
- 1 frozen banana
- handful frozen berries
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 2-3 ice cubes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana “Dessert” Smoothie
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2-3 ice cubes
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How often do you drink smoothies? What’s your go-to smoothie recipe?
I agree with your go to ingredients! Banana, almond milk and spinach are always the base for my smoothie! I also like to add chia seeds. I try to drink smoothies every day, but it usually ends up being 4-5 times a week.
Ok, dumb question but can you use frozen spinach or strictly fresh?
Not a dumb question at all! I prefer fresh because it blends better, but I’ve used frozen as well. If you use straight from the freezer you’ll probably just need to blend longer, or you could let it defrost a bit first
I love smoothies! I haven’t made one in awhile, so I might make one in the next few days!
haha #1 for sure!! it’s great to add in greens…but nobody wants to taste spinach in their smoothie!
Em says
I love smoothies but I drink them more in the summer than the winter! It’s hard to drink something cold when it’s freezing in New York and in my apartment, but I try to have one or two a week…I’m not a huge fan of vegetables so I have to make a conscious effort to eat them, and smoothies are the easiest way.
My go-to smoothie is spinach (I buy fresh bagged spinach but store it in the freezer so it lasts longer), a frozen banana, a handful of frozen pineapple or other fruit (Trader Joe’s has the best selection of frozen fruit!) and a liquid, usually almond milk or coconut water depending what I have in the fridge. My mom has told me not to use dairy milk with greens like spinach, because the calcium binds the nutrients of the spinach so your body can’t absorb them. I think there are mixed opinions on this but I generally avoid it
that is SO interesting about the dairy milk + greens. Thanks for sharing!!
I love smoothies! I’ve been on a big kick with them lately. My go-to smoothie lately has been: spinach, kale, honey, PB2 and almond-coconut milk. Seriously, so good!
I love smoothies…..in the spring/summer/maybe fall. It’s so cold I just can’t think of having a cold item for a meal, it’s hard enough for me to drink enough water in the winter.
My summer favourite is coconut milk, frozen banana, and frozen pineapple - hello pina colada! So good.
i love the combo of spinach, frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cocoa powder, and almond milk! another favorite is spinach, frozen mixed berries, greek yogurt, and a little lemon juice.
i always use mostly frozen fruit because it usually gives my smoothies a much better thickness, plus frozen fruit is cheaper!
used the wrong link for my site above so i figured i’d post another comment to fix it, haha.
Totally agree with these tips - I always add at least 1/2 a frozen banana to my smoothies, especially if I’m adding greens. My favourite combo is spinach, a whole frozen banana, some kind of milk, cacao powder, and ground flaxseed for a snack. If I want to make it more of a meal, I’ll add a tbsp or two of almond butter and either protein powder or Greek yogurt.
Roux says
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- Roux
Writeress, Life enjoying Woblewacker
http://www.rouxrevelations.weebly.com
I agree 100% with all of these tips! I’ve made the mistake of adding too much spinach/kale many, many times and it’s always such a shame. I love incorporating greens but you definitely can’t overdo it! And I always use frozen fruit too because I hate adding ice to my smoothies!
PS: I’m totally making that chocolate, peanut butter & banana smoothie asap. YUM.