Frosty, dessertlike and packed with delicious, nutritional ingredients, it’s no wonder fruit smoothies are so popular.
A smoothie is only as healthy and tasty as the ingredients you put in it. So avoid dumping in sugar or thickening with full-fat dairy products. There are easy, healthy alternatives.
To give a fruit smoothie its icy, thick consistency, use crushed ice or frozen fruit as the base. The advantage of ice is that you add volume and texture without calories. The downside is that your smoothie can become watery as the ice melts.
Thickening with frozen fruit adds calories, but also plenty of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants.
For convenience, wash, cut and freeze fruits such as melons, stone fruits and berries when they are in season so you have them on hand.
Peeled and cut tropical fruits, such as bananas, pineapples and mangoes, also are great ingredients to keep in the freezer.
For greater convenience, use store-bought frozen fruits, such as berries, cherries and peaches. These usually are an excellent value and good enough quality for blending into smoothies.
Be sure to buy individually quick-frozen fruits rather than those frozen in blocks of sugary liquid. They are healthier and much easier to toss into the blender.
Consider the salt in these recipes optional. Just a pinch heightens the flavors of the fruit without adding much sodium.
Strawberry-banana smoothie
11/2 cups unsweetened frozen strawberries
2small bananas, broken into chunks
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 158 calories; 4 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 1 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 5 g fiber; 327 mg sodium.
Blueberry- pomegranate smoothie
11/2 cups frozen blueberries
1cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 151 calories; 7 calories from fat; 1 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 1 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 339 mg sodium.
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