How to Make a Better Smoothie

+ recipe for Peach Almond Smoothie

Smoothies are part of my life year round, but I reach for them most often in the summertime. They can be the perfect, no-cook breakfast on-the-run or mid-afternoon snack. But depending on how they are made, they can also be far from perfect. Many smoothies--particularly store-bought ones--- are not much more than huge helpings of fruit juice. Fruit juice is fine in small portions (that’s why they make those tiny juice glasses), but it is always better to eat the whole fruit instead, so you get the gut-beneficial fiber. Besides using whole fruit instead of juice in your smoothies, there are plenty of delicious ways to make them more nourishing and well-rounded. Here are my strategies for making smoothies that are optimally tasty and nutritionally balanced.

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Use whole fruit, including frozen

As I mentioned, rather than making a juice-based smoothie, make yours with whole fruit. When you do, you get all of the fiber from the fruit--plus the blending process makes the fiber easier to digest. Surprisingly, blending whole fruit into smoothie form has been shown to lower the rise in blood sugar compared to eating it whole.

I occasionally use fresh fruit in a smoothie, especially if I have some on hand that is getting too soft, but I nearly always use frozen fruit, even if I include some fresh fruit as well. Frozen fruit helps give the smoothie a thick, frothy consistency and makes it cold with no need for ice, which can dilute flavor. Frozen fruit is also very economical, easy to keep on hand, and is comparable nutritionally to fresh fruit. Frozen extra-ripe bananas are one of my favorite additions because they also add a good amount of sweetness, so you don’t need any added sugar (more on that below). To freeze bananas just peel them, cut or break them into chunks and put them in a sealable freezer bag.

Sweeten smartly

Many smoothie recipes lean on added sugars – such as granulated sugar, honey, or maple syrup-- to give them a crave-able sweet taste, but there is a better way to go: whole fruit. Fresh or frozen bananas, dried dates and prunes are all excellent whole food ways to sweeten your smoothie without added sugar.

Yes, all of these fruits have sugar—that is what makes them taste sweet--- but these inherent sugars are “packaged” by nature with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, so they are not a concern the way concentrated and refined added sugars are. All of this said, if you need to add a touch of honey or sugar to a smoothie to make it taste right, go for it. Just add it sparingly.

Boost the protein