How To Make A Smoothie Plus 200+ Smoothie Recipes

I readily admit I am a smoothie fanatic! One of the things I love about smoothies is its a healthy breakfast option or quick mid-afternoon snack. An added benefit is it allows me to get my daily dose of green vegetables and fruits. Our guide will not only show you how to make a smoothie but also how to make a delicious and nutritious smoothie.

If you are ready to get started, continue reading.

Basic Ingredients for Smoothies

There are four essential ingredients for smoothies: a liquid base, fruits, vegetables, and a smoothie add-in, such as oats, yogurt, powders, seeds, spices, or nut butter.

How To Make a Smoothie – Step-by-Step Guide

You first need to decide what type of smoothie you want. Making a smoothie is simple all you need to do is blend a liquid option, a fruit option, and a vegetable option. There are three options for smoothies:

Fruit Smoothie

If you want to make a fruit smoothie, you can add one fruit or a variety of fruits and a liquid option that forms the base for your smoothie. For example, if you want to make a strawberry banana smoothie, you can add strawberries, bananas, and almond milk and have a delicious smoothie.

Vegetable (Green) Smoothie

Green smoothies are a great option if you want to get your daily dose of green vegetables. My favorite green vegetables are kale and spinach. I especially like these vegetables because they have a mild taste, so you don’t get that green grassy taste in your smoothies. An easy smoothie recipe is kale combined with fresh orange juice.

Fruit and Vegetable Smoothie

This combination is my favorite option for smoothies, you add fruit, vegetables, and a liquid base the combinations are endless. We have over 200 smoothie recipes listed below that utilize various fruit and vegetable combinations.

How To Combine the Ingredients in Your Smoothie

I prefer to use a high-powered blender for my smoothies since it combines smoothie ingredients properly. When blending a smoothie, I add liquids, fruits and vegetables, and any smoothie add-ins such as seeds, nuts, protein powders, nut butter, extracts, sweeteners, oats, or yogurt.

The Proportion of Fruits to Vegetables

When I combine fruits and vegetables in smoothies, I love to follow the 50/50 rule. In other words, I use 50% green vegetables and 50% fruits. This is a relaxed rule; you can adjust the proportions based on your taste profile.

Popular Fruit Combinations

I am open to all fruit combinations. However, some fruit combinations seem to work better. I’ve provided a few ideas below to get you started.

Strawberry and Bananas
Papaya and Bananas
Mango and Bananas
Pineapple and Passion Fruit
Cherry and Pineapple
Strawberry and Pineapple
Strawberry and Blueberries
Orange and Bananas
Strawberry and Apples

Frozen vs. Fresh Fruits

You can use frozen fruits or fresh fruits for your smoothie; the choice is really up to you. Both fresh and frozen fruit have similar nutrient content. However, a benefit of using frozen fruit is they help to make your smoothie thick and slushy. Additionally, frozen fruits help you to save money if fruits are out of season.

Best Frozen Fruits for Smoothies

You can pretty much find any frozen fruit. Some of the most popular frozen fruits are mangoes, pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Mild Tasting Vegetables

You will find that most smoothies utilize kale and spinach. The main reason for this is that both vegetables are nutritionally dense and have a mild flavor so that they won’t overwhelm the taste of your smoothie. If you want to experiment, a few other vegetables you can add to your smoothie are cauliflower, cucumber, and carrots.

