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How to make a smoothie perfectly in 5 easy steps

How to make a smoothie healthy and tasty

5 Steps to success

How to make a smoothie perfectly in 5 easy steps

In some ways, making your own smoothie is simple.  Just throw all the ingredients in the blender and whizz it up until smooth.  And after a few disasters, we all know how bad we feel when we waste expensive ingredients and our smoothies are inedible.  So I have created the perfect guide to making a smoothie healthy and tasty every time.

First of all, I’ll explain about the different ingredients that can go in your smoothie, then I’ll show you how to make different types of smoothies:

Follow these 5 steps for adding your smoothie ingredients:

How to make a smoothie in 5 steps

How to make a smoothie perfectly every timeThe smoothie you are about to create will be for 2 servings, approximately 2 pints.  So you’ll have some to share or some for later.  If you only want one serving, half all the ingredients.


** Please note that this post may contain affiliate links which means that I can receive a small payment if you make a purchase through my links.

1: Add your base

Add 2 cups of any of the following liquids:

  • Water
  • Fruit juice (Orange, Apple, Pineapple Juice)
  • Coconut Water
  • Dairy free milk (Almond, Oat, Rice, Soya)
  • Coconut milk
  • Caffeine free tea (Fruit tea, Green tea)
  • Ice (Add up to 1 cup of ice at the end to cool down your smoothie)

Or 4 cups of any of the following watery fruits:

  • Watermelon
  • Pineapple
  • Oranges

2: Add your fruit

It depends how much water is in your fruit.  The more water in the fruit the more you can add.  The creamier the fruit, the less you need.  These can be fresh or frozen.  Frozen fruit will make your smoothie cool but you might need more liquid as they will make the smoothie thicker at first.

  • 2 Cups of creamy fruit (Banana, Mango, Peaches, Pears)
  • 4 Cups of non creamy fruit (Pineapple, Melon, Apple, Berries, Grapes)
  • If you are combining fruits, add 1-2 cups of creamy fruit with 1-2 cups of non creamy fruit.

3: Add a filler

You don’t have to include a filler, but it will make your smoothie much more thick, filling and creamy, especially if you’re not using any creamy fruit.  (If you are just having apples in your smoothie, you’ll definitely need a filler).  Add 1 cup of any of the following:

  • Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Buckwheat
  • Sweet Potato
  • Butternut Squash
  • Yoghurt
  • Avocado

4: Add extras

This is where your smoothie gets it’s taste and character.  Add some of the following:

  • Spinach, Kale or other mild greens: To turn your smoothie into a green smoothie add 2 cups of greens.  These are easier to blend with the liquid before adding the rest of the ingredients.  If using frozen greens add them nearer to the end.
  • 1/2 a cup chopped Celery or Cucumber
  • Juice of 1-4 limes or lemons.
  • 1 teaspoon of Vanilla, Ginger or Cinnamon or a pinch of Cayenne 
  • 1/4 Cup of fresh herbs such as parsley, mint or basil.
  • 1/4 Cup of plain seeds, nuts or nut butters. (Sunflower, chia, pumpkin, flaxseed, hemp, pecans, almonds, cashews)

5: Sweeten to taste

If your smoothie needs sweetener, add sweetener to taste, depending on how sweet the fruit is.  Or you can try the following measurements:

  • 1/4 Cup of liquid sweetener (Agave, maple syrup, honey, molasses, date syrup)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dried fruit (dates, raisins, dried apricots, other dried fruit)
  • Pure Stevia to taste.

How to create different types of smoothies

Creamy Smoothie

Meal Replacement Creamy Mango ShakeIf you use Coconut milk as a base it will make all your smoothies taste rich, creamy, and deliciously sweet.  You won’t need much else apart from fruit and coconut milk and perhaps some sweetener if you like it extra sweet.

You will fall in love with this 4 ingredient Creamy Mango Shake once you’ve tried it.

Low fat/calorie Smoothie

If you want a low calorie smoothie, it’s better to use water as your base as it contains no calories.  Use berries for most of your fruit and either sweeten with a few dates or some bananas.  Try this Berry Smoothie recipe.

Filling Smoothie

To make a more filling smoothie, you can’t go wrong with 1 cup of oats.  They are neutral in taste so you can add them to all smoothies and make your smoothie more creamy.  Or you can add more filling fruits such as bananas, mango and dates.  Coconut milk, nuts and seeds will also really fill you up.  For a healthy sweet treat, try this Homemade Cookie Dough Smoothie.

Refreshing Smoothie

Healthy Key Lime Pie SmoothieOne easy to way to make your smoothies more refreshing is to use an orange juice base and citrus in your smoothies, such as lemon and lime.  For a beautifully refreshing smoothie try this Sun Dream Orange and Banana Smoothie, or the ever popular Key Lime Pie Smoothie for a refreshing indulgent treat.

Antioxidant rich smoothie

Berries are full of antioxidants so chuck some frozen berries into any smoothie to give it a healthy boost.  Give this Broccoli and Blueberry smoothie a try for an amazing health kick.

