Smoothies
The Kitchen Sink of Health Food
What is the quickest way to get a serving of veggies, fruit, and natural grains in a pinch in the morning? Smoothies are essential for anyone who wants to eat healthier, especially if they don’t have much preparation time. So what makes smoothies so convenient? It’s because You can use anything to make them, and I mean anything.
Smoothies are the kitchen sink of health foods. All you need is a blender and ice, and anything can go in. Almost whatever you have in your fridge that is natural, fluid, or frozen can be used in a smoothie. The trick to making an “anything” smoothie is to add enough of something you like to mask the taste of whatever you don’t. Fruit is your first starting point.
Bananas and strawberries are a simple go-to for a great smoothie
Bananas can hide a lot of taste and smell, as they are very strong flavored themselves. If you know that you will make some of these frozen treats, a good idea is to freeze your bananas, especially if they will go bad before you can get to them. Strawberries are another fruit that I like to keep stocked. Not only do they taste good with a lot of things, but they also provide a nice red color however you decide to use them.
Disguising the Veggies
Now the part that nobody likes: vegetables. Veggies are a necessary part of our diet. They provide much-needed vitamins, potassium, and fiber. For most people, however, Vegetables do not have the most desirable taste, which is why I like smoothies so much. By utilizing some of the more robust tasting fruits, you don’t even have to taste them. At the top of the list for bad-tasting veggies that are easy to mask comes spinach and kale. Although they turn whatever shake you are making into a green sludge, using a banana and some milk takes a lot of the punch out of the greens.
Another great veggie that you can sneak into your smoothies is carrots. I love carrots, but many people are taken aback by the thought of munching into a root. Carrots are naturally a sweet plant, but the texture of a raw carrot is always desirable. By blending carrots, you minimize this feeling. A great pair is to match the color of the carrot with a peeled orange and add turmeric for even more heath food goodness.
Fluids, Frozens, and Fresh foods
Smoothies can cost whatever you want them to cost because there is no absolute rule for making smoothies. Since the ingredients are so versatile and widely available, you can make an expensive smoothie or a cheap one, and you can like them both just as much! If you want to stay healthy, I recommend staying within the realm of fluids, like juices or yogurts, or fresh or frozen plants.
For the sweeter smoothies
I am a fan of chocolate, but this poses a problem when I go on a diet. Fortunately, there are some chocolate smoothies that you can make that aren’t all that bad for you. You can make a chocolate smoothie that uses 100% Cocoa that is unsweetened so that the sugar isn’t in the chocolate, and instead, the sweetness comes from more natural sources, like a banana and honey.
Honey is a solve-all for bitter smoothies. If you find that your smoothie lacks a sweet little touch in your experimenting, honey is your answer. When the blueberries you picked are a tad red still, I will give you the same answer: add some honey. Honey is high in antioxidants which helps as an anti-inflammatory for the body. Honey is, however, mostly made of sugar, so as much as I love it, only use it when you have to. Also, honey is sweeter than white sugar, so you can use it less to achieve the same sweetness in an unprocessed way!
Quick tips
My parents planted a blueberry bush at their house a while back, so I have an excellent supply of blueberries to eat. This access allowed me to experiment and find a quick and easy smoothie recipe that utilizes these small berries. One recipe that I found that is very good for a quick snack or breakfast meal is the ingredients from a blueberry muffin Larabar in smoothie form. This recipe highlights greek yogurt, which I often use to make a smoothie exceptionally smooth. Oatmeal is another ingredient that makes a smoothie rich and tasteful.
The last tip I have for making quick, easy smoothies is to get a small bag of flax seeds. There is little that doesn’t mesh well with the grain, and it adds a nice texture to any smoothie while adding a ton of health benefits. Flax seeds are marketed as a “superfood,” so it may be a tad expensive, but you don’t have to use a lot for them to be helpful, so it is worth the higher cost.
If you are looking for a heartier meal, check out my other article on Chicken Breasts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dalton Childs
Student Author - Spring 2021
