For those who are just getting started, here are some tips on how to make smoothies at home.

You don’t need an expensive blender – I have tested 12-15 different types of smoothie blenders, including a Blendtec, and although some of the less expensive smoothie blenders and smoothie mixers do not work very well, my
Oster 12-Speed Osterizer Blender with Glass Jar does the trick very nicely. This blender sells between $50-60. It actually beats my $400 Blendtec for smoothies. I prefer the glass jars as they seem to be more sturdy, easy to clean, and the blenders seem to work better.

Smoothie Blenders don't have to be expensiveSmoothie Blenders don't have to be expensive, but you do need to get a good quality smoothie mixer or smoothie blender in order to avoid ice or fruit chunks.

Begin with fruits and / or vegetables that you enjoy. Favorite smoothies are made with strawberries, raspberries, bananas, pears, apples, blueberries, mangoes, and other fruits. You don’t need to make it fancy or include all of the fruits, just the ones you like and mix and match them.

Many people will add protein powder or low-fat yogurt to their smoothies, or even ice cream (but that adds a lot of calories as well as sugar to your smoothie.) Smoothies can help you lose weight, have more energy and are a great meal replacement.

Wash your fruit well, peal bananas, and remove hard skins. You may wish to leave the skin on peaches or pears – there is no problem with doing this, just make sure you wash them well – and remove the seed/pits inside.

Most blenders do better if you cut the fruit up a bit before blending, and if you are using any frozen fruits, make sure to add enough liquid for your smoothie blender to liquify everything well.

Place all of your ingredients in the smoothie blender, add ice and liquid (water, milk, orange juice, apple juice or other liquid) and blend. It’s really not hard learning how to make smoothies at home, and can be quite fun. Just experiment a little. Fruit combinations can be really enjoyable and you can even add a bit of honey, sugar, or other sweetener if your fruit is too tart. Using fresh fruits in season do create better flavored smoothies, but frozen fruits work as well.

Learn how to make smoothies at home and save money.

Here is a strawberry vanilla smoothie I made today (I took a photo with my iPhone to share with you – and added just a little embellishing to make it look great!):

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

1 cup fresh strawberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup raspberries, blueberries
1 cup orange juice
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 tsp pure vanilla flavoring
2 cups ice
1 cup water

I put everything in my blender, and let it run. Delicious, refreshing, and very low in calories. I calculated that each serving is between 180-200 calories (depending on the protein powder.) This recipe makes 2-3 servings.

Take some time to learn how to make smoothies at home, and lose weight, feel better, save money and know you are adding nutrients to your diet.

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This delicious strawberry blueberry smoothie is high in both antioxidants and taste.

I made a delicious strawberry blueberry smoothie and turned it into a protein shake. Here is the recipe:

Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie

1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
2 cups ice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
1 ripe banana
1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 scoop strawberry protein powder (optional)

Blend and enjoy.

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Banana Smoothie Recipe

2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1 cup orange juice or water
2-3 cups ice

A banana smoothie can also be the foundation for many varieties of fruit smoothies. You can simply add other fruits to your recipe. Add strawberries and you get a strawberry banana smoothie. Or raspberries, peaches, blueberries or other fruits also work well with bananas.

Other recommended resources:

• Smoothies can be Low Fat – Even though many people reach directly for the smoothies these days when they are trying to be healthy, what many people dont realise is that shop-bought smoothies are often packed with fat and sugar.

• Secret smoothies – So my coworkers have discovered that Jamba Juice has a secret menu, not unlike In-N-Out’s Secret Menu. The problem? They’re ordering these items, but have no idea what is actually in them. Crazies. So hey, Jamba workers of the world: …

• Smoothie II (Chocolate Strawberry Banana) – Have I told you I’m a smoothie fanatic? I love them and it’s an easy way to get fruit in the toddler when he’s “not in the mood” for breakfast. I can come up with a million different combinations. Unlike my other quick smoothie idea …

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1 cup water
2 cups strawberries
1 ripe banana (the banana adds a creamy texture and sweetness to balance out the tartness of the lemonade)
1/2 can frozen lemonade (you can adjust the amount of lemonade you add depending on how tart you wish to have the smoothie)
1 cup ice cubes

This is a really good tart smoothie. It’s refreshing and fun to serve in a margarita glass with sugar around the rim.

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The beauty of fruit smoothie recipes is that you can edit or customize them according to your personal preferences. Simply replace one ingredient with another.

Fruit smoothie recipes

We thought we’d get you started by sharing a few of our favorite fruit smoothie recipes:

Blackberry Smoothie
2 cups frozen or fresh blackberries, 2 cups plain yogurt, 1 banana, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 cups water or milk, ice cubes

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, 1 banana, 2 peaches (fresh or frozen), 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate, 12 oz vanilla yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 cups water, ice cubes

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie
2 Kiwi, 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, 1/2 banana, 8 oz pineapple juice, ice cubes, and 1-2 cups water.

Pineapple Smoothie
2 cups crushed or sliced pineapple (fresh or canned), 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 2 cups milk, 1 cup apple juice, 3 tsp honey, ice cubes

Peach Orange Smoothie
2 peaches (sliced, with skin removed), 1 banana (extra ripe for more sweet flavor), 2 cups orange juice, 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 1 cup water, ice cubes

Raspberry Banana Smoothie
1 cup fresh raspberries, 1 banana, 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 2 cups water, ice cubes

Enjoy these fruit smoothie recipes and please feel free to share your favorite recipes with us.

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Banana smoothies are really easy to make and bananas add a bit of sweetness to any fruit smoothie recipe.

Tip for a better banana smoothie: the more ripe the banana, the sweeter the banana smoothie will be. I like to keep my bananas around until they are really brown, then peel them, break into chunks and freeze them in freezer bags. If you put one banana in each bag then it’s easy to simply add it to any recipe. Then whenever I need to add a banana to my smoothie, they are ready to go.

This banana smoothie recipe is easy and fast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ice cubes and water to desired thickness
• flavor ingredient — select from the following list according to preference: 
      chocolate syrup (add until taste is perfect)
      1 cup strawberries
      1/2 cup ice cream
      peanut butter
      honey or sugar
      Other (experiment with a variety of ingredients)

Blend all ingredients together in smoothie blender until creamy and chunks are gone. Then your banana smoothie recipe is complete. Sit back and enjoy your smoothie. Yum. 

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