smoothie / smoothies recipes

ckerrd

Fresh juice - not from concentrate - and fruit of your choice.
No real need for a banana but it does help to thicken it.

|For a really simple one fruit juice and a packet of frozen fruit is great - cold though

ali1972

I make a smoothie for breakfast every morning, and I always add a little water to help liquify it, otherwise it is too thick to drink - as you've discovered! Apart from that mine generally only contain fruit.

I always use a banana as a base and then either add berries (I generally throw in raspberries or blackberries and some blueberries) or I add a couple of peeled kiwis. I tend to keep my boxes of berries in the fridge icebox so they keep longer. If I'm feeling very organised when I do the shopping, I bag up mixtures of berries in advance so I only have to grab a one portion bag from the icebox in the morning and throw the contents straight into the blender. I used to use a little apple juice to liquify the smoothie, but found that it tasted too sweet and started to use a little water instead. I don't really like over sweet drinks so it works well for me. If you do decide to use frozen berries but don't like your smoothie too cold, then add a dash of hot water from the kettle instead of cold water. It'll balance out!

Another tip: if you want your smoothie to keep you going for longer, then start by putting 5 brazil nuts in the blender first and whizz for a few seconds to grind them up. Then add the banana and kiwis etc. 5 brazil nuts gives you your daily dose of selenium and the extra protein keeps you going for longer.

kate83

I think it depends on your taste buds really - water does dilute the flavour a bit but smoothies are that strong anyway I actually prefer it that way (but then I also have to drink orange juice half/half water as it's too strong/sweet otherwise) The only trouble with watering smoothies down is you notice all the bits and seeds in them more.
Health wise, you're supposed to drink fruit juice and smoothies diluted anyway as otherwise they raise your blood sugar too much and you end up with with a sugar craving when it drops back down.

Georgiabay

If mine are too thick after I've poured them out, I swish the blender out with water then mix it into the smoothie. That way I get every last drop.
My favourite though is banana, avocado and apple juice with a few basil leaves in.

frisco_2

I'll try this as I DON'T have a sweet tooth and really don't want anything extra, just fruit

Primrose

I hadn't realised until watching "Working Lunch" on TV today that VAT is payable on commercial smoothies which have undergone processing, I was aware that most food products were zero rated for VAT, except for snacks and chocolate products. So if you're a smoothie fan, this is perhaps an added incentive to save money longterm and invest in that smoothie machine and whizz the fresh fuit or vegetables at home, especially if you grow your own or can bulk buy them at cheap prices.

squeaky

And just to get your mouth watering with lots of ideas see:-

smoothie threads here on Old Style

smoothies threads here on Old Style

sillyvixen

i always make my own, i am not prepared the prices they charge to you have someone else chuck it in a blender.

babycham_2

Where has the thread gone that tells us how to make smoothies, have been looking but cant find it.Would like to lose weight OS.

Pink.

Hi babycham,

There you go. I've added your post to the main smoothie making thread.

Pink