If you're looking for ways to take your healthy eating up a notch, then adding smoothies to your weekly menu is a great option. When done right, smoothies make for a nutritious and powerful meal loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. That being said, creating the perfect smoothie isn't always easy. Adding ingredients with large amounts of sugar and calories can easily hinder your health goals. Keep reading to discover how you can make the healthiest smoothie possible. From common mistakes to tips and tricks, we'll cover everything it takes to make a smoothie that meets nutritionists' standards.
Common Smoothie Making Mistakes
Whether you're blending your smoothie into a delicious drink or turning it into a smoothie bowl, there are a few things you'll want to avoid to ensure it remains healthy and tastes great.
Avoid Pairing Your Smoothie With a Meal
When it comes to blending up your calories, you'll want to be aware of how many you're eating. While a smoothie may be sipped on like a drink, it's actually a cup full of food, and it's essential to remember that. If your smoothie contains the right amount of fruits, vegetables and protein, you won't need to pair it with a meal at all, and you won't want to. A smoothie loaded with good-for-you ingredients and healthy add-ins like protein powder will likely contain enough calories to replace your meal rather than accompany it. That being said, if you do plan on drinking your smoothie alongside a plate of breakfast, you'll want to rethink what you make it with. Focusing on a light, low-calorie recipe is a great way to sip on your smoothie and have your breakfast too.
Don't Overpack It With Fruit
While fruit is a main ingredient in many recipes, you don't want it to be the only smoothie ingredient. Fruit is great for you and an essential part of a healthy diet. However, many fruit contain high amounts of calories and carbs. When adding fruit to your smoothie recipe, consider a 1:9 ratio of fruits vs. vegetables. By putting a little fruit in your blender, you can naturally sweeten your smoothie with nutrient-rich foods. Just make sure you keep it to one serving of fruit and fill up the rest of your drink with healthy vegetables and add-ins.
Avoid Too Many (or Too Much) Added Sweeteners
When it comes to sweetening your smoothie, you'll want to do so naturally. Avoid processed sugars and instead stick to natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave and coconut sugar. However, when using natural sweeteners, you'll still want to be mindful of how much you add, as its still possible to have too much of a good thing. Some smoothie recipes may contain already sweet ingredients like flavored yogurt, fruit and powders. When working with these ingredients, you might not need additional sweeteners at all.
Don't Overdo It With the Add-ins
Don't get us wrong, we love adding superfoods and protein powders to our smoothies. However, adding too many boosters can quickly take your meal from healthy to overindulgent. When it comes to smoothie additions, make sure you're adding only the recommended amount. A single serving of peanut butter, protein powder or a spoonful of chia seeds is more than enough to boost the nutrition of your smoothie without spiking the calories in the process.
How to Make the Healthiest Smoothie
When it comes to making the healthiest smoothie, it's essential to note your individual health needs. Calorie and nutrition requirements will vary from person to person. Knowing what your body needs and how it reacts to certain foods is an integral part of creating a healthy lifestyle. This being so, there are a few general guidelines and tips you'll want to follow to make the most wholesome blended smoothie possible. Keep scrolling to discover a few of our favorites.
Start Your Smoothie With Fruit
Making a tasty smoothie almost always requires fruit. The first step to making a delicious smoothie is to choose what kind of fruit you will use. You'll want to select something flavorful yet not too filling, as fruit is just one of the many ingredients going into your blended drink. Some of our favorite smoothie-approved fruits include strawberries, mangos, bananas, peaches and pineapple.
Fill Your Smoothie With Vegetables
Vegetables add color, nutrients and substance to your smoothie in the healthiest way possible. Greens like spinach and kale are an excellent way to add antioxidants to your drink. Whereas vegetables like carrots, broccoli and zucchini add vitamins and fiber. When choosing which vegetables to add, make sure you choose something that pairs well with the fruit selected. Oftentimes, even if a veggie's flavor is not your favorite, it can be snuck into a smoothie without changing the taste at all. For a low calorie, high-nutrient smoothie, you'll want to add vegetables at a 9:1 ratio with fruit since they're lower in calories and sugar.
Protein
After choosing your favorite fruit and veggies to blend, the next step is to choose your protein. Now, when we say protein, we're not talking about lean protein like meat. Instead, we are talking about great tasting proteins like Greek yogurt. Another great way to boost your smoothie's protein content and flavor is by adding a pre-made Bob's Red Mill Protein Powder. Some of the most popular options include Hemp Protein Powder, Soy Protein Powder and Whey Protein Powder. Your dietary restrictions and flavor preferences are the best way to determine which protein powder to use.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are an essential part of a great smoothie. Plant-based fats like nut butter, chia seeds, hulled hemp seeds, brown flax seeds and avocado are all excellent healthy fat that you can choose from. Adding these ingredients to your blended creation will create an extra filling smoothie while boosting its creamy texture. When selecting which healthy fats to add-in, we recommend sticking with just one. While all of these ingredients are great for you, they can quickly drive up the calories.
Liquid
Even if you're creating a super thick smoothie bowl, you'll still want to add a bit of liquid in. Adding liquid to your smoothie will enhance the taste and get the blades moving in the blender. Healthy liquid options include milk, non-dairy milk, coconut water, iced coffee, water and tea. The liquid you choose will depend on the other ingredients in your recipe. Already added a bunch of protein-filled foods to your smoothie? Then it may be best to skip the milk. Want to make a lighter drink that's low in calories? Try using water or tea! While adding juice to your smoothies is always an option, make sure you're mindful of the juice you're using. Many store-bought juices are full of sugar and can hinder the nutritional value of your drink.
Flavor Boosters
Looking for a healthy way to take your smoothie's flavor up a notch? Flavor boosters like spices, cocoa powder, and matcha are all ingredients that you can add to your smoothie to boost its flavor and health benefits. Most of these boosters only require a small amount to be added to make a big difference.
Grains
If you're creating a smoothie that will serve as a meal replacement, then you'll likely want to add in some grains. The addition of foods like oats and cooked quinoa will provide you with whole grain benefits, wrapped up into a delicious drink.
Ice
Lastly, in most cases, cold smoothies taste best. If you're working with fresh ingredients instead of frozen, then tossing a handful of ice into the blender will quickly cool down your smoothie. Plus, it will add more volume, making it last a bit longer! If you dont have ice on hand, use frozen fruits and vegetables to create a chilled smoothie worth sipping on.
We hope that this smoothie-making guide has encouraged you to head to the kitchen and whip up a delicious smoothie of your own. By following the tips and recipes discussed in this article, we're confident that you'll quickly fall in love with smoothies and all of their incredible benefits. Don't see a recipe that you love? The great thing about smoothies is that they're entirely customizable. Start with a great-tasting base and add in your favorite ingredients to satisfy your flavor cravings. We can't wait to see what you come up with. From all of us at Bob's Red Mill, happy smoothie making!
Have a favorite smoothie recipe or helpful tip that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear more about it. Share your healthy smoothie making secrets with us in the comments below.
Note:Eating raw oats is generally safe, but may cause digestive issues or increase the risk of foodborne illness.
