As we kick off summer this year, I find myself enjoying making smoothies more and more each morning. Smoothies are cool, refreshing, healthy, tasty, and pretty easy to make. But, unless I have a handy list with ideas of what to put into my smoothie {such as the free printable included in this post}, my mind draws a complete blank as to what to put into it {other than the same few things}. So today’s post is my brainstorm of smoothie ideas for you to browse through and put into good use to create your own healthy, delicious smoothies without getting stuck in the same ol’ rut.
How to Make a Perfect Smoothie
This article doesn’t really contain any specific smoothie recipes (though I do have some in the works!). Rather, it’s an accumulation of ingredients that can be used to make a wide variety of smoothies. So in case you don’t know how to make a basic smoothie, here’s how in 5 short and sweet steps.
- Pour about 1 cup liquid into the pitcher of your blender.
- Put in 1 or 2 cups of fresh, frozen, or partially frozen fruit. Also toss in any desired veggies. Blend until smooth.
- Toss in any add-ins (to taste/preference) and blend until mixed in.
- Add a thickener (optional) and blend until mixture is smooth. Add as much as you want to reach the flavor and/or consistency you desire.
- Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Liquids
Without a liquid base, a smoothie would basically be a sorbet. So here are some liquid suggestions to make it smooth and drinkable.
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Fruits
The main ingredient in a fruit smoothie is, of course, fruit! If you enjoy a thick, refreshing smoothie like I do, freeze your fruit (you can use fresh fruit instead, but the smoothie may not be as thick). A few pointers:
- Be sure to peel the skins off of your fruit and remove any seeds, pits, or cores prior to freezing.
- Cut larger fruits (like big strawberries or bananas) into smaller pieces or separate citrus fruits (like oranges or grapefruit) into segments to make blending faster and less stressful on your blender.
- Before freezing fruits that oxidize (like apples or bananas), splash them with a bit of lemon or lime juice to prevent them from browning.
- If you feel it’s necessary, you could let the fruit thaw partially (for 15 to 20 minutes) before making the smoothie. This can lengthen the life of your blender as well as make it less noisy.
Below is a list of some fruit suggestions for your smoothie. Stick to just one or get adventurous and do a blend with two or more.
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♥ TIP: For added nutrition, blend in the green part (hull) of the strawberries.
Veggies
One way to amp up the flavor and nutrition of a smoothie (you know, make it “green”) is by adding veggies in addition to the fruit. Here’s a list of ideas.
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♥ TIP: For a smoothie on-the-go, freeze all the items you need and put enough for a serving in a freezer baggie. For items like milk or yogurt, freeze them ahead of time in an ice cube tray. When you’re ready to make a smoothie, just empty a bag’s contents into your blender, blend, and go!
Thickeners
To make it less of a beverage and more of a smooth, refreshing glass of goodness, try adding some {optional} thickeners. When I am using frozen fruit, I don’t always add a thickener except maybe a bit of yogurt. But when I use fresh fruit, I add about double the thickener.
Coffee Cubes (coffee that has been frozen into ice cubes)- Cottage Cheese
- Greek Yogurt, Plain
- Ice Cubes
- Juice Cubes (juice that has been frozen into ice cubes)
- Milk Cubes (milk, almond milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk that has been frozen into ice cubes)
- Nut Butter
- Tea Cubes (tea that has been frozen into ice cubes)
- Yogurt Cubes (yogurt that has been frozen into ice cubes)
- Yogurt, Plain
Add-ins
Adding sweeteners and other things can make the smoothie even more yummy and nutritious, but these things are optional.
Sweeteners
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♥ TIP: If a smoothie is too sweet, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to tone it down.
Herbs and Spices
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Nutritional Stuff
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Other Extras
Chocolate, Melted- Chocolate Syrup
- Chocolate Chips
- Cocoa Powder
- Coconut
- Essential Oils (Young Living’s Vitality line are all edible essential oils)
- Extracts (like vanilla, almond, etc.)
- Lemon or Lime Juice
- Zest (lemon, lime, orange, etc.)
Recommended Products
- Blendtec Designer Series Blender. A quality, high power blender like a Blendtec makes the smoothie creating process quick and easy.
- Covered Ice Cube Trays. Having ice cube trays that can be easily covered prevents spills in your freezer and protects the tray’s contents from freezer burn or contamination.
- Glass Straws. These straws have a wider opening, making it easy to slurp up thick smoothie mixtures.
- Ball Wide Mouth Pint and Half Jars. Ball’s wide mouth pint and a half jars are very handy for containing and enjoying a lot of smoothie goodness.
- Strawberry/Tomato Huller. Though not a hundred percent necessary, this little tool definitely makes it easier and faster to hull strawberries or tomatoes while minimizing waste.
- Cherry Pitter. This tool makes pitting cherries so much easier and less messy.
- Lemon Squeezer. This handy tool capably squeezes just about every drop of juice out of a lemon or lime half while keeping seeds corralled.
Free Printable
Here’s a free printable with a summary of the above ingredient ideas for you to hang up (perhaps on your refrigerator or inside a cabinet door).
What do you like to add to your smoothie?