Here’s an easy guide to building a healthy smoothie plus a guideline for smoothie ingredients. Smoothies are a great way to start the day with cleansing and detoxifying fruits, vegetables and nourishing add-ins. While smoothies can be healthy, it’s also easy for a smoothie be full of sugar or fat. A great way to get a healthy smoothie is make your own.
Wondering how to make a smoothie? Let’s start with a good blender. Here are a few options that vary based on your needs.
Your Smoothie Blender
I use a Ninja Auto IQ. This set has a large 72 oz crushing blender, two 16 oz smoothie cups and a food processor. I love this thing and use it at least 5 times a week. It’s a relatively inexpensive system to start with if you’re not sure about the whole smoothie thing.
Another reason I chose this option is, it was $149.99 on Amazon compared to the Nutribullet for $129.95 which comes with a 28 oz stainless steel and two 32 oz colossal cups. There is no large blender or food processor with the Nutribullet so think if an ultimate smoothie maker. I use my Ninja system for energy balls, cookies, pie crust and so much more which I couldn’t do with a Nutribullet.
The other highly recommended smoothie machine is a Vitamix Professional 750 Series Blender. This one is the real deal at roughly $569.91, and worth every penny. This machine is incredible and even self-cleaning. It will be on my Christmas list someday when my Ninja burns out.
How to Make a Smoothie
A good smoothie contains three basic components:
Basic Smoothie Recipe
- Liquid (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
- Fruit or Vegetables (2-3 cups)
- Thickening Agent (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
A good rule of thumb for your smoothie-making process is to:
- Add the liquid to the blender
- Add the fibrous greens (spinach, kale, etc)
- Add frozen fruit or vegetables (this is typically a frozen fruit mix and includes bananas as a natural sweetening agent)
- Last, add any nutritional add in’s (e.g. superfoods and spices like turmeric, chia, maca, spirulina, protein powder
Smoothie Ingredients
The only two ingredients you need to be careful about are spirulina and maca. They both have pretty strong flavors and if you aren’t used to them, you might want to start slow.
Liquid Options
I use plain old filtered water for my smoothies to keep the calorie content down and the nutritional density up. However, using something else is definitely going to kick the flavor factor up a notch. Other options are coconut water, almond milk (any nut milk), coconut milk, soy milk,
Fibrous Vegetables
The two core fibrous greens mainly used are spinach and kale. However there are numerous additional options to add depending on what your flavor palate and if you’re looking for more of a detoxifying smoothie. Some additional fibrous options are celery, cucumber, dandelion greens, parsley and swiss chard. I tend to stay away from arugula because of its peppery flavor. I tried it once and wasn’t a fan.
Frozen Fruit
Almost anything goes here so I won’t list every fruit known to man/woman. One tip, I have frozen bananas on hand all the time. They’re the perfect natural sweetener to a smoothie. Some next best options for sweetener if you’re not a banana fan are frozen pineapple or dates. Keep in mind, banana is also going to add creaminess to the smoothie texture. So, if you’re not using banana, you may want to add something else like avocado, coconut milk or a nut butter.
A great timesaving option for the fruit is a frozen mix. Some great options are available from Amazon’s Whole Foods Market like Tropical Fruit Medley, Berry Blend, and single fruit options like Pineapple Chunks and Strawberries.
Nutritional Add In’s
Now it’s getting fun – let’s talk about the nutritional add-ins such as: superfoods, seeds, spices, protein powders, nut butters and more.
Seeds – Hemp, flax, chia and sunflower seeds (to name a few) make great additions to smoothies. They don’t bring a ton of flavor to the smoothie so can easily be added to increase the nutritional profile with a healthy fats and protein.
Spices – My favorite spices to add are turmeric and cinnamon. However, depending on the flavor profile of the smoothie, you can add other spices like cloves, or nutmeg (say with a pumpkin smoothie). Or you could add extracts, like a touch of vanilla or even almond.
Superfoods – The most common superfoods I add are spirulina, maca and cacao nibs. The cacao nibs tend to be something I sprinkle on the top. Spirulina is awesome for vegans. I use it all the time since I’m 98% plant-based. I picked up the tip of adding Spirulina to smoothies from a person that completely inspires me, Rich Roll.
Nut Butter – Anything goes here depending again on the flavor profile of the smoothie. There’s Peanut, Almond, Cashew, Sunflower Seed (that’s a seed not a nut). Start slow with the sunflower seed butter as it does add a little different flavor. Eliminate the nut butter if you’re looking to be calorie conscious.
Protein Powder – This tends to be a vegan protein powder for me. I like Vega and Orgain which you can find on Amazon, your local coop or sometimes a Costco or Sam’s Club. I’ve been using chocolate Orgain lately with my spinach/mixed berry/banana/spirulina smoothie and it’s great.
Oats – The last thing you could add is oats to add some fiber and caloric content. Again, this increase the caloric content. I might add this on a long run or higher cardio day where my calorie burn has been more significant.
Smoothie Recipes
Here are the links to some of my favorite smoothie recipes from some of my favorite people and influencers. While I can’t say, I know them personally, all have influenced me in some way. And a few links to some of my own creations.
Sea Green Smoothie (Rich Roll – Plant Power Meal Planner)
Green Machine Smoothie (Rich Roll – Plant Power Meal Planner)
Blueberry Maca Smoothie (from the Blue Zones Planner)
Carrot Ginger Turmeric Smoothie (Minimalist Baker – Dana Schultz)
Glowing Green Smoothie (Food Babe – Vani Hari
Superfood Packed Banana Cacao Banana Smoothie Recipe – Darin Olien
Energy Boosting Smoothie (My Healthy Angel)
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie (My Healthy Angel)
Ginger Turmeric Smoothie (My Healthy Angel)
I hope this helped you start your day with a burst of vitamins and nourishment with a smoothie!
Love and Plants,
