We love fruit smoothies here, and could easily have one once a day. We usually like them for breakfast (fast, easy, and healthy!), but we have also been known to have them for dinner with freshly popped popcorn (What a dinner, huh?). It’s a lovely way to get in your fruit for the day, and a wonderful way to start a hot day. It definitely works for us! It’s one of those simple things that we make that almost seems silly to post here, yet is one of our most favorite things to make!
You can really use what ever fruit you like, but we love a combination of banana with berries. The banana not only gives a lot of flavor, but is what sweetens the smoothie. The berries add incredible flavor, and so much nutrition! My favorite is raspberry, my husband’s are blueberries and strawberries. But another favorite of ours it tropical fruit with the banana. Yum!
I will also some add egg yolks in for extra nutrition (you can add many things to to up the nutritional value!)
Fruit Smoothie-For 2 generous servings.
We use frozen berries (that we usually pick and freeze ourselves), and frozen bananas to give it a cold, milk shake like texture. But you can use unfrozen as well, it just won’t have the same texture, so you may want to add a few ice cubes. Make sure that our bananas are fully ripened. You can use a number of things for the liquid part of your smoothie, so get creative and use what you want! The yogurt or kefir will make it a little more tart.
1 frozen banana
About 1 1/2 cup of berries, frozen (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or tropical fruit)
1 cup of coconut milk, young coconut juice, kefir, yogurt, milk
Blend in a blender, taste, and adjust with berries, or banana for the texture and taste you want.
Any other smoothie lovers out there that want to share their favorite recipe?
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I made a smoothie very similar to this for breakfast. I will have frozen berries for tomorrow though… I like that recommendation. 🙂
I make smoothies every day for my husband and son (I’m not a big fan, for some reason) and I like to add flax meal and oatmeal to add some nutritional value. Now that I soak my oatmeal over night it makes the smoothie less likely to get thick if you don’t drink it right away. I also make water/juice kefir which I add as the liquid along with Body Balance. My husband doesn’t like any of those things on their own, but when mixed with the fruits you already mentioned, he’ll drink it every day!
I also freeze grapes and use them just like the berries. It’s a great way to save grapes if they are getting close to being past their prime before you can eat them all.
Try packing 1/3 of your blender with raw spinach! I tried this on a friends recommendation and we can’t even taste it. Great way to get some extra folic acid and other vitamins! My typical recipe sometimes includes banana, spinach, yogurt, milk, coconut oil, 1/2 tomato, frozen strawberries, blueberries, kiwi (or any other frozen fruit), vanilla extract, and about 1 T of frozen 100% juice concentrate for a little extra sweetness. I’ve also heard you can use Kale or chard instead of spinach.
we have a smoothie every day also….usually at lunch time or dinner time. Tonight it was dinner time.
Ours usually has 4 things:
frozen banana
frozen berries
sorbet
soy milk
~Amy
Amen to the frozen bananas!! You can peel and entire bunch, throw them into a gallon ziplock, adn they will break apart – even while frozen!! Then you always have a cold thickening agent around – even if you only have fresh berries. (I usually wait until Sav-a-lot puts their over ripe bananas on sale for .10/lb and then buy 5 pounds!!)
We have smoothies often here too. I just throw in whatever we have for fruit, some kefir and sometimes a little honey. I have not tried the spinach though. That sounds like a good idea!
This comment has nothing to do with smoothies, though we do like them and have them periodically. 🙂 I’ve been looking for a way to contact you and have been unable to find an email…
Here’s my question: I have a 5 1/2 month old son who’s clearly getting ready to start baby food soon. I’ve read some articles online and from that info have made the decision not to start him on cereal first thing. Based on your site here I know you adhere to some of Sally Falon’s teaching and the like and I was wondering what you started your sweet babe on. (I like many of the things I’ve read from that group but not everything. I basically avoid anything that’s contrary to God’s dietery laws, such as pork and organ meats…)One of her articles suggested egg yolk… Another friend suggested yogurt… and several things have pointed straight to veggies (I’m planning to make my own baby food.).
So, basically, I’m asking your opinion as it seems you’ve done a great deal more research than I have. And I’m curious what you were comfortable using with your own daughter…
Thank you for all the effort you put into this site, but also for the seeming balance. Thank you for taking serious your home responsibilities and delighting in them before the Lord!
Blessings from my home,
Anna
We also make smoothies almost every day for breakfast, and often end up making them as an afternoon or evening snack, as well.
Our favorite, standard smoothie consists of yogurt, blueberries or raspberries (or a mix of both), bananas, and a bit of honey and vanilla. We always freeze our fruit, as we prefer a really thick, cold shake.
Some variations we enjoy are blackberries, strawberries (when I can find them unsprayed), peaches, mango and pineapples. Sometimes I make a pina colada style with pineapple, banana and coconut milk. I also love making an orange creamsicle smoothie with fresh oranges, frozen banana, raw milk, honey and ice.
