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?
