How to Make the Yummiest Home-made Smoothies

The first time I made a smoothie at home I was thrilled and dismayed at how easy it was! Thrilled because I knew I could enjoy this delicious and healthy snack whenever I wanted and dismayed because I had been paying nearly $5 at smoothie shops for a drink I could make at home for much much less.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Blender that can handle ice
• 2 to 3 ice cubes
• 1 cup of any brand yogurt you like, plain or flavored
• 1 banana
• 1 handful of any kind of fresh or frozen fruit you have at home, e.g. strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, peaches, you get the idea...
• a little bit of milk or soy milk

1. Throw ice cubes into a blender and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk or soy milk. Blend on any setting to start breaking up the ice cubes. You want the ice cubes broken up into chips but not liquefied. If you are using frozen fruit instead of fresh fruit, throw in the frozen fruit with the ice at the beginning, and follow the same instructions above. Again, you only want to break up the ice cubes and the frozen fruit into chips.
2. Add your cup of yogurt and whatever fresh fruit you are using. Set your blender to liquefy if you have that option. Otherwise, just start blending. When the yogurt and fruit have blended together and become an even color throughout the mixture, stop blending to check the consistency of the smoothie. You may do this up to one minute after you have started to blend all your ingredients. Use a spoon to stir the smoothie. If you encounter chunks of frozen fruit or ice, add a little bit more milk/soy milk (2 to 3 tablespoons) and blend for another 20 to 30 seconds.
3. If you like your smoothie thick, stop blending when there are no more chunks of frozen fruit or ice. Pour smoothie into a chilled glass and sip with a straw!
   
   For smoothies that aren't so thick, you may add more milk/soy milk and blend until you achieve the consistency you want. Pour smoothie into a chilled glass and sip with a straw!

Tips & Warnings

• I like to use any yogurt that is already flavored strawberry and banana - these make a great base for any smoothie. I also frequently use frozen fruit since these are easy to store for long periods. My favorite combination is fresh banana with frozen peaches and frozen mangoes.
• I have also seen that at smoothie shops, they add orange juice to the smoothie instead of milk/soy milk to help liquefy. I've never tried this at home, but give it a shot!
• While you can't really make a mistake with this recipe, I have found that if you don't blend your drink long enough when you are using frozen fruit the fruit pieces remain chunky and are impossible to sip through your straw. Duh! To avoid this, check your smoothie with a spoon often in between blending to make sure you're getting those little suckers!
• Always keep the lid on your blender when you are about to mix, otherwise, the smoothie will hit the ceiling when you hit the "on" button.