Another standard in our home is my banana carob smoothie. It’s posted on my blog here:
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2007/12/smoothie-of-the-2.html
(Actually, you can search for the orange creamsicle one on there too).
I also have started making kefir, but I can’t bring myself to use it in a smoothie because it’s so good all by itself! I do sometimes use raw milk as a base, which I find adds an extra richness and creaminess- yummy!
Mmmm, can you tell I love smoothie? Good topic!
Our favorite that we have several times week is our “green smoothie”.
2 bananas
2 oranges
handful of frozen pineapple
3 generous handfuls of spinach
about a cup of kefir or milk
2 TB coconut oil
splash of maple syrup
and a tiny bit of vanilla
(with ice if the bananas aren’t frozen)
This smoothie tastes like it should have a little umbrella in it. : )
I used to have a shake every morning for breakfast and I highly recommend it!
Milk
Banana
1 packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast
Yogurt…
Blend!
We love smoothies but I just can’t handle them with bananas. I love bananas on their own but not in my smoothie! We usually use strawberries, blueberries, coconut milk, and sometimes a little juice or water.
Thanks for this site … an inspiration!
I have 2 kids (2 and 4) and they ask for “shakes” every morning. This is what I throw into them (for the 3 of us):
2 cups water
handful of soaked almonds and/or seeds
1-2 T hemp seeds
(the above 3 make it milky)
1/2 carrot
1 kale leaf
1 banana
handful of frozen blueberries
dash flax oil or ground flax seeds
1 T “greens” powder
I blend it until it is really smooth and we all love it. The vitamix helps. Thanks to your post, I am thinking of making some coconut water keifer to replace half the water. The soaked seeds and nuts add protein (and good fats) which makes it more satisfying if drinking as a meal rather than a snack.
Thanks again for all your work on this site.
I love, love, love this site. I’ve already made some of the recipes and have been so happy with them- particularly with the soaked grain recipes. My daughter has trouble with her digestion. Grinding my own grain helped initially, but soaking them REALLY helps! 🙂
We love smoothies and have them at least 4 or 5 times a week.
Our favorite is:
4 or so cups of raw milk
a bag of frozen organic strawberries
a bit of vanilla extract
a Tb. or so of raw honey
a heaping Tb of almond butter
pinch of salt
We also do a tropical smoothie
2 frozen banana’s
some frozen mango
frozen pineapple
1 can coconut milk
a bit of raw honey
coconut water to thin
Yummy!
KH: Thanks so much for the sweet comment! I love your smoothie suggestions. We also love strawberry and tropical smoothies. 🙂 Thanks!
I LOVE making a smoothie almost every day. I made up my own:
Generous scoop of plain yogurt
Frozen blackberries, blueberries and raspberries (usually 2 of these)
Soy milk
Kefir
100% cran-raspberry juice
Fresh banana ( I used to cut them up and freeze the pieces but my blender struggles with the peices)
Ground up flax seed
I love mine so much more than the ones I buy, even at the health food store because they usually use ice and I don’t like the icey pieces. Using frozen fruits is the way to go.
I know coconut milk is very healthy, but are all asian brands created equally? I usually get Chaokoh coconut milk from the Korean market down the road. Are they all processed similarly to keep the healthy benefits stable? I know the Chaokoh is processed using heat… probably all canned cocnut milk needs to be processed this way for safety. Do you recommend one brand of canned coconut milk over another with health in mind?
Just made a smoothie and frozen peaches are also really good for sweetening up a smoothie!
Look Good
I just found this site & I’m So Loving It! It’s farmers market time now so here’s my smoothie:-) I buy pints of fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries & blueberries, 7 each peaches, apples & plums, bunches of kale, chard & carrots, cauliflower & broccoli. I also buy bananas & avocados at Whole Foods to add in. I devide them all into 7 freezer bags & freeze for our full week of smoothie goodness:-) I thaw 1 over night each day(I burned out 3 blenders before learning the hard way). Each night I brew a cup of white, green & red tea(1 cup all together)to add in with almond or coconut milk(making my own of both for the 1st time tomorrow) & kefir for a nice bite & probiotic goodness. A few scoops of ground flax seeds, hemp seeds & chia seeds & it’s the most nutritious & delicious breakfast I’ve ever had!
I just found this site & I’m So Loving It! It’s farmers market time now so here’s my smoothie:-) I buy pints of fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries & blueberries, 7 each peaches, apples & plums, bunches of kale, chard & carrots, cauliflower & broccoli. I also buy bananas & avocados at Whole Foods to add in. I devide them all into 7 freezer bags & freeze for our full week of smoothie goodness:-) I thaw 1 over night each day(I burned out 3 blenders before learning the hard way). Each night I brew a cup of white, green & red tea(1 cup all together)to add in with almond or coconut milk(making my own of both for the 1st time tomorrow) & kefir for a nice bite & probiotic goodness. A few scoops of ground flax seeds, hemp seeds & chia seeds & it’s the most nutritious & delicious breakfast I’ve ever had!