I’m taking over Shelly’s Friday Favourites this week to bring you some creative and delicious recipes for smoothies, which have long been a staple in my diet. Not only are they easy to make, but you can pour them into a to-go mug and take them with you whenever you are pressed for time but still want a nutritious meal or snack.
To make smoothies, I use my Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender, but any blender will do. Other than that, all you need are some nice big glasses or to-go mug and you’re set!
Eat Your Greens Smoothie
This recipe comes from one of my favourite food bloggers, Fraiche Nutrition, and is packed with nutrient-dense greens. You can switch out the kale for swiss chard or dandelion greens if kale doesn’t float your boat.
Ingredients
1 cup loosely packed kale leaves (ribs removed)- 1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1/4 avocado
- 1 scoop protein powder
Directions
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Cantaloupe Cucumber Smoothie
This delicious recipe comes from Jamie Morrison Curtis and is one of my favourites to have in the morning. I would never have thought of including cucumber in a smoothie, but it works!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 a cantaloupe
- 2 small (or one large) cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1/2 cup ice
- Squeeze of a wedge of lime
- 1 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 scoop anti-oxidant powder
Directions
Blend for 45 seconds or until pulverized.
Wake Me Up Coffee Smoothie
This smoothie recipe from Live Eat Learn combines whole grains and fruit with coffee to give you the boost you need to start your day off right.
Ingredients
- 1 banana, previously sliced and frozen
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) strong brewed coffee, chilled
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) milk (any variety)
- 1/4 cup (25 g) rolled oats
- Optional: spoonful of nut butter
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth, adding more milk as necessary to reach a consistency to your liking. Optionally top with a sprinkle of chocolate and serve immediately.
Almond, Banana & Passion Fruit Smoothie
This recipe is from none other than Jamie Oliver, and while I’ve yet to try it, it sounds absolutely delicious. I mean, you can’t go wrong with passion fruit! Note that this recipe makes 1 litre of smoothie, so you’ll have plenty to go around.
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
- 4 ripe passion fruit
Directions
- Peel the banana and place in a blender with the almond milk and almond essence.
- Halve the passion fruit, then scrape most of the pulp into the blender and blitz to combine.
- Serve in tall glasses, over ice if you like, with the remaining passion fruit pulp spooned over the top.
Green Tea, Blueberry, and Banana
This recipe is from Prevention.com and with its green tea and blueberries is a antioxidant-rich, healthy, and nutritional powerhouse.
Ingredients 
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 green tea bag
- 2 tsp honey
- 1½ cups frozen blueberries
- 1/2 med banana
- 3/4 cup calcium fortified light vanilla soy milk
Directions
- Microwave water on high until steaming hot in a small bowl. Add tea bag and allow to brew 3 minutes. Remove tea bag. Stir honey into tea until it dissolves.
- Combine berries, banana, and milk in a blender with ice crushing ability.
- Add tea to blender.
- Blend ingredients on ice crush or highest setting until smooth. (Some blenders may require additional water to process the mixture.)
- Pour smoothie into tall glass and serve
Smoothies don’t just have to include milk, water and frozen berries. In fact, there is no limit to what you can toss in! Look in your fridge, your pantry an experiment to whip up your own creations. They are a great way to use up wilting produce and fruit!
Main image courtesy of fraichenutrition.com.
