Quick Guide to Making Smoothies

Smoothies are a quick way to add a lot of nutritious ingredients to your diet. They're so easy to make and they're kid-friendly too. All you need is a handful of ingredients, a blender, and about 5 minutes! Here's my quick guide to making delicious and healthy smoothies at home!

Living in sunny South Florida, I enjoy making smoothies all year round. Smoothies are great because they're easy to make and you can incorporate a wide variety of ingredients depending on your taste.

They can be enjoyed as a snack or even as a meal replacement depending on what you put in them. They're the perfect grab-and-go breakfast, after school snack or post-workout replenisher. 

Smoothies are also one of the few things that most kids will always try. So if you have a "picky eater," try making them a colorful, delicious smoothie. You can pack in lots of nutritious ingredients so it's a win win situation!

All you need to make a healthy, delicious smoothie is a handful of ingredients, a high speed blender, and about 5 minutes! Here's my quick guide for making your own delicious and healthy smoothies at home.

Components For Making a Smoothie:

Liquid base

Milk or fruit juice if often used as the main liquid base in smoothies. You can also try other varieties of milk like soy or almond milk. Fruit juices often contain a lot of sugar so be sure to read the labels. Other options are coconut milk, coconut water, coffee, tea or water.

Fruits and Vegetables

Try using a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in your smoothies. And don't forget the frozen aisle of the grocery store when fresh fruits are out of season.

Fruits with a higher water content (like watermelon, grapes or oranges) will give the smoothies a thinner consistency than denser fruit like bananas (which are often used to thicken smoothies).

I like to keep frozen bananas in my freezer so that I have them ready to pop into the blender when I'm in the mood for a cold drink.

Sweetener

Depending on the ingredients you choose, you may need to add a little extra sweetener. You can use liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup or traditional sugar. Pitted dates are a great natural sweetener.

Flavorings

Extracts like vanilla or almond extract and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are easy ways to add flavor to your smoothie without adding calories.

Nutritional Add-Ins

For a boost of protein, I often add some nonfat Greek yogurt to my smoothies. Almond butter, peanut butter and protein powders are other good high protein options.

For a boost of omega-3s, fiber and antioxidants, you can add in some flaxseed or chia seeds. Oats are another great addition to add fiber to smoothies and thicken them.

Ice 

I usually add in some ice cubes to chill my smoothies and thicken them. If you are using frozen fruit, you'll need less ice.

Instructions

Once you have your ingredients ready, simply place them in a blender and blend until smooth. I love using my Vitamix blender, which I've had since culinary school.  In just a few minutes, you'll have a delicious, nutritious and portable snack.

Get Started With These Tasty Smoothie Recipes

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