A Guide to Making Smoothies

We suggest kick-starting your day with a morning smoothie, but this any-time treat is also great as an afternoon snack, or before or after a workout.

As an added bonus, smoothies are SO easy to make. Plus, there are endless possibilities when it comes to taste, color, and consistency.

Follow our step-by-step guide to building the perfect smoothie. It will not only help you reap all the healthy benefits, but you’ll also nail the taste test every time.

Let’s get blending!

STEP 1: THE BASE

Tea, juice, coconut water, and plant-based milk are all great options for making smoothies. And you can never go wrong with water. It won’t alter the taste of your smoothie and keeps things nice and neutral.

If you want a thin, juice-like consistency, add more water to your blender. Or, if you prefer your consistency to be more like a smoothie bowl or sorbet, stick to half a cup of liquid and add ice or frozen ingredients to thicken your smoothie.

Pro tip: when the temperature drops outside, you can make warm smoothies by using hot tea or warm water as your base.

STEP 2: FRUIT

What would a smoothie be without the fruit?! The natural sugar from fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth and fill your body with vitamins and nutrients.

You can use frozen or fresh fruit to enhance the flavor of your smoothie. We suggest choosing seasonal fruits and veggies to optimize the flavor of your smoothie.

Often, people are concerned about the amount of sugar in fruit and steer clear of smoothies because of this common misconception.

You may already have heard of fructose before since it's one of the most commonly used sugars in packaged and processed foods and drinks: high-fructose corn syrup.

However, fructose is also present in some fruits and vegetables.

So does that mean an apple (which contains around 13 grams of fructose) is as bad as a can of soda? Absolutely not! The human body interacts SO differently with refined sugars and sweeteners compared to the whole food sources of sugar you can find in fresh fruit. Plus, fresh fruit also contains important vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients (as well as fiber and water to nourish your gut and keep you hydrated).

And unlike the fructose found in fruit, the refined sugar found in most packaged and processed foods enters the bloodstream almost immediately— leading to a spike in blood sugar that can send you crashing and which could lead to long-term health issues. 😳 Unless you have fructose intolerance, it's OK to eat the fructose in fruit — especially as part of a meal or as a dessert soon afterward.

STEP 3: VEGGIES

The best way to sneak some veggies into your daily routine is by blending them into your smoothie! It doesn’t get easier than drinking your greens.

Frozen cauliflower, spinach, and avocados are SO easy to sneak into smoothies. You can easily mask the veggie taste with berries or almond butter, so you won’t even notice they’re in there.

STEP 4: ADD PLANT PROTEIN & SUPERCHARGE WITH SUPERFOODS

Choose your favorite superfood mixes to add for an extra nutritional boost! Or add in a few spoonfuls of plant-based protein to your smoothie to stay fuller longer.

And, yes, you can add 2, 3, even 4 different mixes to one smoothie! 

STEP 5: OPTIONAL EXTRAS

Feel free to add extras to take your smoothie to the next level. Vanilla and cinnamon are great for adding flavor to your smoothie or you can amp up the nutritional value with coconut oil, seeds, and nut butter.

STEP 6: KEEP IT SIMPLE

Smoothies don’t need a ton of ingredients to taste good. Keep things simple by adding plant-based milk or water, superfoods, and just a couple of fruits or veggies. Here are 4 easy smoothie recipes to help you get started.

Green Smoothie: 

• 2 tsp Super Green
• 2 tbsp Skinny Protein
• 1 (frozen) banana
• ½ cup frozen spinach
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1.5 cups water

Berry Smoothie: 

• 2 tsp Forever Beautiful
• 2 tbsp Plant Collagen
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 pitted date
• 1 cup almond milk

Energy Smoothie: 

• 2 tsp Energy Bomb
• 2 tbsp Plant Protein
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• ½ avocado
• 1 cup oat milk

Chocolate Smoothie:

• 2 tbsp Plant Protein
• 2 tbsp Magic Mushroom
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup almond milk