Smoothies - How to - Basics and Tips

By Jumneez Swensen

Are you craving for a smoothie? It would be easy to drop by a store and buy your smoothie but would it not be better to make your own smoothie? Let me give you the smoothies how to basics and tips on making your own smoothie.
A smoothie is basically a healthy fruit drink which is made using an ordinary blender or smoothie maker and by blending the fresh or frozen fruit of your choice with juice, milk or water. Smoothies are not ordinary fruit juice drinks because the whole fruits are used in the preparation making it a healthy and nutritious drink.

1. Choose any fruit you want or like. You can even combine two fruits such as mango and pineapple or a combination of several fruits in season to make a Four Seasons smoothie.
2. Wash your fruits thoroughly and well under running water before putting them in the blender.
3. Peel the fruits if necessary like watermelon, banana, mango and pineapple.
4. Take out all the seeds and pips from the fruits you would like to use. Seeds and pips when blended may contribute a bitter taste to your smoothie and will not taste good.
5. You may use dairy products like milk, ice cream and yoghurt as a liquid base for your smoothies.
6. For a healthier smoothie, use water, rice or soy milk as a liquid base. When using water be sure that it is purified or filtered.
7. You may add ice when making your smoothie but chilling the fruit before using it will give your smoothie a thicker consistency aside from making it a naturally healthy drink.
8. If you have to sweeten your smoothie, use honey instead of sugar.
9. You can use additives to add nutritive value to your smoothies, such as:

• Spirulina tablets - to boost energy
• Wheatgrass powder - to help in blood flow, digestion and detoxification
• Wheatgerm - good source of folic acid and vitamin E, high in fiber
• Royal Jelly - a source of a lot of nutrients produced by bees, it is also an energy and immune system booster aside from promoting skin beauty and youthfulness
• Tahini - is a paste made from sesame seeds and is a good source of protein, calcium and vitamin B
• Drink your smoothie immediately after you prepare it to avoid loosing the healthy benefits and nutrients to oxidation.

The above smoothies how to will make your smoothie preparation a breeze and easy to do. Enjoy your cool and refreshing smoothie and find all the health benefits it can offer.