At our house, we make a smoothie every day! Our children are often involved in choosing the ingredients, and surprisingly, they are quite open now to the fact that greens are a definite must-have in nearly every smoothie. We used to have to hide certain ingredients in the smoothies, but after much educating on our part to ensure that our children know what they are eating and why, my husband and I have somewhat mastered how to make a delicious smoothie that is packed with nutrients! And if it’s not easy for you, you’re not going to do it. So to make it easier, I do not give specific measurements on anything because I literally don’t measure when making smoothies. Generally, all ingredients are added in equal parts. The add-ins are what you use sparingly. Experiment with them!
D’s Smoothie Basics: Fruits, Greens & Liquids.
-First order of business… a Vitamix! This was a huge investment for us, but one that we will never regret. Our Vitamix blender has been our savior in the kitchen and is used at least twice a day. There are other great brands such as Ninja, but if you can spring for one of these two brands, it is an absolute necessity. Granted, I do know what it is like to be on a budget and feeding multiple mouths, but when you think of the number of drinks and smoothies most people buy while out and about, the numbers do add up, and you could probably save up for one of these master blenders.
-We almost always start with a banana and orange juice base. The banana seems to balance bitterness of added greens or tartness of certain fruits, and the orange juice brings out the sweetness in most ingredients while hiding potential earthiness.
-We mostly use frozen fruits, as they are much easier to keep and are not always in season. We either buy them frozen, or buy fresh, then wash and freeze. This is also a way to avoid using a bunch of ice, since everything is already frozen!
-Of course, all ingredients are organic, if possible!
-From there, it’s everything but the kitchen sink!
Here are a few of our favorites!
Sunset Smoothie: Heavy on the fruit – a good starting point in order to hide the greens.
Banana
Orange Juice
Frozen strawberries
Frozen Blueberries
Frozen Pineapple
Frozen peaches
Frozen or fresh Kale or Spinach
Sunrise Smoothie (AKA everything-but-the-kitchen-sink smoothie)
Everything from the Sunset Smoothie, plus…
Avocado (you’d be amazed at how well these disappear in a smoothie)
Fig (fresh or frozen, the whole fig, rinsed)
Chunk of Cucumber
Small Tomato
Apple
spoonful of Chia Seeds
Add-ins or substitutes:
Beets (cooked or raw)
Carrots
Sprouted greens (any kind that isn’t too overpowering in flavor)
Coconut milk
Raspberries
Blackberries
Cherries
Dragon Fruit
Kiwi
Flax Seeds (in small portions; kids seem to not like these as much)
Agave Nectar or Stevia– a good added sweetener if you have mostly greens and veggies.
Occassional Add-ins:
When we have had a bit of an over-indulgent day or week, we will often throw in:
-powdered probiotic (I like RAW brand for kids)
-or my very favorite fermented food supplement Pro-Belly-Otic from Real Food Real Life (we do “bug bombers” with this on a daily basis anyhow).
-a little black elderberry syrup if someone is fighting a cold.
–alkaline water, if water is needed, or if the ingredients are short on alkaline foods.
-Occasionally, we throw in a small amount of Bragg Organic, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, with “the Mother.” The health benefits are amazing and surprisingly, it can help bring out the flavor in certain smoothies, or hide less desirable ones.
The options literally are endless! You just have to play with it and see what you and your family like. It really is neat to see our kids get excited about what is going to be in the smoothie of the day! If nothing else, they are sure to get a good balance of nutrition to help get them through the day and boost their immune systems.
Don’t let any extra go to waste! If there is any smoothie leftover, pour it into ice cube trays, freeze it and blend it up another time as a sorbet!
Happy Blending!
