Loaded with healthy ingredients and perfect for breakfast or a snack, smoothies are a great way to add energy-boosting proteins and healthy fats to your diet. Even better, it takes just minutes to blend your own from scratch—and we guarantee they'll taste better than any smoothie pack you'll buy in the store. Experiment with a range of wholesome ingredients from avocado and berries to oats and spinach for blends that are not only good for you, but taste delicious. To help you expand your smoothie repertoire, we'verounded up our best smoothie recipes in a rainbow of colors and flavors.
How to Blend the Perfect Smoothie Every Time (No Recipe Required)
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Banana-Blueberry Smoothie
With just three ingredients, this banana-blueberry smoothie is an all around winner. In addition to the fruits, all you need is nonfat plain yogurt—and your blender!
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Banana-Oat Smoothie
Like many of our best smoothie recipes, this one is versatile. The recipe calls for old-fashioned rolled oats, but you can use quick-cook oats if that’s what you have on hand. The low-fat yogurt and fat-free milk can also be substituted for any type of yogurt or milk, including non-dairy varieties.
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Avocado, Spinach, and Pear Smoothie
Fresh tasting with a luscious mouthfeel, this is our favorite avocado smoothie—and it's vegan to boot. The green fruit makes it rich so there's no need for yogurt or other dairy, while spinach ups the green factor and the nutrition. Pear might seem a surprising choice, but its delicate sweetness is just what this smoothie needs.
This smoothie is all about the pineapple. You can use fresh or frozen pineapple chunks, but frozen gives the drink a thicker, more luxurious flavor. The sweetness of the pineapple is tempered by the refreshing bite of fresh ginger, while low-fat yogurt adds protein, and a touch of cinnamon brings it all together.
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Apple Smoothie
This vegan smoothie stars Granny Smith apples, along with bananas and orange juice, and skips both dairy and alternative milk or yogurt. Vanilla and honey complement the fruits, and flaxseed adds omega-3 fatty acids and acts as a thickener.
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Editors' Favorite Green Smoothie
This four-ingredient healthy smoothie is packed with spinach and romaine lettuce, and sweetened (and thickened) with frozen mango chunks. A little lemon juice is added for balance.
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Strawberry Coconut Smoothie
One sip of this light pink smoothie and you'll instantly be transported to the tropics, thanks to a llittle light coconut milk that plays a big role. A full cup of frozen strawberries and a banana make it refreshingly cold and creamy.
The 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats blended into the mix makes this smoothie thick and heart-healthy. Top with 1/4 cup chopped nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, for a more filling meal.
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Pom-Berry-Banana Smoothie
Pomegranates are packed with antioxidants and add to this smoothie's beautiful deep-berry color. There's also an entire orange (peeled and pith removed, of course), that gives this recipe a boost of vitamin C.
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Peanut Butter Berry Smoothie
Consider this dairy-free drink the smoothie version of a PBJ. There’s creamy peanut butter and frozen mixed berries, as well as banana and almond milk. No sweeteners needed, a pinch of salt bring the flavors into harmony.
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Smoothie Parfait
Jam-packed with superfoods that will keep you charged and ready to go for the day ahead, this smoothie parfait recipe is a winner. Plus, you can make it the night before so you can grab and go in the morning.
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Strawberry Slushie
The secret to this sweet strawberry slushie is to blend it just before it reaches a smooth consistency, giving it the texture we all know and love.
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Carrot Mango Smoothie
A two-ingredient smoothie? Yes, please. Carrots are full of vitamin A (which helps with vision) and fiber, and we use their juice in this recipe. Mangoes are also full of nutrients and add a subtle tropical sweetness that makes this smoothie so delicious. The only other ingredient needed is a dash of nutmeg.
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Pumpkin Smoothie
It might not be your first thought as a powerhouse smoothie ingredient, but once you taste this pumpkin drink, it's sure to become a new staple in your smoothie repertoire. Frozen banana, maple syrup, fresh ginger, ground cinnamon, and whole milk come together for a tasty treat.
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Green Ginger-Peach Smoothie
Nutrient-rich baby spinach gives this smoothie recipe its green goodness. Peaches and honey lend a natural sweetness.
There are a number of benefits from consuming smoothies, they increase fibre intake, contribute towards our 5 a day, boost our vitamin C levels and may help with conditions like high blood pressure. However, when we blend or juice fruit, we're breaking down the plant cell walls and exposing the natural sugars within.
A typical smoothie is a drink made from mixed fruits or vegetables, and there are many ways to make one. While they provide several health benefits, drinking too many smoothies can negatively affect your health. They can add a lot of unforeseen calories, especially when a smoothie is simply a beverage with a meal.
A smoothie deemed a food that does not contain a meat alternate is considered a snack and must meet the competitive snack requirements. For example, a smoothie with the following ingredients is considered a snack food: apple juice, ice, frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, milk.
Smoothies rich in fiber and protein keep you full longer, while those made with fruits and vegetables increase your daily vegetable servings. As long as you are drinking smoothies made from a variety of fruits and vegetables and low in refined sugar, there would be no problem with consuming smoothies every day.
This can be milk, or a dairy-free alternative such as soya or almond milk, natural or flavoured yogurt, fruit juice, or for a tropical flavoured smoothie, low-fat coconut milk or coconut water. It's important to add the liquid to your blender before adding the fruit, as this will prevent the blade from getting damaged.
The energy boost from the natural sugars and minerals was almost immediate and the weight loss started that weekend. No joke. Fiber keeps you full: Blend a variety of fruits (banana, strawberries, oranges) and leafy greens (spinach, kale, chard) together to create a high fiber drink that'll keep you full and satisfied.
So, while McDonald's fruit smoothies definitely aren't the worst thing for you, there are definitely better alternatives with fewer additives if you're looking for a quick, healthy smoothie on the go.
Although it's better to eat whole fruit than drink fruit juice or smoothies, ifyou want to have some it's better to limit the quantity to the recommended portion of 1 small glass a day (150ml) and make sure your drink goes further by diluting it with water. '
Smoothies might be a breakfast food, but actually, they're fantastic for helping you drift off. The reason that certain fruits work well as sleep inducers is because they contain things like magnesium which is a natural sedative.
You may think of smoothies as something you'd usually reserve for breakfast or a midday snack, but you might just want to consider making a bedtime smoothie your newest nightly tradition. As it turns out, a bedtime smoothie can be the perfect combination of ingredients for a good night of sleep.
Leafy greens, nut butters, and avocado are some of the ingredients frequently found in green smoothies. These ingredients are high in fiber, healthy fat, or protein while also being low in carbohydrates. This means that not only can they help reduce your appetite, but they can also help to boost your metabolism.
In conclusion, smoothies can be a great way to increase intakes of fruit and vegetables in our diet, which would have many health benefits. However, they may contain large amounts of added or natural sugars, which can contribute to dental problems and obesity.
Yes and no. While most weight loss experts don't recommend substituting smoothies for every meal of the day, drinking them here or there (or even daily) can support weight loss goals. It all depends on what they contain and, of course, their portion size.
It depends on what's in it. If it's balanced, and has all the components a typical meal would contain (protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrates), then yes, a smoothie can be a meal. But if it's on the lighter side, with only fruit and ice, then no, it's not a meal. To be clear, a smoothie doesn't have to be a meal.
This means that in the future, smoothie companies won't be allowed to claim that their smoothies have more than 1 fruit and veg portion in them. The main reason these new guidelines have been issued is because of the high sugar content of smoothies.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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