Cole Cooks: A Guide to Fruit Smoothies
Smoothies are a regular part of our diet. They are easy to make and can be nutritious with the proper ingredients. This is our basic guide to fruit smoothies.
Using this guide as a base, one can experiment with all kinds of fruit smoothies. We have a full guide to recipes we have developed using this formula
The key ingredient to a solid smoothie is a good blender. When we invested in a Nutri Ninja our smoothie making really took off. Our Nutri Ninja has all kinds of buttons and settings. This includes a dedicated smoothie button I have never used. Instead we simply turn it on to medium and let it go for about a minute.
Our system for making fruit smoothies is simple. The basic formula is altered by different combinations of fruit and juice.
The Fruit Smoothie Formula
- One frozen banana
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 cup juice
- 1 to 1 ½ cup frozen fruit
- Sweetener (optional)
Fresh fruit can be used to make a smoothie, but we have found that frozen fruit is much better. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of frozen fruit and is our go to. However, any grocery store will have frozen fruit.
Bananas are an essential ingredient of every smoothie we make. We buy fresh bananas in bunches, let them ripen, peel them and freeze them. That way we always have some ready to make smoothies.
The bananas are important for providing a creamy texture. If you don’t like bananas, you can add more yogurt or even ice cream. For a healthier smoothie some recommend avocados as a banana replacement. We have never tried this.
After experimenting with making fruit smoothies we have our formula down. We can whip together a smoothie in minutes without measuring the ingredients. If the smoothie is too thick simply add more juice. If it is too thin add more fruit.
Yogurt is another key addition. We add a cup of yogurt to our 20-ounce smoothie batch. This is two servings and the yogurt adds less than 100 calories per serving.
We use a wide variety of juices in our smoothies. Orange juice is a popular go-to. V8 Splash comes in several fruit flavors. We have also used the Trader Joe’s blueberry juice and cherry juice. Once again many nutrition experts will say this is not the healthiest option. A popular suggestion is to use coconut water instead. Once again we have not tried this option.
Sweetener is a matter of personal taste. We will sometimes add a teaspoon of honey, but often do not need to add a sweetener. It is best to taste the smoothie before adding and sweeten as needed. Other sweeteners are sugar and agave syrup. Note that V8 Splash and other juices are often pretty sweet and act as a sweetener.
Our basic recipe makes about 20 to 24-ounce of smoothie. This is enough for two large drinks. My back of the envelope calculation for calories is about 500 in total or 250 per serving. Overall, I think that is pretty reasonable considering that a smoothie is quite filling.
This basic formula is all you need to get going with making smoothies. However, if you want some detailed fruit smoothie ideas check out our updated list of smoothie recipes.
Be sure and check our Best Smoothie Recipes for more great smoothie ideas.
