I began my health-focused journey a few years back and making delicious smoothies became a regular task in my kitchen. There are many things that I love about smoothies. They are simple and easy to prepare, a great way to use extra fruit or green vegetables, and offer you a delicious snack to hold you over to your next meal. In my clean eating class, we talk about nourishing the body and mind with real foods and the importance and health benefit of enjoying a nutrient-dense smoothie. I bring one to work at The Chopping Block most days!
I like to use organic foods in my smoothies. All the ingredients have their own layer of nutrition, vitamins, minerals, and fiber that help your body by flushing your digestive track as this puree washes through it.
I like to think of a smoothie as a “tide me over until my next meal” kind of snack. The general method/recipe I use will generally have a layer of clean fat (usually avocado, nuts or seeds, coconut milk, flax or chia seeds) that will provide a bit of satiation. I like to always have one with me at work so the instant that I feel my body saying “feed me,” I have a very easy option. I just open the fridge, remove the lid and enjoy every sip!
The production of a smoothie is a very simple process: first you gather the ingredients, blend them until smooth and portion into jars to store for the coming days. I make a batch of five to six smoothies in my blender at a time, and they will last five to six days in your fridge. In the event you do not have a 2-quart blender top like I have, you can cut this recipe in half to make a smaller amount or blend it in two to three batches, then combine it all together to check the consistency and seasoning, adjust as needed, and ration into jars for storage.
I have a general recipe/guideline that I will share with you to inspire you to give it a try and tweak to your taste.
Smoothie Prep
- The first ingredient into the blender will be greens of some kind. I generally will fill the blender halfway with these greens. I personally like to use organic spinach as it is mild in flavor and obviously has lots of nutrition to add to each sip. Other greens you can use include kale, swiss chard, collard greens, salad greens, broccoli/stems, or beet tops to name a few. Certainly, you can use from your fridge whatever you have laying around.
- The next 1/3 of the blender will be filled with your favorite fruit. You can do a combo of 1-3 of your favorite fruits and always keep in mind seasonal fruits. They will taste much better in their season than other times of the year. I like to use pineapple, berries, apples, peaches, bananas, grapes, or cherries just to name a few. The list is very long! I can also say that I have had great luck using frozen organic fruit as well. It is always nice to store a “backup” stash in the freezer to use on those days you have already enjoyed all the fresh fruit in your kitchen.
- Once fruits have been added, you will next add a healthy fat, and for me the use of a ripe avocado is a secret in creating a nutrient-dense smoothie as well as a velvet-textured smoothie. AKA super delicious! I do my best to always have a ripe avocado ready for my next batch of smoothies. I use nuts (cashew or almond), seeds (chia or flax), peanut butter or nut butters, coconut milk, or whole milk, and sugar-free yogurt at times as additional ingredients I will add both for flavor and nutrition!
- The last ingredients into the blender will be the liquids used to yield the texture of smoothie you like. I have always used coconut water (amazing flavor and touch of real natural sweetness) and an oat/nut milk of some kind (oat, almond or cashew for example) as the liquid form to blend all the smoothie ingredients. I generally will do 1-2 cups of each and will use regular water as a way to thin the batch once the blending happens.
- Lastly, I like to add a layer of flavor and/or acid to help boost the overall flavor of the smoothie. I generally will always add juice from a lemon, lime, or orange as the citrus acid will always help boost flavor and also add the layer of acid to help cut some of the richness added from our healthy fat category. You can add honey or maple syrup if it needs a touch of sweetness, spices such as cinnamon, curry powder (great with tropical fruits), or other spices you like.
Once you understand the overall process, ratio of ingredients, and the ability to fill a blender, this process will become a regular task in your kitchen too. Now you have the know-how to customize your next favorite batch!
Here is the process I recently used to make a batch of mango smoothies. You might wonder why they are not yellow, but the use of spinach/greens generally will yield a green color of some kind!
Nutrient-Dense Smoothie
4-5 oz spinach leaves
1 cup broccoli stems
2 each ripe mango
1 each ripe banana
2 each red delicious apples
1 ripe avocado
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1-2 cups coconut water
1 can coconut milk
water as needed to adjust consistency
1 teaspoon salt
honey drizzle as needed for touch of sweetness
Once you have gathered and prepped the fruits and vegetables, we will begin to fill the blender. First I will always start by filling the blender halfway with the greens. For this batch, I used spinach as well as broccoli stems.
Then you will top with the fruits, avocado, nuts and seeds, and all the remaining ingredients aside from the liquids. I generally like to fill my blender to the top to make a nice large batch!
Once you have added all the foods, it will be time to add the liquids. In this batch, I am using 2 cups of coconut water as well as 1 can of coconut milk, and enough water to basically cover all the fruits and vegetables in the blender top.
Carefully turn on your blender while holding the lid on. Once ingredients seem to be incorporated, turn the blender all the way to high and allow it to blend for 45 seconds to a minute or longer if needed to make that velvety-smooth texture that everyone loves! Once it is blended, give it a final taste test. At this point, you can add a touch of honey if needed to boost the level of sweetness.
Once you are happy with the flavor and consistency, portion into your jars or containers that will easily store in your fridge and will be easy to take with you. Enjoy your nutrient-dense snack and be ready to think about your next batch to make. I recommend you give this recipe a try and over time, learn to customize your favorite batch!
I hope you have enjoyed learning about the tricks of making a delicious, nutrient-dense snack/meal. There are so many variations you can make and letting your blender do the hard work will make this a quick and easy way for you to prep for you and your family!
Want another great smoothie recipe? Download our Clean Eating: Getting Started Guide.
