Simply Smoothies

I love smoothies. I adore smoothies. If I could only eat one thing on a desert island, I would choose smoothies. 

Some of my friends and family think that my regular routine of a fruit smoothie for breakfast must be boring. That couldn’t be further from the truth! There are an infinite number of possibilities with smoothies! With so many different fruits and vegetables, you don’t have to settle for same old thing. I love coming up with different combinations for my smoothies. Half the time, I just make them out of whatever fruit is on hand. This has been especially helpful in college. It takes less planning than if I calculated how much of each piece of fruit and vegetable I needed and allows me to take advantage of whatever happens to be on sale. I love the spontaneity of coming up with new creations every day. 

I make my smoothies the night before so I don’t have to wake up my roommate with the sound of my blender :)

Given my love for smoothies, then comes my second love: Jamba Juice. They have a lovely assortment of smoothies made from just fruit and fruit and veggie juices. Peach Perfection. Pomegranate Paradise. Berry UpBEET. Tropical Harvest. These sound like heaven right? Unfortunately my wallet does not agree with my taste buds. You certainly can’t beat them for convenience though. 

Here is my solution-my own personal Jamba Juice formula: 

Just fruit: 
1-4 types of fresh fruits 
opt. 1 type frozen fruit 
1/2-1 1/2 cup liquid 
opt. add ins 

Green smoothie:
Greens
1-3 types fresh or frozen fruit 
1/2-1 1/2 cup liquid 
opt. add ins 




 Notes: 
You can use any type of fruit or vegetable. Experiment to find which combinations you like best. 
MAKE SURE YOUR FRUIT IS RIPE! Unripe fruit makes terrible smoothies. The riper the fruit, the sweeter your smoothie will taste. Smoothies are perfect for salvaging fruit that looks too ripe eat. 
Depending on its size, one piece of fruit is more or less than a cup of smoothie. 
If omitting the frozen fruit feel free to add ice cubes. Never only use frozen fruit. (I tried it once-came out as a mushy disaster.) Depending on the strength of your blender, I also recommend defrosting the frozen fruit and least a little before blending.
For the liquid, you can use juice, water, coconut water, almond milk, any type of non-dairy milk, etc. Using milks makes it creamier. Vary the amount of liquid with how thick you want your smoothie. The more liquid, the thinner it will be. 
For the green smoothie, blend the greens and liquid first, then add the fruit. Adjust the ratio of greens and fruit to your liking. If you want them sweeter, add more fruit. 
Add ins can mean anything that your heart desires: flaxseeds, chia seeds, nut butters, avocado, cocoa powder, cinnamon, lemon, lime, etc. These can really add variety to your smoothies. The same bananas and frozen berries taste completely different with some cocoa powder and cinnamon. Really experiment here. 

My Favorites: 
Breakfast: 
2 oranges   
1 can pineapple in its juice  

Put it all in together and blend it up. Add a banana if it tastes too acidic. 




Green Love: 
3 cups greens 
1 pear
1 apple  
3/4 cup water 

Mix greens with water first. Then add the pear and apple. 




Dessert: 
2 bananas
1/2 cup frozen berries
1-2 tablespoons nut butter 
1 tablespoon cocoa powder 
1/2 cup coconut milk 

Put it all in together and blend it up. 


Smoothie it up and enjoy :)

2 comments:

  1. When you make your smoothies the night before, do you freeze them or just refrigerate them?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fridge! I think they defrost funny if I put them in the freezer.

    ReplyDelete