The trick to making a great smoothie is being intentional with your ingredients and quantities. Throwing random fruits and veggies into your blender can have mixed results, while having a plan can help provide you with a consistently healthy and nutritionally balanced drink. Whatever your desired outcome – from a quick meal replacement to a healthy snack – a well-made smoothie can help give you energy, and keep you satisfied + satiated longer. It’s also a tasty way to sneak some extra veggies into you and your families diet. 

Make Blending Easier

Take some pressure off your blender and save yourself the frustration of a chunky smoothie by following some pro-tips to make sure you smoothie blending experience is seamless.

1. Layer your smoothie with easier-to-pulverize ingredients first. Start with liquids on the bottom and then work your way up to frozen fruit/hard veggies and ice at the top. This makes it easier to blend and create a smoother outcome.
2. Pulse your ingredients a few times before turning up the speed to blend fully. A few pulses help pull ingredients down toward the blade making it easier to blend everything together. If the ingredients aren’t making it to the blade, turn the blender off and push them down with a spoon or add a little bit more liquid.
3. Use a variety of ingredients across the food groups such as fruit, veggies, proteins, dairy, nuts + seeds and healthy fats. Most smoothies lack protein and healthy fats which help slow digestion and make you full for longer.

How to Build your Smoothie

1. Base Liquids
   → milk, milk alternatives, water, coconut water or milk, green tea
2. Powders | Superfoods | Boosters
   → greens + berry powders, mushroom powders, probiotics, supplements
3. Herbs | Spices | Sweetness
   → cinnamon (helps inflammation), ginger (aids digestion), spirulina (supports immune function), beet crystals (supports energy levels), vanilla extract (antioxidant), unsweetened cocoa powder (reduce inflammation), cayenne (supports digestion), mint (aids digestion), dates, maple syrup, honey
4. Veggies | Leafy Greens
   → kale, spinach, cucumber, carrot, beets, celery with leaves, cauliflower, cooked sweet potato
5. Healthy fats | Protein
   → nutritional oils, nuts + nut butter, avocado, natural/Greek yogurt, tofu, seeds eg. hemp hearts, chia, flaxseed or seed butter
6. Fresh Fruit
   → blueberries, strawberries, banana, pineapple, mango, peach, cherries etc.
7. Hard Ingredients
   → frozen fruit/veg, ice

Smoothie Mistakes to Avoid:

• Avoid drinking your smoothie while eating a meal. If your smoothie contains protein powder, Greek yogurt, nut butters, avocado – there are already enough calories to replace a meal.
• Don’t add too much fruit. Whether in number or volume, too much fruit means too many calories and carbs. Stick to roughly 1 cup of fruit per serving.
• Be mindful of the sugar. Fruit already contains sugars, so just add a hint of sweetener whether it be dates, honey or maple syrup. Juice, flavoured yogurts and plant-based milks can have high sugar content, so opt for natural or plain yogurt, unsweetened milks and skip the juice.
• Don’t go crazy with the supplements. Calories can add up quick when you start including chia, hemp seeds, flax on top of nut butters and protein powders. As a rule of thumb use 1 tbsp per serving.

Here’s a good guide to get you started (1 serving):

• 1-2 cups of liquid of your choice
• 1 tbsp powder/supplement/booster
• Mint leaves + cinnamon or other spice
• 2 dates
• 1 handful of spinach or kale
• ½-1 cup of plain Greek yogurt or 1Tbsp protein powder
• 1Tbsp hemp hearts or seed butter
• 1 cup of fruit
• Handful of ice

It’s a choose-your-own-adventure when it comes to smoothie-building. Experiment with a variety of nutritious ingredients until you get your desired result. The best part is as you start experimenting you will create a variety of your favourite combinations to always keep thing interesting.

Happy blending!