Healthy Smoothie Recipes

I love using my Magic Bullet to whip up a post-workout or breakfast smoothie.  They’re easy to throw together and can be packed with nutrients.  My mother was ahead of her time when she started making “green drink” (a parsley and pineapple juice concoction) whereas nowadays the term “green smoothie” is quite common.  Do you have some favorite ingredients or recipes to share?

The basic ingredients list of any smoothie I make is: yogurt, fruit and/or veggies, a liquid (usually milk but sometimes fruit juice), something frozen (usually fruit), and then any extra spices/seeds/nuts.  Basically I want protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals for a complete meal.

I’m going to warn you now that if you are adding spinach or blueberries, then you should not go to work without brushing your teeth.  Unless of course you want to realize after you meet with a client that you had a forest growing between your teeth.

I love adding flax seeds because they add fiber, omega-3s, and other good nutrients and add a bit of a nutty flavor, especially on days when I don’t want a carb-heavy meal.  Nuts are good to add too, but keep in mind how many calories they pack.  When it comes to spices, they are a terrific way to add flavor without adding fat and calories.  You can also add coco powder to change things up.

The only ingredients that I have experimented with but haven’t seemed to nail down are oatmeal and pumpkin puree.  The oatmeal tasted well, just raw, and the pumpkin required so much honey/sweetener to make palatable that it didn’t seem worth the effort.  At that point I just wanted pumpkin pie anyway.

Vitamin C Smoothie:

•  ½ C yogurt, vanilla or other flavor (Dannon is my favorite because it real ingredients)
• Half a navel orange
• ½ C frozen, cubed cantaloupe
• Handful  spinach leaves
• 1 tsp flax seed 
•    ½ C vanilla soy milk (or regular milk)

Faux-chata Smoothie:

•  ½ yogurt
• 1 frozen, cubed banana1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I use the whey and soy kind from Kroger, but your needs might be different)
• Tsp or so cinnamon
• Enough milk to make smooth

Almond-Berry Smoothie:

•  ½ yogurt
•  ½ C frozen mixed berries
• Banana
•  ¼ C almonds
•  ½ C milk

Ants on a Log Smoothie:

• ½ yogurt
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 TB peanut butter
• ½ frozen raspberries
• Banana
• ½ C milk

Ginger-Mango Lassie:

• ½ yogurt
•  ½ inch ginger root, or a generous sprinkle of ground ginger (but fresh tastes WAY better)
• 1 C mango
• ½ C frozen banana or pineapple
• ½ milk or pineapple juice
• Generous sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom