Cooking

What really is a smoothie?

You love eating fruits, right? I could barely imagine that colorful fruit table you own without fruits in the fruit basket. Each time you get back home from your daily undertakings an apple bite is in order to make you feel at home. Right?

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What if you could have the same fruits served to you in a different form. Or better yet, make them into that form on your own? My bet is that most certainly you will love it. Maybe even more than the form in which you are taking your fruits now. Well, this other form in which you could have your fruits is what we refer to as smoothie. It is more of having the fruits in a fluid form. A blend of fruits or vegetables that are raw, together with other additive ingredients such as water, dairy products, sweeteners and ice are the constituents of a smoothie. The dairy products smoothie is similar to the vegetable milkshake only that the vegetable milkshake contains a lesser fruit percentage and may also have ice cream.

Top 10 Smoothie Recipes for Your Slim-Down Process

To be able to narrow down to your personal preference, they say we all have different taste, smoothie recipes are categorized on where you prefer the vegetable rich smoothies or not. Let us take a look at some

1. ‘vegetarian smoothie recipes’

Sunshine smoothie

Ingredients

• 20 g of cashew nuts
• 2 full bananas broken into pieces
• 500 ml of chilled carrot juice
• 1 liter of lime juice
• 200 g of fresh pineapple

Method

• Blend all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
• Preparation takes 5 minutes
• Pour into a bottle, cup or your preferred container for drinking from straight away.
• Remainder may be preserved for up to a day in a fridge.
• Serves 3

Green breakfast smoothie

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons full of desiccated coconut
• 100 grams of roughly chopped broccoli florets
• 1 banana
• A quarter table spoon of greens powder
• 300 ml of rice milk
• 2 sticks of celery
• A handful of roughly chopped spinach

Method

• Put all the ingredients in a blender.
• Whizz small amount of water into the blender say 300 ml
• Blend until smooth
• Preparation takes 10 minutes
• Serves 2

Mango and banana smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 500 ml of orange juice
• 1 medium sized mango
• 4 ice cubes

Method

• Slice the mango along either sides of the seed.
• Peel
• Chop the fleshy part into chunks
• Peel the banana. Then chop into pieces
• Mix all the ingredients in a blender.
• Blend until smooth
• Keep refrigerated to be drunk the same day it is made.
• Preparation takes 5 minutes

Bone builder smoothie

Ingredients

• Handful of spinach
• 300 ml of coconut water
• Half piece of an avocado, peeled and chopped into pieces
• 10 cm long cucumber piece, roughly chopped
• 50 grams of pineapple chunks
• A handful of kales, well washed

Method

• put all the ingredients together in a blender
• top up with coconut water
• blitz until smooth
• preparation takes 5 minutes
• serves 1

 2. For the Non Vegetarians

Avocado and strawberry smoothie

Ingredients

• 4 table spoons full of natural yogurt, low fat
• 150 grams of strawberry that are in halves
• Honey to enhance taste
• Half of an avocado cut into chunks
• 200 ml of milk that is semi skimmed
• Lemon to taste

Method

• Add all the ingredients in a blender
• Whizz until they are smooth
• Add water to desired thickness
• Preparation takes 5 minutes
• Serves 2

Strawberry mango breakfast smoothie

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of orange juice
• ¼ cup of milk
• 2 large peeled bananas, sliced and frozen
• 6 strawberries, sliced
• ¼ cup of strawberry yogurt

Method

• Put one of the bananas, the mango and orange juice together in a blender.
• Add orange juice as you blend to desired thickness
• Serve in glasses
• Rinse the blender
• Put the other banana, the strawberries, yogurt and milk into the blender and blend till smooth.
• Add this second procedure smoothie on to the previous to form a double layer

Skinny funfetti milkshake

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and chopped into pieces
• ¼ cup of regular yogurt
• Sprinkles
• ¼ cup of vanilla almond milk

Method

• Blend the banana pieces and milk together in a blender for 4 minutes
• Rinse the blender and add the rest of the ingredients
• Blend for a minute
• Stir in as many particles of sprinkles as desired
• Preparation takes 5 minutes
• Serves 2

Orange creamsicle smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 orange, peeled and sliced
• Half a cup of orange juice
• 2 teaspoons full of vanilla extract
• ¾ cup of vanilla yogurt
• 1 banana, ripe, peeled and sliced

