I loooove smoothies. Thick, creamy, frozen ones. They’re kind of like eating ice cream, only with fewer calories and more nutrients. Below are some of my favorite smoothie recipes, but first, a few smoothie-making tips:
- Good places to find cheap frozen fruit: Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco. Or freeze your own.
- Use milk or milk substitutes as the liquid instead of juice, to keep your smoothies high in calcium and lower in sugar.
- Use plain yogurt instead of flavored, to limit sugar.
- Put the liquid & yogurt in the blender first, fresh fruit in second, and the frozen fruits in last, so your blender blends more easily.
- If you’re blender struggles, use the “pulse” button, or stop it and shake the carafe around a little to loosen things up. (Don’t stick a spoon in there, you’ll end up with injury or a big mess).
- Think of a smoothie as a meal or part of a meal, not just a drink. Smoothies are only nutritious if they’re not adding excess calories to your diet.
For all of the following smoothie recipes, simply blend the listed ingredients (put soft stuff in first) until you reach desired consistency. These amounts are approximate. No need to measure, just experiment to see what you like.
Peach Mango Smoothie
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup frozen peach slices (about 1/2 a large peach)
1/2 cup frozen mango cubes
splash of Amaretto (unless this is for a kid)
a few toasted sliced almonds on top for garnish & crunch
Strawberry Banana Smoothie (shown above)
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 frozen banana
5-7 frozen strawberries
crushed or cubed ice to taste
Pina Colada Smoothie
1/3 cup Light coconut milk
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 frozen banana
1 Tbsp shredded coconut (found in baking aisle)
squeeze of lime juice
cubed or crushed ice to taste
Vegan Berry Smoothie
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 Tbsp honey
crushed or cubed ice to taste
Ultimate Chocolate Smoothie
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 oz container nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 banana
lots of ice
Banana Oat Smoothie
Find it here on Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food website.
(I use this recipe, only with a frozen banana and some ice).
Raspberry Lime Smoothie
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup limeade or lemonade
big squeeze fresh lime juice
1 cup frozen raspberries
cubed or crushed ice to taste
8 Comments
angie
April 28, 2010 at 3:09 pmThese look delicious! Can’t wait to try.
certified pharmacy technician
May 31, 2010 at 8:22 pmfound your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
Amelia
June 1, 2010 at 10:06 amWonderful, I’m happy to hear that!
Kelly Planko
July 31, 2010 at 7:30 amMade the strawberry-banana smoothie this morning and it was delicious. My son Aiden even loved it. Thanks for sharing.
anonymous
July 26, 2014 at 4:36 pmI hate to be a downer, but I am a vegan. Honey isn’t vegan. Thanks! 🙂
Amelia Winslow
July 28, 2014 at 12:21 pmI’ll make a note to substitute another sweetener to make the recipe completely vegan.