Contrary to popular belief smoothies are not that difficult to make. If you use the right equipment and do the correct preparations using the right ingredients you can make a smoothie as quickly and as easily as boiling an egg.
So the first thing you need to know about how to make smoothies is first an explanation of what a smoothie is. Essentially it is a blended mixture of fruits or even vegetables mixed with either fruit juice or milk. The term comes from the resulting drink having a smooth texture that is thicker than most liquids.
You can quite easily create your own concoctions from whatever fruit or veg you have left over. In fact fruit that has gone a bit too ripe is ideal as it is easier to blend and will taste much sweeter. It will also taste better as a drink rather than trying to eat it as it is.
If you already have a blender then you can use that, if not I recommend getting a hand blender which is much cheaper and easier to clean. Get a high speed blender, these are the one that have a higher watt rating. The cheap ones will do just as good as the expensive ones. You will also need a small knife to peel some fruits and chop them up.
I prefer to use semi skimmed milk rather than juice. The reason for this is that it is a lot less acidic, provides calcium, reduces the overall calories in the smoothie and tastes great.
If you buy berries it is best to freeze them, this will help retain the nutrients and make the resulting smoothie cold. You do not need to thaw the berries before you blend them. It is better to place the berries in a strong plastic bag in the freezer rather than container as it takes up less room and it is easier to separate the frozen berries when you need them.
For strawberries I prepare and freeze them on the day of purchase. Chop the larger strawberries up and do not forget to wash them. Strawberries taste much better blended from frozen.
I always add a banana to every smoothie as it adds thickness and makes a good base. Bananas turning brown are the best ones to use, the green ones are not ripe enough and will not taste as good. You can also freeze bananas if you have too many that are too ripe to preserve them.
Peel and place the banana into a sturdy plastic beaker, a plastic 500ml to 1 litre size is good. Add the frozen strawberries and pour on milk until all the fruit is covered. Blend with a hand blender until smoothie turns pink and you cannot see any large bits. Drink and enjoy.
