So, I got a little smoothie blender at a yard sale. It's not anything fancy. So this morning I threw in some Greek yogurt, a banana, and a little milk so it wasn't too thick. Delicious!!
I googled "easy smoothie recipes" to get more ideas and they are all complicated - not hard to make per se, but with lots of stuff that I don't keep on hand - 6, 7, 8 ingredients or more. Is it really more complicated than yogurt, some fruit, and some milk? Is there something I'm really missing out on by not getting more complex?
I know there are some moms here who love smoothies. What say you?
i'm always a little baffled by smoothie recipes. i mean, what's easier than a smoothie?
sometimes mine are frozen fruit and raw milk. bam.
sometimes they're fruit, greens, juice, protein powder, beetroot powder, glucosamine, bee pollen and flax seed.
depends on my mood.
khairete
S.
Some extras I add frequently (at different times) are a small amount of coffee, peanut butter, almond butter or some protein powder. 3 or 4 ingredients tops. They are simple but wonderful!
My smoothies are dairy and fruit free because those aren't good for me but my kids tend to like milk, yogurt and fruit as well.
I use a chocolate vegan protein powder, a cup of almond milk, 2 ice cubes, a tablespoon of almond butter and a handful of baby kale in mine. This is my standard breakfast - sometimes I mix it up a bit but not by much.
You can do anything you want with a smoothie! Don't worry about recipes.
Consider frozen stuff, like chopped kale or spinach, and frozen fruit. Just take a little out of the bag and put it in lukewarm water for a few minutes while you gather the other ingredients, and it will give you a cold shake. It's always on hand, it's cheaper in the winter, it's often more nutritious because it's frozen fresh-picked rather than being an out-of-season fruit shipped 2000 miles or more and being nutrient-deficient by the time you get it. I don't put the freshest and most delicious fruit in mine - I do find a smoothie is a good use for slightly soft or "ugly" fruit that are too good to throw out but too soft to enjoy in the usual way. My smoothies have my nutritional products (to cover all the vitamins, minerals and micronutrients), some kale, a half a banana (because it's always cheap and there's always one or 2 going soft on the counter), and whatever else I have on hand. Right now I'm doing a lot of watermelon, and I throw in the strawberry tops (leaves & core) that otherwise get thrown out. And I round it out with frozen fruit if I need it.
You can also keep flax seeds or flax meal on hand - those enhance any smoothie without changing the taste. Soft tofu works well too, to add more protein. Look for what's in your fridge that you have to get rid of - you'd be surprised what you can throw in there without it changing the taste.
Agave syrup or stevia can help sweeten things if you don't have a sweet fruit in there. Same with a splash of cranberry juice. You can use almond milk and also nut butters (almond, cashew, peanut). Also plain cocoa powder - very low in calories, no added junk like in many syrups).
Think about what you might choose as an ice cream flavor, and use that: chocolate & mint, maple syrup & walnut, etc. Skip the oreos and M&Ms, but you get the idea!
And 2 ingredients work fine - you don't need 5 or 12!
When I pick strawberries in the summer I freeze them in portions. I buy ripe bananas on discount and peel and freeze them. I also buy other frozen fruit when it is on sale, like mixed berries, mango, peaches etc. I make one blender full of smoothie I use a cup of yogurt, a cup of milk, two frozen bananas and then top it up with whatever frozen fruit or berries I want. Sometimes I add a cup of orange juice. I have seen smoothie recipes that call for honey or sweetener, but with all that fruit I find it sweet enough!
You can make them as simple or as complicated as you want. There are no rules. You can just do orange and pineapple, for instance. Or you can mix in multiple fruits, kale, spinach, honey, yogurt, etc. Just start with what you like and experiment from there. It's fun!
It's just a matter of trying different things and finding what you like.
My kids' favorite smoothie was pretty easy:
-frozen berries (strawberries or a mix) a banana, equal parts orange and apple juice.
Sometimes I added plain yogurt too.
I don't think we ever used more than five basic ingredients, and we just had a regular blender, nothing fancy at all.
Anything goes with smoothies. I like a slightly thicker smoothie, so I also throw in some ice or frozen fruit, which gives it a nice consistency. Other than that, a bit of yogurt, a bit of fruit or veg, a small amount of liquid, chia seeds, peanut/nut butter, chocolate syrup, whatever you have on hand will work. There is no wrong way to make a smoothie.
A good way to have ingredients on hand to vary smoothies is to freeze fruits when they're inexpensive and seasonal.
Cut up the fruits into bite size pieces, and lay them on a flat tray or pan, that has been lined with parchment paper. Lay the fruits on the tray, separately (like you would if you were making cookies). Freeze the fruits on the tray until they're solid, and then place the frozen fruit pieces into a freezer bag. You can do this with peaches, banana slices, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, apples, anything you like.
Add a little raw local honey or a little maple syrup for a sweeter smoothie.
You can also add peanut butter or almond butter.
A good choice for thinning it out is to use unsweetened coconut water or unsweetened homemade green tea (without additives or flavors or sweeteners). Milk will just add calories and there are better choices to thin out a thick smoothie.
So, basically: good quality unsweetened Greek yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit, green tea or coconut water to make it blendable and healthier, and a touch of raw honey or maple syrup if a little extra sweetness is desired.
No, no reason to make them complicated.
My husband is the smoothie king here. But he makes them for protein. Protein smoothies. They are his daily breakfast.
He adds a scoop of good quality whey protein, and a spoon of peanut butter, plus ice cubes, almond milk, vanilla greek yogurt and a banana. It sounds like a lot more stuff, but really it isn't. You don't have to use almond milk, it's just what he likes due to fat/calorie watching. I assume you already have the milk, yogurt and banana on hand. If you added a scoop of protein powder (he likes chocolate, but they come in all manner of flavors) you could make it whatever you want. Strawberry flavored and add strawberries or blueberries, for example.
But if you're not interested in the protein, I don't think it's any more complicated than what you've stated... throw in fruit of your choice. The banana is the big key, though, according to my husband. Because it affects the consistency of the final product and makes it a thicker, more smooth milkshake-like consistency.
