These 5 Healthy Smoothies Will Change the Game

Smoothies are virtually everywhere; you can find them at the mall, any fast-food restaurant and even various coffee shops offer them. That’s all fine and dandy until you realize that those smoothies are actually glorified fruit milkshakes that are filled to the brim with sugar, frozen yogurt, sherbet and even ice cream! These may be convenient and tasty, but they do much more harm than good for your body in the long run. Why even indulge in these smoothie imposters when you can easily create your own delicious smoothies from the comfort of your own home while using healthy ingredients?

First of all, making your own smoothies doesn’t have to be an inconvenience. In fact, here are a couple of tips to make the process simpler and much less time consuming.

1. Prepare your fruit (and vegetables) in advance.
2. Chop up your ingredients the night before and pop them in the freezer! Now your ingredients are blender ready and they can double as ice, so you don’t have to water down your smoothie! (Pro tip: bananas are especially good for this because they can act as the ice; they also add a rich thickness to the smoothie without overpowering the other flavors.)
3. When loading your blender with ingredients, make sure to put a liquid in first, such as milk, water, juice or yogurt.
4. Follow the liquid ingredient with leafy green ingredients (i.e. kale or spinach).
5. Add the heavier ingredients on top (i.e. frozen bananas or other various fruits of your choice).

Now that you’ve been adequately prepared for smoothie-making, here are 5 quick, easy and healthy recipes to try out!

1. Strawberry Mango Springtime Smoothie (3 ½ servings): 

• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1 banana: peeled, sliced, and frozen
• 1 mango: skinned and chopped into chunks
• 5 large strawberries: quartered and stems removed

2. Avocado-Spinach Smoothie (2 servings)

• 1 cup of packed fresh spinach leaves
• 1 ¼ cups of white grape or pear juice
• ½ avocado
• 1 granny smith apple: peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 cup of ice (OR  ½  frozen banana)
• (For sweeter taste, add 1 teaspoon of honey)

3. Summer Peach and Plum Smoothie (2 servings)

• ½ cup of Greek Yogurt
• 1 plum: roughly chopped and pit removed
• 1 peach: roughly chopped and pit removed
• 1 nectarine: roughly chopped and pit removed
• ½ cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

4. Hearty Fruit and Oat Smoothie (2 servings)

• 1 cup of strawberries: quartered and stems removed
• 1 sliced frozen banana
• ½ cup of old-fashioned oats
• ¼ cup of raw almonds
• 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
• 1 cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt

5. Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie (2 servings)

• 2 bananas: frozen and chopped
• 1 ½ cup of almond milk
• ½ cup of peanut butter (OR switch out with almond butter if preferred)
• 2 tablespoons of honey

One final pro tip: if you desire a creamier texture for any of these recipes, you can add ½ of an avocado to achieve that (without any detectable avocado flavor)! Happy Blending!

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