Prepping a smoothie at home is easy! Follow these steps for the perfect Blend Theory inspired smoothie.
If you own a blender you can make the healthiest, most fulfilling smoothies for you and your family. Whether you like your smoothies thick, or thin.. sweet or rooty (Yes its a word, I checked! lol) the great thing is learning how to make them at home will allow you to per-fect the perfect smoothie without having to leave the house.
I would often hear my friends say "Girl, I can't get my smoothies to taste good! What do you do?!"
I will admit - making a smoothie may look intimidating, but if you think about it, it's literally adding the healthiest whole foods to a huge cup and pressing a button! I learned how to perfect my smoothies by trying, testing and going through trial and error. I thought mixing a bunch of healthy stuff together would do it; unaware of the taste I wanted and nutritional benefits I was looking for. Not all smoothies are created equal! Here's a few important tips to consider while making the perfect smoothie:
The ingredients:
Making what tastes good to you matters most! When I first introduced Blend Theory I was fully aware that my community may not like the earthy, rooty taste I liked. I set out to establish drinks that were bright, healthy and kid friendly all in one, to cater to a variety of paletes.
If you prefer a sweeter smoothie, you'd want to try the 60/40 method - 60 percent fruit, 40% vegetables/other. It's important to add a mix of fruit and veggies, low sugar fruits as well as superfoods depending on your dietary goals. Be Versatile! Add a variety of fruit, and be sure to include low sugar fruits like banana, blueberry, cherries, avocado (great yogurt substitute & healthy fats), and peaches. Low glycemic fruits won't spike your blood sugar making it best for those watching weight gain or diabetes. Also, adding in fresh lemon juice or lime can take your smoothie from a 6 to a 10 easily!
I love to use frozen fruit in my smoothies anytime I can, instead of ice. I find that the frozen fruit will serve the same purpose as ice; by making the smoothe thick and cold without compromising any flavor. Frozen fruit (with no added sugars) can be found easily and are low maintenance as far as storage. Ice is cool for milkshakes, but even still I like to use frozen bananas for milkshakes when I can. I'll share in a later post how to freeze some of your favorites to make them last longer..
Don't afraid to try different vegetables in your smoothies, you'll be pleasantly surprised!
Vegetables carry the most nutritional value, adding in Vitamin A, B, and K, anti-inflammatory benefits, iron, plus much more. The best veggies to add are those that are rich in color & won't take over the entire smoothie's taste, while still adding value. Spinach, kale, beets, sweet potato and carrots are some of my favorites.
Layering your ingredients:
How you layer ingredients in the blender will make a difference in the outcome and texture of your drink. The last thing you want is to chew your smoothie or to have big chunks of fruit after blending. Adding your ingredients the wrong way can cause ingredients to get stuck in the blender blade and that's what we DON'T want! Try this method going forward:
Liquid FIRST
Powders/Other (protein powder, flax seed etc. so they don't stick to the blender cup)
Leafy Greens (if applicable)
Soft Fruit (banana, other fresh fruit)
Frozen Fruit - (or ice if that's your choice!)
Pre-Blend?
Thank you to my bestie Trina (Mom to be!) for purchasing me a A2500 Vitamix Blender in 2018! It’s a high powered blender that’s literally my baby (if you know me personally you know this) It’s helped me perfect my blending skills by having a temper accessory to help break up ingredients as I go. I didn’t always have a high powered blender. Before I had my Vitamix, I found it helpful to blend my greens and liquids first, then add the rest of my ingredients after a pre-blend for a better consistency.
Be versatile, show off your palette, make your smoothie feel good!
I'm always on the lookout for new smoothie inspiration! If this post was helpful, give it a like and comment your best smoothie recommendations, ingredients and any questions!