Method

• Put all the ingredients together in the blender apart from the yogurt and orange juice
• Add the yogurt and orange juice
• Blend until smooth
• Preparation takes 5 minutes
• Serves 2

Detox smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 peach, peeled and sliced
• 1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 ¼ cups of pineapple, chopped
• Half a cup of regular yogurt
• Juice to add flavor
• ¼ cup of almond milk

Method

• And all the ingredients in a blender
• Blend for approximately 2 minutes
• Serves 1
• Remainder may be stored refrigerated for up to 10 hours

Berry purple power smoothie

       Ingredients

• 6 freshly prepared strawberries
• ½ cup of fresh blueberries
• ½ a cup of vanilla yoghurt
• ½ of fresh raspberries
• ½ a cup of coconut water

       Method

• Put all the ingredients In a blender
• Blend for approximately 3 minutes
• Add coconut water until desired thickness is achieved
• Serves 2
• Preparation takes 5 minutes

Making of Delicious Smoothies

Just how do you come up with that perfect smoothie? Is it the blender you use, the skills you have or the fruit you use? Yummy!! The taste of my morning smoothie comes into my mind on typing the words ‘delicious smoothie’. Irresistibly sweet am telling you. Now get that frown off your face as I am going to take you through the basics of making my morning smoothie. Oops! Sorry, what I meant to type was ‘delicious smoothies’. Though it is not that great a deal since the smoothie was delicious I must say. To kick-start your day, a smoothie that is rich in vitamins is ideal. In cases where your early morning schedule may not allow you time to make one, an afternoon smoothie works just as well. Let us take a look on how to make an irresistibly nice smoothie.

Proper Ratios of the Ingredients

Two mugs of liquid, either milk, yogurt, fruit juice or coconut water, act as very good base in the smoothie making procedure. You now have the mugs of your preferred liquid. Does that guarantee a delicious smoothie? Well, the answer is NO. You have to know just how to put them together for desired result. Ensure you add the liquid into your blender before adding the other ingredients. This works well in preventing damage to the blades of your blender. Are you following? Now let us move to the next step. Be careful not to miss or assume any step since all are as important. And we would not wish to compromise the quality of your delicious smoothie.

The next important step is to add three quarters of a mug of your fruit of choice. For any known smoothie, banana offers an ideal base flavor and also brings in the creamy texture am sure you would like. The amount of fluid or fruit used depends on the fruit type you choose. When it comes to texture of the smoothie, this you get to adjust until your desired texture is arrived at. Taste enhancers such as honey or maple syrup may also be added. Addition of ice cubes to the blender further increases the thickness of the smoothie as well as giving it a frosty feel. You may also opt for other fruits to serve as base if you are not that much into bananas. The other options available for your base include;

• Mango
• Plums
• Pear or apple that are grated
• Melon
• Berries
• Peaches

Spice Up the Smoothie with Your Creativity

Give that smoothie your unique touch of perfection. I cannot limit your creativity therefore there is a lot of ideas you could bring into play. This of course should be only upon mastery of the basics. Why do you not wonder about and try adding different flavors to the original recipe. You may also borrow from the following what you would wish to add to your smoothie.

• Grated nutmeg
• A sprinkle of flaxseeds
• Toasted whole oats
• Cinnamon
• Cocoa powder

Try Different Combinations

You are not a loyal fan of smoothies if you have never tried out a mixture of fruits and vegetable smoothie. These for sure are very rich in flavor. Talk about the nutritional aspect together with sweetness covered in one smoothie. This is certainly runners-up if not the best smoothie mixture known. Wonder off and come up with a detox smoothie using kiwi, spinach, banana and grated apple. Protein powder does the trick in addition of protein to the smoothie. Add a spoonful of protein powder into that smoothie you have as either lunch or breakfast.

Health Aspect of a Fruit Smoothie

Health. Yes. This is the first consideration we usually put in mind before putting anything in the stomach. Is a fruit smoothie healthy? That is the most probable question at the back of your mind right now. Well, let us look into that. First of all, let us discuss what makes a smoothie unhealthy. As in all unhealthy things we eat, it is the ingredients which makes them unhealthy. The fruit smoothie is not an exception. Some of the ingredients we introduce into the smoothies are what make them unhealthy. Not the name of course. Worth noting, most smoothies offered at common smoothie joints such as restaurants and large events that offer smoothies tend to lean more on the unhealthy smoothies. I personally recall taking a smoothies that was offered at a recent event not interested to know its ingredients.