Vegetables You Can Use in Smoothies

The beauty of smoothies is you can add pretty much any type of vegetable to your smoothie. A few of my personal favorites are cauliflower, avocados, carrots, and collard green. For more ideas, have a look at our list below:

Cauliflower
Kale
Spinach
Chard
Collard Green
Avocado
Sweet Potatoes
Cucumber
Winter Squash
Beets
Peas
Celery
Zucchini

Smoothie Add-ins

Adding add-ins to your smoothie can give smoothies an extra nutritional boost. A few ideas for smoothie add-ins are listed below:

Seeds: flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds
Powders: Protein, Collagen, Cacao, Spirulina, Chlorella, Wheatgrass, Moringa
Nut Butters – My favorite nut butter or almond and cashew nut butter. However, you can use any nut butter
Yogurt – Greek, Plain, or Flavored Yogurt
Spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg
Tofu
Extracts – Vanilla Extract
Grain – Oats, Quinoa (cooked), Brown Rice (cooked)

Liquids for Smoothies

The main liquids for smoothies are water and nut milk. However, there are quite a few liquids you can use. Have a look at our list below:

Water
Coconut Water
Nut Milk
Milk
Coconut Milk
Fruit Juice
Kefir
Kombucha
Tea
Oat, Soy, Hemp, or Rice Milk

Sweeteners for Smoothies

If you add fruits to a smoothie, more than likely, you won’t need a sweetener. However, if you want to use a sweetener in your smoothie, you can consider the items below.

Ripe Banana
Dried Fruits – Dates, Prunes, Figs
Other fruits: mangoes, pineapple, etc.
Honey
Maple syrup
Molasses
Stevia
Agave Nectar
Monk fruit sweetener
Fruit juice
Cane juice
Coconut sugar

How To Thicken Your Smoothie

There are several ingredients you can use to thicken smoothies. A few of our favorites are listed below.

Oats
Chia Seeds or Flaxseeds
Yogurt
Frozen Fruit
Avocado
Sweet Potatoes
Nut Butter

How To Make Your Smoothie a Meal Replacement Smoothie

To make your smoothie a meal replacement, you need a smoothie containing fruits, vegetables, protein, fiber, and healthy fats. I have included a few options below to get you started. You can also look at our breakfast smoothies and weight loss smoothies for a few ideas.

Fruits: Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Acai Berries, Mango, Banana or Frozen Banana, Frozen fruit, Pineapple or Frozen Pineapple.

Vegetables: Kale, Spinach, Cauliflower

Liquids: Nut milk, Coconut milk

Protein: Plant-based protein powders, Greek Yogurt, Kefir, Nuts

Healthy Fats: Avocado, Nut Butter

Fiber: Chia seeds, Hemp seeds, Flaxseeds, Pumpkin seeds, Oats

Smoothie Add-ins: Cinnamon powder, Turmeric, Ginger, Spirulina, Wheatgrass powder, Moringa, Chlorella, Vanilla extract

How To Store Smoothies

There are several methods you can use to store your smoothie. A few of our favorites are listed below:

Freeze the prepared smoothies in ice cube trays. We can blend the cubes with extra liquid or let them thaw out.
Once the smoothie is blended, you can store it in air-tight mason jars. Fill the jars to the top, so air is not trapped in the jar.
If your freezer has limited space, you use reusable, air-tight zip lock bags.
Use popsicle holders to store your smoothie.

Common Questions

1) How do you make a smoothie with frozen fruit?

Suppose you are making a smoothie with frozen fruit. First, add the liquid, then the frozen fruit and vegetables, and lastly, the smoothie add-ins.

2) How do you make a healthy smoothie?

If you are trying to make a healthy smoothie avoid sugars and ensure your smoothie contains fruits, vegetables, fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

3) How do you make a thick smoothie?

To make a smoothie thicker, you can add frozen fruit, avocados, yogurt, chia seeds, flaxseeds, or oats.

4) Do you put ice in a smoothie?

Yes, you can put ice in a smoothie. You will get a

5) Can you make smoothies with water?

Yes, you can make a smoothie with water. You can also use coconut water.

6) Do you put milk in a smoothie?

Yes, you can put milk in a smoothie. However, a healthier option is to use plant-based milk, soy milk, or oat milk.

7) How long should you blend a smoothie?

Use your discretion. If you have a high-powered blender, you can blend the items for around 30 seconds. If the ingredients look like they have been liquified, then your smoothie is done.

How To Make a Smoothie Plus 200+ Smoothie Recipes