GETTING STARTED
Top tips
One of the greatest things about smoothies is that you can use pretty much any fruit – use fresh fruit, frozen fruit or fruit canned in water or its own juice – it’s all good. Pretty much the same goes for vegetables too, raw or frozen vegetables can be used.
You can experiment with your favourites, and you can also boost the nutrition factor even more with some additions – flax and chia seeds add omega-3s and protein, where oats deliver healthy fibre. If you want a bit more ‘kick’, spices and extracts, like vanilla, add extra yum-factor.
If you’re looking to blitz up a storm, useful store-cupboard essentials include flaxseed, chia seed, old-fashioned oats, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger), vanilla extract, coconut water, and unsweetened cocoa powder. There are lots of protein powders around if you’d like to boost your protein intake, or natural peanut butter can also be a nice addition.
With smoothies you can’t go too far wrong! Blitz up whatever combo you fancy and keep experimenting!
OUR FAVOURITE RECIPES…
PARADISE SMOOTHIE
The taste of sunshine
4 or 5 slices of pineapple
1/4 cup water
2 oranges or tangerines, peeled and sectioned
1 large handful of berries (your choice)
1 banana, peeled
a handful of ice
This lovely concoction of sweet flavours is super simple – blitz the pineapple and oranges, then add the rest of the ingredients, starting on low first to crush the ice, and then cranking up to high until it’s all smooth.
POMEGRANATE TART SMOOTHIE
Bursting with antioxidants
1 cup bottled Pom juice
1 banana, peeled
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
honey or agave syrup (optional)
Pom Juice is a little-known favourite of ours, but it’s not hard to come-by, most supermarkets will have it. Made from handpicked and whole-pressed sweet Californian pomegranates, it’s full of antioxidants – in fact there’s 700mg of polyphenol antioxidants in every 8oz bottle! Simply add the Pom juice to a blender along with the rest of the ingredients, and blend until smooth. Add sweetener if it’s a little too tart for you, and either more juice or a bit of water if it’s too thick.
GARDEN REFRESHER JUICE
A post-workout pick-me-up
1 carrot, trimmed
2 celery stalks
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 tomatoes
1 handful of watercress, with hardest stems removed
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
This is more of a juice than a smoothie, but you can of course just blend all the ingredients, perhaps just adding some coconut water for extra liquid. The best way is to juice all of these ingredients in order, and drink immediately. This is great as a post-workout rehydrating elixir, or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Add salt and/or a dash of hot sauce if you fancy!
SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT…
Smoothie bowls
Smoothie bowls are a gorgeous twist on smoothies. If you like more texture and aren’t on-the-go, they’re a really lovely way to get your hit. Simply add frozen bananas and frozen mixed berries to a blender and blend on low (this is key!) until it’s just smooth. Then add a little (not too much!) non-dairy milk of choice – we love coconut – and protein powder if you’d like.
The best part about smoothie bowls is the toppings. You can keep it super simple, adding a spoonful of coconut flake, hemp seeds, and chia seeds for added nutrients, fiber, and protein. Alternatively, fruit makes a pretty addition but isn’t necessary since the entire bowl is made of fruit! For extra Instagram-factor, be sure to add the heavy ingredients last.