Smoothies are one of the most nutritious and affordable meals out there, but there’s an art to making a really tasty one. You want it to be sweet, but not too sweet, creamy rather than icy and packed with solid nutrients to get you through the day. You don’t need expensive equipment to pull off the perfect smoothie: just a reliable blender, quality ingredients and few guidelines.
Some tips for making that perfect smoothie:
Choose stuff you like
Sounds obvious, but it’s true. If you’re not wild about raw kale, don’t put it in the blender. You will not mask its foul flavor. The point is, just because a smoothie is an amalgam of pureed foods doesn’t mean you can’t identify the individual elements within. My daughter loathes bananas, and can sniff them out every time I try to sneak one in.
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Frozen fruit is essential
Frozen fruit is key. It keeps you from having to use ice, which can create a crumbly, uneven texture. You can find just about any fruit in frozen form these days, and you can buy them in large, cost-effective amounts. Freezing fresh fruit is also a great way to preserve overripe fruits, especially bananas and berries.
Embrace orange juice
Orange juice gets a bad rap as a smoothie liquid because of its sugar content, but it’s an effective method for adding natural sweetness. It’s also packed with vitamin C. In the winter, add the juice of local citrus fruits like Louisiana oranges, satsumas or grapefruits.
Go Greek
There’s no better binder for a smoothie than thick and creamy nonfat plain Greet yogurt. Better still, one cup has about 23 grams of protein—almost half the recommended daily allowance.
Nail down your ratios
Everyone’s blender or juicer is different, as are your taste buds, so play around with different ratios to determine your favorite mix of liquids (juice, water, almond milk, etc.), fruits and veggies (fresh and frozen), binders (yogurt, applesauce, ice) and sweeteners (honey, agave, maple syrup). Once you’ve got it down, you can pull off the perfect smoothie in a matter of minutes.
Cherry-Lime Smoothie with Spinach and Mango
Servings: 2
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2 cups frozen cherries
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water (more if necessary)
Juice of one lime
1 heaping cup fresh baby spinach
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (preferably Fage)
½ cup fresh mango
1 tablespoon honey
To a blender or juicer, add the first four ingredients and process until smooth. Add the remaining four ingredients and continue processing until smooth. The texture should be thick and pourable. Add a little more juice or water if necessary. Serve immediately.
Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor and the author of Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey. Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com.