Fun Smoothie Recipes

Smoothies are a fun and tasty way to get your daily quota of five or more servings of fruit and vegetables-- they rely on naturally occurring sugars for their sweetness, and because they're finely blended, you don't have to gnaw your way through all that raw fiber. And there's so much room for experimentation, you can try something different every day.

It's so simple, in fact, that you can even get your kids to participate for a quick and fun snack. Let them pick their own ingredients. They will love watching you put everything the blender, and because smoothies are a lot like milkshakes, your kids will love their fruits and vegetables like you've never seen before. They'll think it's a treat! You don't have to tell them it's good for them; that can be your secret.

Below are two basic types of smoothie recipes. You will need a good blender - I have an Oster Beehive Blender - for both. The first recipe is a typical fruit smoothie, sweet and light. The second recipe is a "green smoothie" which contains vegetables and protein-- it may seem odd at first, but try it out.

Traditional Fruit Smoothie: 318 cal
1 banana, frozen
3 strawberries
1/2c chopped pineapple
a dash of orange juice

Vary the amount of orange juice to bring mixture to desired consistency. Blend until liquid circulates freely in the blender.


Green Smoothie: 401 cal
3T peanut butter
1c spinach or kale
1 apple, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced

Blend.

If you do choose to modify our recipes, remember that smoothies need a creamy "base" for texture, like banana, yogurt, or peanut butter. Using frozen fruit or adding ice will help the texture if you don't want to include any of these items.