Smoothies!

My yummy apple pineapple and spinach smoothie!

Ask my mother, I am a smoothie junkie! I love making my own smoothies or going out and indulging in one (Jamba Juice). From healthy & medicinal ones to the sugar-filled & decadent ones, smoothies are LYFE! This post is intended to get you started on your healthy smoothie journey; from blender options, favorite ingredient combinations, to my favorite places to purchase smoothies, you'll become a smoothie junkie like me in no time!

My smoothie journey began the day I visit my grandma's house during a break from school in California and she gave me her Nutri-Ninja IQ. That little blender changed my life for the better! Before that day, I absolutely hated most fruit and the thought/audacity of mixing fruit with veggies was positively repulsive. My grandma would do that kind of stuff and then try and get us to taste her creations, but we'd always run. I ate the occasional banana or bowl of grapes. Maybe a mango slice if I was hungry enough. The taste of oranges left my mouth feeling disoriented and tingly.

But on that fateful day in California, my grandma had told me she 'accidentally' purchased 2 Nutri-ninjas (she forgot she'd ordered one, and while waiting for the first one ordered another one, gotta love Grandmas!) and asked me if I'd like her other one. I don't normally turn down free stuff so I took it, new and still inside the package. Once I opened the package and began to read the healthy smoothie leaflets that came with the blender, my curiosity and creativity got the best of me... The possibilities became endless.

Now remember, during this time I despised fruit! So many of my early smoothies were saturated with sherbet, flavored yogurt, and juices as I tried to model my favorite Jamba Juice smoothies. But over time my taste for fruit grew and I started craving less of the sugary taste and more of the fruity, healthy taste if you will.

Below I have created a pretty solid guide for you to use as you embark on your smoothie journey.

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First, here are some basic guidelines to remember about these smoothies:

1. Meant to be healthy first, THEN tasty (but realistically they are always 🔥)!

2. No concrete measurements bc it’s to your own liking. If you know you don’t like a strawberry dominant taste, or you prefer thicker consistency over thinner, adjust to your preference.

3. You can add or subtract to any of these recipes! All for you! I’ll be adding/subtracting as I learn more.. this is just off the top of my head.

4. Is cucumber a fruit or veggie???????

5. Okay, so I group everything by strength in taste, purpose, and what’s already proven to go well together. These examples below help you understand and create your own combinations! Like this:

• Tart & sweet fruit (strong fruit) :Cranberry, lemon, strawberry, pineapple, kiwi

• Sweet fruit :Mango, any orange type (cuties, tangerine, orange, etc) cherries, grapes

• Neutralizing fruit (helps balance out stronger tastes, bitter tastes, etc) i usually include greater portions of these in the smoothie) :BANANA!!!! Apples, there’s more lol you get the gist

• Dim Tasting Fruit : Melons (watermelon, etc)

• Known combos :Banana + straw. Protein + banana +🍫

INGREDIENTS

Bases (liquid)

• Water and a couple squirts of 🍋 juice, almond milk, orange juice, kombucha, tea. Sugary juices are a BIG NO!! Don’t need them, honestly.

Fruit (All!)

Veggies (All!)

• I’ve only used Spinach, avocado 🥑!!! kale, cucumber, and butternut squash

Others

• Protein powder (🍫 or vanilla), granola, peanut butter, dark chocolate pieces, yogurt, cinnamon, ginger

6. If you make a cranberry lemon kiwi smoothie, it may taste 🔥 BUT you’re gonna be looking like this:

For every smoothie, be aware of how many strong fruits you use, dim tasting ones, etc. balance out tastes as you mix and match!!

7. Since I try to only use frozen stuff (buy already sliced fruit/veggies and freeze, already frozen, or cut them up yourself and freeze) the bases are only there to help break everything up in the blender. So if you are using Apples or oranges that aren’t frozen, don’t use as much base because oranges and apples are juicy on their own.. spinach and kale aren’t usually frozen, so less base.. If you are looking for a thinner consistency for a smoothie, more base = more liquid-y. Watery.

8. Every now and then While blending you’ll experience that it’s too thick for the blender to smoothly blend everything in the cup at once. Just add more base little by little until it blends smoothly. Usually half a cup or less will do the trick. Don’t overdo adding base if you prefer thick smoothie. And you can always add more fruit, veggie, whatever to thicken. (Can you tell I like a thick smoothie lol☺️)

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- a little = not that many pieces

- A few = like a layer of pieces

- Some = a layer and a couple more pieces

- A handful = a handful lol

With all that! Here are some ideas to get you started that I like. You maybe should add some kind of veggie to all of these (like spinach or kale), to increase health level, I say maybe a few pieces.

Recipes

Morning Splash! 💦I just made this one lol A few mangos + a few strawberries + a little apples + orange juice

Strawbanana Remix! Some strawberries + some bananas + a little (or a few) cucumbers + agua con límon

Protein Shake Some bananas + protein powder + a few spin/kale/leafiness + almond milk 🥛 (if you have some, a little chocolate)

1. Apple Pie in dis Hoe! 🥧🍏 Some apples + a few pears + handful of granola + dash of cinnamon + almond milk (maybe vanilla protein powder) for pumpkin pie smoothie replace Apple and pear with pumpkin chunks and butternut squash or sweet potato chunks

2. Urinary Tract Smoothie A handful of cranberries (add a little more)+ a little (or a few) ginger + some bananas + a little 🍒 + water

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