Smoothie Recipes For Perfect Health

Do you want to add extra nutrients to your diet in easy, delicious smoothies, but don’t know how to make them? There are tons of recipes available on the web, but if you want the flexibility of being able to turn whatever you have on hand into a smoothie without needing to run to the store for the specific ingredients in a recipe, you need to know the basics first.

First, and most important, is a good quality blender that can handle ice cubes. This KitchenAid 5 Speed Blender has a “crush ice” feature and would be perfect for making delicious smoothies.

For a single serving smoothie, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:

• 2/3 C. yogurt
• organic sweetener to taste
• 1/2 C. ice cubes
• about 1-1/2 C. (total) fruits, veggies, milk or juice

(Instead of plain ice cubes, you could substitute frozen juices or teas; or replace them with additional fruit or liquid.)

You can also add a tablespoon or two of ground flaxseed for fiber, or a crushed chewable vitamin C tablet, the contents of a vitamin E capsule, some protein powder, a few leaves of a fresh herb, etc. Get creative, you know what you need, and what you like. Experiment with different combinations and see what happens. You may have a few “failures” but you’re just as likely to come up with something you absolutely love.

Here are a few recipes you can start with, but remember, you can always trade an ingredient you don’t care for in on one you do like.

Note: If you want to use smoothies to lose weight, then try my top three healthy smoothie recipes for weight loss.

Breakfast Smoothie

• 1/2 C frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 3/4 C yogurt
• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1/2 C. orange juice
• 1 TBSP honey

Blend until smooth. Optional: add 1 or 2 mint leaves

Chocolate/Banana Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 C. yogurt
• 1/4 C. milk
• unsweetened chocolate powder or cocoa nibs to taste
• honey or rice syrup to taste

Blend all ingredients, tasting as the chocolate and honey are added.

Antioxidant Berry Boost

• 1 C. yogurt
• 1/4 C frozen blueberries
• 1/4 C frozen blackberries
• 1/4 C frozen strawberries
• 1/4 C milk, green tea or apple juice
• contents of 1 vitamin E capsule
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP ground flaxseed (optional)

Blend until smooth, adding additional liquid if needed. (If using apple juice, blend and taste before adding honey to prevent over-sweetening.)

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 3 oz. silken tofu
• 1-1/2 C. cooked pumpkin
• 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1-1/2 TBSP honey

Blend well. Add extra milk and honey if necessary, andserve with an additional small sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Smoothies are great fun and extremely healthy. All you need is a few good ingredients and a competent blender. Try these recipes, come up with your own, or steal a few from this book: The Ultimate Smoothie Book