What Makes Smoothies Unhealthy

 Bases

As in all structures and undertakings, the base or the starting point is of great importance. Let us look at the unhealthy smoothie bases.

• Fruits juices that contain large amount of sugar
• Tap water; tap water may contain microorganisms that are harmful to the human body when ingested.
• Regular milk; some milk, especially which is from unhealthy livestock have been proven to transmit unhealthy effects to humans who ingest them in smoothie form.

Ingredients

This can be closely referred to as the backbone of the unhealthy smoothie. It is what contributes largely to the smoothie being unhealthy. I have managed to list just a few for you but the list is long.

• Sugar used as sweetener
• Mix of chocolate pudding
• Cream soda
• Peanut butter that are non-organic
• Whip cream

5 Important Additives to Supercharge Your Healthy Smoothies

These ingredients that am about to list down for you are important not only in the boosting of your immunity but also in loading you with antioxidants.

1. Fresh ginger

You will most certainly find beef meat at your milk vendor if you do not find ginger root at the grocery store. It is very common in most grocery stores. Pick one from the grocer and wash it thoroughly at home. Grate the ginger root and add a tablespoonful to the smoothie. This particular additive is useful in that in contains immune-boosting and antimicrobial properties.

2. Raw cocoa powder

In this cocoa powder, you can be guaranteed that there is no sugar added. Just the rich chocolate taste you would desire. Since it contains antioxidants, a tablespoon full or two are just enough for the desired results.

3. Chia seeds

These seeds have an excellently high fiber constitution. Furthermore, they are rich in omega-3 fats not mentioning the high protein constitution. I would tell you, ‘rise up and go get it’ but the decision is totally up to you to choose it or pass. However caution should be taken in that it should be taken soon after blending as the seeds may get gelatinous after a while.

4. Green tea

When it comes to this tea, again it is the antioxidant property that makes it worthy of being added to your smoothie. It is important in protection of your skin from damage by sunlight. Moreover, the tea burns belly fat and significantly reduces the risk of heart disease.

5. Pomegranate seeds

When you say you did not find these at the cereal store, I may as well empathize with you as they are somewhat rare. Their seed-by-seed extraction is particularly tedious. These seeds are the beneficial part you ought to be looking for.

How to Replace Your Snack with Delicious Smoothies

If you make a smoothies, you have a very good opportunity to pack vegetables fruits and proteins into an after-work snack. However to make this type of smoothie, there are certain rules you have to adhere to. These include;

• Add a type of fat either avocado or coconut
• Use ingredients that are low in calories
• The proportion of vegetables should be higher than that of fruits
• Do not take a very large portion
• Add protein

Most snack we eat have little or even nil benefits on our bodies. Since we would desire a healthy body meaning, healthy me and healthy you, let us shift from snacks to smoothies. Irresistible taste of smoothie are better off.

Best smoothie recipes you should try for breakfast

• Almond breakfast smoothie
• Peanut butter and jelly protein smoothie
• Intense workout high-protein smoothie
• Happy digestion smoothie
• Blueberry spinach breakfast smoothie

Is adding Sugar To Your Smoothies a Good Idea?

Yes. Sugar is dangerous to the body health. It goes without saying that addition of sugar into your smoothie only makes it unhealthier compared to the sweetness you were aiming for. As a result of the high sugar content, fruit juices and smoothies present a risk to our health. They are actually a new danger. The negative effects of all sugars are the same including those disguised as natural sweeteners and sold in health food shops. In view to lose weight, you are advised to stay as far away as possible from sugary foods. Well, smoothies are not to be any different. Adding of sugar to smoothies is not a good idea at all.

Healthy Probiotics You Should be Adding to Your Smoothies

• Yogurt: A yogurt that is high in quality contains a significant amount of probiotics. However, not all yogurt contain these probiotics. As such you should carefully read the label and choose the brand lowest in sugar content.
• Kefir: This is to a great extent similar to yogurt. It is made from a combination of cow’s milk and kefir grains. Kefir is also an ideal source of protein and calcium.
• Kombucha: This is a type of tea that is fermented and available in a wide range of flavors. It treats almost everything and is full of bacteria that are healthy to the body.