Smoothies are a great snack, or sometimes a quick breakfast replacement. A few years ago they flew into popularity, and green juice and protein drinks helped bring smoothies into the world of healthy living. Smoothies can be a great way to incorporate ingredients like protein powder or leafy kale, which might not be as easy to eat on their own. The word smoothie can mean almost anything–since the simple definition is just a pureed drink. So how do you make smoothies that taste good and are good for your body? Here are some ideas for great smoothies that are healthy and delicious.
It’s all about the ingredients
A good smoothie has fruit. While you need to be careful, since fruits can contain a lot of sugar and cancel out the health benefits, fruit is a central ingredient to a smoothie. The fruit gives most of the flavor, so you need to choose your fruits carefully and find flavors that blend well. Strawberry is a favorite, and maybe one of the most common smoothie fruits. You can add strawberry to a smoothie in several ways. First, you can add fresh strawberries. This is maybe the healthiest option but also the most expensive. Frozen strawberries are a great alternative, as is strawberry puree, which you can easily add to any smoothie for an instant flavor boost.
In order to bring in that healthy aspect to your smoothie, you should include some greenery or vegetables. Spinach is an easy choice, as is kale. Another way to bring some vegetable goodness to your smoothie without filling it with greens is to add in some carrot or tomato juice. Try to find juice that has less sugar, and is natural, in order to get as many of the health benefits as possible.
Getting a great consistency
The other important aspect of smoothies, after flavor, is consistency and texture. No one wants a smoothie that feels like water, or one that is too thick to drink. The base of a smoothie can be milk, ice cream, or yogurt. If you use milk or juice as the base of your smoothie, you will probably want to add ice in order to balance out the liquid. If you’re using yogurt as your base, you need to watch the amount of fruit you add in order to avoid the extra thick smoothie.
You can also add a thicker ingredient to your smoothie, like peanut butter or Gardenia Delicia spread. You can also add ingredients to any smoothie to thicken the texture without changing the flavor too much.
Keeping some variety
Not every smoothie you make needs to be chock-full of spinach. Sure, those smoothies can be incredibly healthyand can provide a lot of benefits, but in order to keep from getting sick of smoothies, you need to include some variety.
You can change up the vegetable you include in your smoothie, or you can make some fruit-based smoothies that don’t have anything green at all. Be on the lookout for unique fruits and interesting combinations. Keep an eye out for exotic fruits, such as guava or dragon fruit, that might bring a fun taste to a smoothie. Mango is another fruit which adds an interesting flavor, but also pairs well with other fruits.
Finally, you can include less healthy ingredients every once in a while for a bonus smoothie. Chocolate protein powders can be incredibly healthy while still tasting good, especially if you mix them with banana or peanut butter. You can also try a chocolate strawberry mix, which tastes delicious, and still has some of that great-for-you fruit to balance out the chocolate.
Smoothies are fast and simple. You can include so many ingredients that your favorite treat can also be your healthy snack of the day. You can hide flavors you might not like as much under fruits that you love, like raspberry or watermelon. They’re easy and portable, so you can bring a smoothie with you when you’re on the run, or you can enjoy it at home after a workout or a long day of work. A smoothie is perfect for any time, and can be almost any flavor.