Healthy fruit smoothies

Fruit smoothies have become increasingly popular, especially after health authorities, like Center for Disease Control and Prevention, declared that having at least two servings of fruit a day is absolutely essential for good health and prevention of many dangerous diseases. It is hard for some to include sufficient amounts of fresh fruit in the daily diet, but having a smoothie solves that problem.

Smoothies are easy to make, they are delicious and very nutritious. They make an excellent breakfast and are much healthier substitute for coffee or tea. The basic ingredients of a smoothie, fruit and milk, offer many possibilities for combining flavors and ingredients which suit best the drinker’s taste and dietary needs.

With specialized smoothie blenders available nowadays, it has never been easier to make this tasty and healthy drink. But even a standard, multipurpose blender will serve the purpose just fine.

Here are some of the ideas for great smoothies.

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Smoothie

This one is a classic. Bananas and strawberries are great together, strawberries provide sweetness and color and bananas and yogurt improve the texture, making it luscious and smooth.

The ingredients for this delicious smoothie include one banana, one cup of fresh strawberries, half a cup of milk, one cup of yogurt, a few ice cubes and two teaspoons of honey. They are all simply thrown in the blender and mixed until smooth. It is recommended to crush the ice first and then add the other ingredients, otherwise there may be chunks of ice in it.

Mixed Berry Smoothie

This is another classic combination of fruit flavors, and it is very healthy too, since berries are known for their high content of vitamins. Since some people mind the seeds in some of the berries, especially blackberries, they can be strained before placing them in the blender.

This recipe requires one quarter of a cup each of strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, one cup of milk, some ice cubes, and a few teaspoons of honey.

It is recommended to wash the blender after making this smoothie because berries can stain it.

Avocado Smoothie

Not many people would think of making an avocado smoothie because they may think of it as either too exotic or too dull, but the fact is that this smoothie is very popular in Southeastern Asia, as well as in Mexico, where they add sweet agave juice to it.

This recipe combines one large, ripe avocado, one third of a cup of condensed milk and half a cup of milk, ice and some honey.

Frozen fruits are, of course, a good substitute for fresh ones in a smoothie, especially when they are out of season. Frozen fruits add frostiness so it is recommended to use less ice. Frozen fruits should be washed before use just like fresh fruits, and it is recommended not to thaw them, because it may ruin the texture.