How Do I Make a Good Smoothie?

Dear Betty,

I like smoothies. A lot. I’ve thought about making my own at home, but I see all of these recipes that use things like whey protein powder and ingredients that I’ve never heard of. How do I make a good smoothie?

– Baffled by the Blender

You don’t need anything fancy to make a good smoothie. *

Oh baffled. Let me start by saying this: there’s no wrong way to make a smoothie. No, really. It’s true. Does your smoothie contain fruits and/or vegetables? Then you’re golden. The only thing you really need is a good blender.

Personally, I don’t own any protein powders. In my opinion, yogurt is a great source of protein, and it has the added benefit of making the smoothie creamier. Protein powders don’t do that.

I don’t have a recipe for smoothies, per se, but I do have a formula. Every smoothie that I make features the following combination of ingredients:

Yogurt. Go for unsweetened Greek yogurt. It’s high in protein and doesn’t have any extra ingredients that you don’t need.
6-8 ounces of juice. Now, juice can come from a variety of sources. Sometimes I’ll squeeze a few oranges for a fresh base. Other times I’ll cut the top off of a juice box (no added sugar, naturally) and dump the contents in. If you have no juice on hand, you can use water; the blender will need the liquid to keep everything lubricated and spinning smoothly.
1 banana or avocado. Wait, what? Avocado? Yep. It makes the smoothie creamy, but doesn’t impart any sort of distinct flavor of its own.
A handful of frozen fruit. Choose your favorites. My freezer tends to be stocked with mango, blueberries and strawberries. Raspberries or a mixed berry blend sometimes make an appearance.
A handful of spinach. Spinach is another ingredient that doesn’t add flavor, but adds quite a bit of stealth nutrients. Unfortunately, it tends to make the color a little bit muddy. I recommend investing in a reusable insulated tumbler in a bold color that masks the color of the contents.

Yesterday’s lunchtime smoothie involved Greek yogurt, the contents of a juice box (apple), one banana, mango, blueberries and spinach. It tasted great, and even the Tiny Kitchen Assistant willingly drank some.

Do you have a favorite smoothie?

* Photo by emilymorris888, used via Creative Commons.

Tags: fruit, no-cook, smoothie, vegetables, veggies