18 May, 2018
How To Make A Smoothie And Why Bother?
A smoothie is a thick beverage blend of different vegetables and fruits. If you are wondering how to make a smoothie, then you have come to the right place.
How To Make A Smoothie The Right Way
Green smoothies use green vegetables such as spinach, celery cucumbers, green apples, etc. You can make smoothies out of just about anything that tickles your fancy and lots of people like to experiment with ingredients that they enjoy.
The beauty of drinking smoothies is that you get many different nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants all in one go. With the correct recipe, your smoothie will not only be healthy, but it will also be tasty. Many people believe that healthy food and tasty food cannot be reconciled. This is false. There are ways to make both healthy and great tasting smoothies.
In this post on how to make a smoothie, I am going to focus on green smoothies, which are unlike normal smoothies which normally have yogurt or milk added.
As there are many studies that say that dairy products are not as beneficial for some as we once believed, we will for this post keep our smoothies free of dairy.
Since the goal here is to keep things raw and natural, the best way to make a smoothie will be to use well-chilled vegetables and fruit. Smoothies taste a lot better cold so always use cold ingredients to make them, or use ingredients at room temperature and then chill after. I prefer to drink my smoothie just after making it.
You will need a good blender if you want to know the secrets of how to make a smoothie, and they can be purchased online too, like this one.
Ninja Professional Blender with Nutri Ninja Cups (BL660)
- Ninja Professional Blender with Nutri Ninja Cups has 1100 watts of professional performance power with 3 speeds, pulse, and single-serve functions.
- 72 oz. Total Crushing Pitcher pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy frozen drinks and smoothies.
- Two 16 oz. Nutri Ninja Cups with To-Go Lids are perfect for creating personalized, nutrient-rich drinks to take on the go.
- Dishwasher-safe and BPA-free parts. Single Serve Blade Assembly
- Includes one 1100-watt base, 72 oz. Total Crushing Pitcher, and two 16 oz. Nutri Ninja Cups with To-Go Lids. NOTE: Refer user manual before use
The basic recipe for how to make a smoothie goes as follows:
Add 2 or 3 cups of your green vegetables into the blender. Add 1 cup of water and if you have a sweet tooth, you can add some apple juice or pineapple juice to the mix. Turn on the blender/smoothie maker till you have a thick blend.
Now you have a smoothie that’s good to go.
How Safe Is It To Drink Lots Of Smoothies?
Smoothies are safe and beneficial to one’s health. However, they must be consumed in moderation. Anything that is taken to excess can be detrimental.
Here are a few common mistakes that a lot of people make when blending their smoothies:
Not Checking For Allergies
Be very careful if you have any allergies to any fruits and vegetables. Check with your friends too before you serve them up something that will make them sick. Some people, for instance, are highly allergic to celery.
Not Rotating The Greens
Always rotate your greens. In other words, drink different greens each time you make the smoothie to give you a well-rounded smoothie diet and avoid toxin build up.
Focusing More On Fruits Instead Of Vegetables
When making green smoothies, it is best to focus on the vegetables, rather than the fruits. It goes without saying that fruits are tastier because they are sweeter. Because of this, people usually use more fruits than green vegetables.
The problem with using too much fruit is that fruit is very high in sugar and thus are not filling. You will feel fuller drinking more vegetables as there is more fiber in vegetables.
If you are hungry after your smoothie, you will end up eating more calories and may gain weight.
A good example of a smoothie focusing on vegetables would look like this:
- 1/2 cup spinach1⁄2 cup broccoli
- 1⁄2 cup cabbage
- 1 cup apple juice1/2 cup waterThe broccoli and spinach are slow digesting fiber, so it will leave you feeling full for longer.
Not Keeping Things Natural
Try to only use water and pure fruit juice when making your green smoothies. Using milk, yogurt or store bought fruit juice is a big no-no.
There are several ingredients that people use thinking that these are nutritious and benefitting them. These are the most common ingredients added to green smoothies which should be avoided.
1. Protein powder
2. Ice cream
3. Sugar
4. Cream soda
5. Honey
6. Whipped cream
7. Peanut butter
8. Chocolate syrups
There is one cardinal rule to making smoothies. No artificial ingredients. You should only use green vegetables and a few small servings of raw fruit or natural fruit juice to make the smoothie. The fruits just help to make the drink sweeter and more palatable. No deviation from this rule. Period.
Not Using a Good Blender
While this is not a huge mistake, it is still better to use a good blender rather than one ill-suited for making smoothies, or you could damage it.
click on picture if you like this blender
The blender should have a solid base that is wide for stability. Since you’re making smoothies with your blender, it needs to have a high-speed and a 1000+ watt motor.
The pitcher that the blender uses needs to be large too. Sometimes you may want to make a smoothie for 2 or more people. At times like these, you will need a bigger blender rather than a small, personal one.
Do your research and see what is the best type of juicer for you and is within your budget.
Not Using Recipes
Do not try to concoct your own recipes. By all means experiment, but you may get put off smoothies for life.
There are thousands of recipes available online or in books for you to copy. If you use too many vegetables, your smoothie will look like mud and not taste very good.
Certain greens like kale, broccoli, and arugula have strong flavors. So you will need to know what goes with what, as ingredients and the way you combine them can mask the taste of these vegetables. If you want to try making your own recipes, here are the types of greens that you should be using.
Here are some great tasting smoothie recipes for you to try.
I hope you now know how to make a smoothie and a great tasting one at that.