How to Build The Perfect Smoothie
The perfect morning starts with a nutritious breakfast to provide us sustained energy through our morning. My go to is a smoothie of course & I am going to walk you through my perfect breakfast smoothie. Not only is it absolutely delicious, it's a balanced source of all your macronutrients, and can be changed based on your taste preferences and dietary needs.
The perfect smoothie starts with the perfect blender, or at least a great one. I personally use Vitamix. It was definitely an investment, and I’ve had plenty of blenders before this one that I’ve loved, but I can’t speak highly enough of my Vitamix and I use it every single morning. I purchased mine from Costco on sale so definitely keep your eye out for the deals if you are wanting to splurge on an appliance you use every day.
Some of my other favorite blenders are from Nutribullet and Frigidaire. A major factor to consider when shopping for your perfect blender, what size smoothie are you planning to make? Is it only for you? A single serve blender may be your best option here.
If you're like me and sharing the smoothie / blender with a man, who seems to eat way more than you’d imagine, or more than just yourself - a larger standard blender would be a better option for you both.
Now that we have got equipment out of the way let's talk about all things smoothie recipes. I try to make variations of the same smoothie recipe following this little equation:
Leafy greens + frozen fruit + liquid / protein powder + fat source + any additional supplements = best smoothie ever!
Let's break this down a little bit so you can take this equation and perfect your own smoothie.
Leafy greens are the base of all my smoothies, why? It’s the perfect way to increase your veggie intake without having to cook and prepare veggies *something most of us struggle with*. Not only are they adding so many micronutrients to your smoothie, the best part is you can’t taster them!!! It’s the ultimate hack : sneaking in veggies you might otherwise avoid eating without tasting them at all. My go to leafy greens for my smoothies are spinach and kale, but here are a few other you may want to explore in your journey to your perfect smoothie:
Dino kale *my personal fave when I can find it fresh*
Swiss chard
Dandelion greens
Bok Choy
romaine lettuce
beet greens
carrot tops
collard greens
celery
A few things I have learned when it comes to greens in smoothies, chop them before adding them to the blender to ensure they will break down and you don’t swallow half a leaf as you’re sipping on your breakfast later. Buying fresh greens in a bag is the easiest option, but they can go bad quickly, so toss them in the freezer if you know they will only be used for smoothies to ensure they stay good until you’ve used them all up, because no one likes wasting food - especially produce! Another alternative is to buy frozen greens but your options are usually limited to spinach, and maybe kale if you're lucky.
The next component of the perfect smoothies is FROZEN fruit, emphasis on the FROZEN. Have you ever seen a smoothie on IG that looks so thick and creamy? It’s all in the frozen fruit!
The fruit not only brings so much flavor but using frozen instead of fresh gives it a denser and thicker consistency. Not to mention, frozen fruit is often cheaper than fresh and can be bought in much larger quantities to last much longer, given that it is stored properly in the freezer.
It’s important to note that frozen fruit is not for the weak, worn out blenders. It will require some significant power to blend up so if that’s not another reason to find a solid blender, idk what is.
My personal favorite kind of frozen fruit to add to a smoothie is mango! I don’t know what it is but it always adds a sweet, cotton candy like flavor to my tall glass of nutrition. You cant go wrong with frozen berries * hello antioxidants *or frozen bananas either *did someone say potassium?*
Some other frozen fruit to experiment with:
Pineapple
Raspberries - makes for a tart taste
Cherries
strawberries
cranberries
Dragon fruit
peaches
clementines / oranges
Any kind of melon
Things to think about when it comes to buying frozen fruit - as mentioned before, its often more cost effective when you purchase already frozen fruit, and it keeps for much longer than fresh fruit in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, not all the fruits listed above are commonly found in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. In this case I recommend buying the fruit fresh to slice and freeze as soon as you bring it home. This will ensure that the freshness and nutritional value of these fruits stay that way and last you a long time.
Of course, if you’re not looking for a thick and creamy smoothie and want something more juice like - fresh fruit is the way to go.