Detox Smoothie

If you want to make a more cleansing smoothie, try adding cucumber, celery or ginger to your smoothie.  Try this gorgeous Pineapple and Strawberry Smoothie with hidden celery.

Warming Smoothie

Spicy Plum SmoothieIf you need your cool smoothie to give you a warm glow, try adding a teaspoon of ginger or cinnamon to your smoothie, or a pinch of cayenne to taste.  This Spicy Plum Smoothie will give you a warming treat, or this Lime and Ginger drink will give you a real kick.

Tropical Smoothie

If you want to give any smoothie a tropical flavour, just add either pineapple, coconut, mango, papaya or passion fruit.   Give this lovely tropical smoothie a try.

Indulgent Smoothie

If you want a smoothie to reduce your cravings for desserts, try adding 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and some sweeteners to your smoothie for a healthy yet indulgent treat.  Try this Chocolate Cherry Smoothie to satisfy all your cravings.  You can replace the cherries with other berries, oranges, bananas or whatever fruit you want.

Do you want to try a Green Thickie?  This basic Green Thickie Recipeis the perfect starting point.

How to blend your smoothie

Start off just blending your liquid with some of your fruit slowly at first.  When the fruit is submerged in the liquid add some more of the ingredients at a time until everything is blended.  Depending on your blender you may have to add more liquid or stop and scrape down the sides of the blender after turning it off first.  You may have to blend your smoothie from 1 minute to 5 minutes depending on how good your blender is.

A high speed blender will make the perfect smooth smoothie every time.  Or you can have a look at my resources page for blenders I recommend to suit your budget.

Innocent Smoothie Recipe BookIf you want some more smoothie recipes, this smoothie recipe book has got to be my favourite that I’ve ever tried (and I’ve tried loads!) If you’ve never tasted Innocent smoothies, they are a British brand sold in mainstream shops, and now they are sharing all their secrets with you.  I’ve loved all the recipes I’ve tried from this book so far, and it’s so beautifully laid out, you’ll be truly inspired into healthiness.

FREE Green Smoothie Online Class

Green Smoothie Webinar Online Class Training I lost 56 pounds in a few months with my Green Smoothie Detox. This video shows you how you can do the same. Take my 28 day challenge to drop a whole dress size in one month following this easy plan.  Best of all, you'll barely spend any time in the kitchen, and you can even eat on the go if you need to.   This detox only contains natural ingredients you can buy locally.  These meals are very simple and quick to make, and they still taste delicious.  Click here to Watch my FREE video today. (No opt in required)

I hope this has helped you to create your own perfect smoothie.  What is your favourite smoothie recipe?

I know you may not have time to digest all this right now, so I wanted to give you a handy print out of this blog post so you can stick it on your fridge to help you on your journey to optimal health.

Click here to download your FREE PDF of this blog post now.

How To Make A Smoothie Perfectly Every Time Printable

[tweetherder]How to make a perfect smoothie in 5 easy steps[/tweetherder]

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Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies
Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies
Founder at Green Thickies
Katherine lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Green Thickies.
Read Katherine's inspiring comeback story, From Fat and Fatigued To Lean and Loving Life In 4 Months.
Send Katherine a message on Instagram, Facebook, or email here.
Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies
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Comments

  1. Gabby @ the veggie nook says

    October 26, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    What a great tutorial! It’s funny I’d been making some pretty terrible smoothies lately, but this morning my smoothie-making mojo was back in place. If I had seen this earlier I might have been spared my barely-passable concoctions.

    I really like the tip on adding cinnamon or ginger to smoothies. I do this randomly, but always forget it can actually give some warming qualities to my smoothie- will definitely come in handy soon- it’s getting so cold out!

    Reply
    • Gabby @ the veggie nook says

      October 26, 2012 at 7:25 pm

      Oh and I used to drink those Innocent Smoothies all the time when I lived in Ireland! Did they do the fundraiser thing where you are where they got knitted hats to put on top of all the bottles? I bought so many of them just because of those hats! lol

      Reply
  2. Carissa says

    October 29, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    we love smoothies! I try to make them for breakfast at least once a week! Great way to break it down; I never thought about the watery vs non watery fruits before!

    Reply
  3. Sarah C. says

    October 30, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    This is great info!

    Reply
  4. Rachel Ramey says

    October 31, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    Thanks!

    Another tip: consider the flavors of the various things you’re adding, and make sure that they go well TOGETHER (particularly the strongly-flavored fruits/veggies; some are mild enough that they just get covered up anyway). Some combinations just don’t work well!

    Reply
  5. Danielle @ Poor and Gluten Free says

    November 2, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    What a great tutorial! This makes it really easy to customize, and I’d never thought of adding quinoa or squash to a smoothie. I know what I’ll be playing around with today (I’m thinking warm ginger and sweet acorn squash smoothie now).

