Create Store Quality Smoothies at Home

By Kelly Turner on August 13th, 2009

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One of my first jobs in high school was working at a Jamba Juice.  The Jamba I worked for was conveniently located in a strip mall right across the way from a giant 24 Hour Fitness.  Day in and day out, I made smoothies for people that came in right after a nice, sweaty workout.  They’d order the biggest size, with tons of fruit in the name, and then triumphantly add, “with a fat burner boost.”

Because smoothies are healthy, right?

Little did they know, that smoothie they ordered to refuel after their workout was made with syrup-y juice concentrate, two to three scoops of ice cream, and contained about three times the calories they just worked so hard to burn off minutes before.  I don’t even remember what was in the burner boost, but I know it was vitamins that sure as hell don’t burn fat.

Every day, I wanted to lean over the counter and tell these people they are essentially eating a milkshake, but it wasn’t my place. Plus, I needed the paycheck to pay for my crappy 1986 Cutlass – it was burgundy and every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Well, now I am grown, own a fancy-shmancy 2005 Neon, and can spread the word.  In their defense, Jamba Juice does offer healthy smoothies – ones made with all fruit, or low fat yogurt and soy milk, but they still cost an arm and a leg.  Jamba Juice isn’t the only culprit - most specialty smoothie places make their smoothies with ice cream and concentrated juice that contains no actual trace of juice.  The problem is, when you buy a smoothie out, you have no idea what is put in it – even the ingredient lists can be deceiving.

The good news is, smoothies can be healthy. They are easy to make, and completely portable, so learning how to make healthy smoothies can be a great way to incorporate more fruits and low fat dairy (even some veggies) into your diet.

Here are the main components:

Liquid

You have to have liquid or it won’t blend in your blender, and you won’t be able to suck it through a straw.  Generally, this is where you get your low fat dairy in.  Fat free milk is always a great choice, or for a thicker smoothie you can use fat free flavored or plain yogurt.  Juice is also good, but for maximum nutrition make sure its 100% juice.

Fruit and Veggies

Fruit is the staple of every good smoothie.  The obvious choices are bananas, strawberries, and blueberries, but get a little adventurous.  Try peaches, mangoes, raspberries, pineapple and ginger root.  You can even add veggies, like spinach or kale to get an extra burst of nutrients without compromising taste.

Icies

To make your smoothie all frosty, you gotta add a frozen component.  Ice is the obvious choice, but I also like to slice up bananas and keep them in the freezer.  When you blend them up they not only add a chilly touch, they are also a great way to use over ripe bananas about to turn. Once they are too brown to eat, and you freeze them it keeps them from turning even more- plus the banana flavor is more intense.

Extras

Peanut butter, almond butter, and other nutrient dense additions like flax seeds or are great to toss in for an extra nutritional kick.

In a typical smoothie place this would be where you add some form of a “boost” or supplement.  People go crazy over protein powder, which I don’t quite understand because most people get more protein than they need in a day already just through the food you eat, but if you want, or better yet, need, protein, toss it in.  I, however, prefer to use plant based whole foods.  Check out:

Amazing Grass- Amazing Grass provides delicious, organic green whole food powders that can be mixed into smoothies, or just shaken up with milk or water.  With an ingredient list like Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Spinach, and Organic Broccoli, its hard not to pick these over your regular old one nutrient powders.  Their powders come in many flavors, including GREENSuperFood, Chocolate GREENSuperFood (my favorite), Berry GREENSuperFood, and Wheat Grass. With only 30-35 calories per serving, you can add these in without a second thought.  In addition to powders they also make amazing whole food bars.

VEGA- Vega is a health optimizing addition made from all natural plant based ingredients.  Vega makes Whole Food Optimizer powders in a variety of awesome flavors, including Natural, Berry, Chocolate, and Vanilla Chai.  One serving of these optimizers provides as much calcium as 5 cups of milk, as much fiber as 7 slices of whole wheat bread, the Omega-3s found in 6 oz of wild salmon, the same amount of potassium in 6 bananas, and as much Vitamin E in 23 cups of spinach.  They also make a Whole Food Smoothie Infusion that transforms your average smoothie into a complete meal.  The Smoothie Infusion provides more protein than 2 large eggs, more fiber than 2 slices of whole wheat bread and more Omega-3s than 6 oz of wild salmon. The calories range from around 100-130 calories per serving.

You can find these at your local supplement store, Whole Foods or you can order them straight from the companys’ website.

What are your favorite smoothie combinations?