Moving on to choosing a liquid for your smoothie as well as considering adding a source of protein.
Starting with liquid options; water is the standard I think most people would gravitate towards, however it's not my personal favorite. It does get points given that *most of us* have access to clean water and it doesn’t require an additional trip to the grocery store to acquire. I personally pass on adding water to my smoothie because I find there are better, more flavorful, and nutritious options.
The second most common liquid to make a smoothie is milk, or non dairy milk. Depending on the frozen fruit, protein, and fat source I am putting in my smoothie, my personal favorite non dairy option is oat milk. I could write a post all about my obsession with oat milk so we will save it for another day, but it is truly the supreme dairy free milk not only for its taste but its minimal environmental impacts as well.
Other dairy / dairy free options:
Almond milk
Cashew milk
Coconut milk
Soy milk
Non fat milk
Whole milk
1% and 2% milk
If I opt out of adding protein powder / supplements to my smoothie that day coconut water is my absolute favorite liquid base. Mixed with leafy greens and frozen fruit it makes for the most refreshing smoothie with a slightly thinner consistency.
The final liquid I want to touch on as an option for your smoothie is a protein shake. This may sound silly at first, why are we adding a shake to a smoothie?? This is a method I stumbled upon by accident, or rather lack of ingredients when making my smoothie one morning.
I realized we were out of oat milk and I knew I wanted a milk base for my smoothie so I grabbed one of my dad's premiere protein shakes from the fridge and added it to the blender. I immediately realized not only did it add the liquid I needed, it also saved me from adding a scoop of protein powder to my morning drink.
It’s a best of both worlds situation if you ask me. You are getting a protein packed liquid into your smoothie AND adding tons of nutrients to an otherwise boring protein shake you probably wouldn’t enjoy on its own anyways. If you are dairy free, have no fear there are plenty of brands that carry dairy free protein shakes, like the brand Orgain.
The other option when it comes to protein is obviously adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder into your shake for those #gains. I am a huge advocate for vanilla protein powder to ensure the flavor doesn't overpower the frozen fruits I’ve added, but feel free to use whatever you have access to. I just wouldn’t advise a pineapple mango smoothie with chocolate protein powder, but that’s just me!
When it comes to adding liquid to your smoothie, I wish I could give you a perfect measurement but the truth is, I always eyeball it. General rule of thumb for my personal smoothie preference is you can always add more if its too thick but it is much harder to thicken up an already very liquid-y smoothie. Start by covering ⅓-½ of the ingredients you’ve added to the blender.
I should also mention - I personally add liquids last but it's not too important, as long as you add your greens first and then frozen fruit to make for the smoothest and easiest blend.
Moving along to our fat source. I will keep this short and sweet because while it’s important to have a healthy fat source in your smoothie, there isn’t much to say or taste when it comes to these guys.
Most people, myself included, add some sort of nut butter to their shakes. I am all for it, however I try to use natural and unprocessed nut butters to avoid unnecessary sugars and salts being added to my meal.
Another fan favorite is adding avocado to your smoothie. Similar to the leafy greens, you won't be able to taste it and it packs some serious nutrients, not to mention it makes for the creamiest smoothie texture you’ll ever have.
Other options for healthy fats include seeds such as; chia, hemp, and flax seeds. You can also add oil such as; extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, flax oil, etc. However, I can’t say they’re my favorite choice and may add a bit of an odd texture to your concoction.
Finally, add any other supplements you may be taking, for example:
Collagen
Omega 3
Spirulina
Goji berries
Acai
Bee Pollen
Matcha
Wheatgrass
Cacao
The list can go on and on but these are some I personally add to my blender when I have them on hand for some extra vitamins and nutrients. By no means do these need to be apart of your perfect smoothie recipe but I thought they were worth noting for those looking to level up their smoothie game.
That was a lot to digest, pun intended, but making the perfect smoothie for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack doesn't have to be complicated. Follow this simple equation and you are on your way to becoming a smoothie master!
Let me know below what smoothie concoctions you create so I can try them too!
Hello, World!