Simple Smoothie Recipes

Making a smoothie is one of the easiest ways to eat multiple servings of fruits and even other healthy ingredients, like oats or spinach. There are endless flavor combinations.  The recipes below are just a few basic combinations that can be customized as much or as little as you like.  I really like the following infographic, which helps you form your own smoothie variety with ingredients you have on hand or that you enjoy!


Are you new to blending? If so, some helpful tips include:
• Put the liquid and other easier-to-blend ingredients into the blender first. This will help begin the blending process.
• Use frozen fruit for convenience and to make your smoothies icy cold without diluting it with ice. Freezing ripe bananas is also highly recommended! (Just peel and break them into smaller pieces first.)
• Try not to add refined sugars. If you crave additional sweetness, use very ripe bananas (think brown spots on the peel) or dates, which will not cause as much of a blood-sugar spike.
• Don’t be scared to add greens to a smoothie. When there are strong fruit flavors, such as orange juice or berries, it is tough to even notice the greens at all! Baby spinach is a great green to start with.
• Add ingredients based upon what you want from that smoothie. Here are some examples:
o Breakfast Smoothie: add oats for whole grains and to fill you up more
o Post-Workout Smoothie: add peanut butter for protein and healthy fat
o I’m Tired and Need a Pick-Me-Up/Snack: keep it fruit and vegetable based for quick, yet lasting energy

For the following smoothie recipes, simply add the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Mixed Berry Smoothie

-1/2 cup juice

-1/2 cup milk of choice

-1 banana

-1 cup frozen berries

Tropical Green Smoothie 

-1 cup orange juice

-1 cup spinach

-1 cup mango (or pineapple, or a mix of the two)

-1 T turmeric

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

-1 cup milk of choice

-1 frozen banana

-2 T peanut butter

-1-2 T cocoa powder

-1 date (or 1 T sweetener of choice, if desired)

Note: You may wish to add more liquid if you desire in thinner consistency or if your blender is having trouble.