    Thanks for sharing this on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday :)

    Reply
  6. Miz Helen says

    November 2, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    Great Post! Hope you are having a great fall weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
  7. Tamara @ Oh Lardy says

    November 3, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    I printed out your 5 steps and let my daughter pick her ingredients. She made a yummy ‘tropical’ pineapple/mango/fermented oj/flax seed/spinach smoothie and drank it all! This breaks it down and makes it so easy to pick and choose great ingredients. I tacked it to my cupboard right by my vitamix to reference for smoothie making. Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Angela says

    November 3, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Wow, these are great instructions! Something I could use as the smoothie making process is often mysterious to me. Thanks for sharing on Natural Living Mondays.

    Reply
  9. Nancy says

    November 3, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    What a great post — I’ve never made smoothies, but now I know where to come if I have any questions. :)

    Reply
  10. Lauren says

    November 3, 2012 at 11:04 pm

    Hi Katherine! This looks like a great formula for smoothie-making! :-) My typical go-to is almond milk, almond butter, frozen bananas, vanilla, yogurt, and spinach, but I need to branch out! I’ll have to try your chocolate cherry version! Thanks for the ideas!

    Reply
  11. Lauren says

    November 3, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    Holy cow! Sorry about the picture….I thought that was for my avatar! :-/

    Reply
  12. kristy @ Gastronomical Sovereignty says

    November 4, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    very helpful post! for those of us who make generally one smoothie all the time, this makes it a little less scary to diversify :)

    thank you for sharing with the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I looks forward to seeing you again this week with more wonderful seasonal & fresh/real food posts. xo, kristy.

    Reply
  13. Jessica says

    November 4, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this on Meatless Monday, and sorry it took me a while to get back to you- I was hit with Hurricane Sandy!

    Reply
  14. Marsha says

    November 6, 2012 at 11:38 pm

    This is a really helpful post, thanks….My husband and I have a green smoothie every morning. I grow kale in my garden and have it fresh as the ‘GREEN.” I also put into each one 2 TB flax seeds, 2TB hemp hearts, 1 TB chia seeds, 2 TB dried mulberries, 2 TB cacao nibs. I also put in a frozen cube of wheat grass, frozen blueberries and then a variety of fruits and veggies I have in my fridge at any given time. I am a senior and I have so much energy I can hardly keep up to myself!

    Reply
  15. Anne-Marie says

    November 7, 2012 at 2:50 am

    Hi Katherine! Thanks for sharing at {Wheat-Free Wednesday} last week. Your post has been pinned to my Pinterest board and shared on my FB page. I hope you’ll share again this week. The list goes live tonight:

    http://www.annemariecain.com/wheat-free-wednesday-11-07-12/

    Reply
  16. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says

    November 7, 2012 at 9:03 pm

    What a great post! Clear directions on how to make the best smoothie!! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) We had 101 awesome recipes! What a great resource we are creating!! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    The winner of the Domata prize pack will be announced Thursday at the party!

    Reply
  17. self sagacity says

    February 19, 2013 at 1:57 am

    My kids are nuts about making their own smoothie. I will pin the steps for them. Great tips.

    Reply
    • Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says

      February 19, 2013 at 4:22 pm

      Thank you, so glad it will be a help for your kids!

      Reply
  18. dgrilly says

    March 24, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    Do you soak the buckwheat before you make a smoothie?

    Reply
  19. Maddy says

    May 23, 2013 at 2:56 pm

    Thanks for this. I’m trying to add healthy calories to my skinny son’s diet and yet avoid all the things he’s allergic to: almonds, dairy etc. I think I’m going to try and slip in an avocado – which he hates – and see if I can disguise it. If only he liked bananas.

    Reply
  20. oge says

    May 26, 2013 at 8:48 pm

    Thank you very much for these tips.please i do have a question,what if i use diary milk in my mango shake.is anything wrong with that?

    Reply
  21. Nutribullet Recipes says

    May 22, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    Perfect tips on how to make a smoothie, really a big fan of the infographic as well!

    Thanks very much Katherine.

    Reply
  22. Jonathan says

    July 5, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Hi I just came across your article here and I wanted to say I enjoyed it. I have been making green smoothies for a while now but I never thought to try adding a filler like you suggested of oats or quinoa but I will be trying it this weekend!

    Reply
  23. transformers war games says

    July 13, 2017 at 6:18 pm

    Fantastic goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too fantastic.

    Reply

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My Transformational Health & Weight Loss Journey

Hi, I'm Katherine. I lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by replacing meals with Green Thickies - my original green smoothie concept. Read my inspiring comeback story, From Fat and Fatigued To Lean and Loving Life In 4 Months.

Drop A Dress Size With Green Thickies This Week

Make it Green, Thick and Quick. Make Your Healthy Habits Stick! These filling nutritious energizing green smoothie recipes will help you to naturally reach your ideal weight.

Simply replace your breakfast and lunch with a delicious Green Thickie and make a healthy 400 calorie dinner and watch the weight fall off and your health soar.

Or if you prefer to follow a proven plan, follow Green Thickies 7 Day Diet Plan to drop a dress size this week.

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Make it Green, Thick and Quick. Make Your Healthy Habits Stick!

Hi, I’m Katherine. I lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by replacing meals with Green Thickies – my original smoothie concept.
Read my inspiring comeback story, From Fat and Fatigued To Lean and Loving Life In 4 Months.

 

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