How to Make a Fresh and Nutritious Smoothie

Delicious and Nutritious

Smoothies are a great way to get the fruit and vegetable servings you need, because they combine many different ingredients into a homogeneous mixture. However, their growing popularity may also be leading to a decline in quality. Many store-bought smoothies are so packed with sugar and additives, you may as well be eating out of an ice cream carton. Here is my recipe for doing it yourself--so you can know for sure that you're ingesting something fresh, healthy and pure.

Things You'll Need

• A blender
• Fresh or frozen fruit of your choice (I like to combine a frozen banana with strawberries, blueberries, mango and pineapple)
• Water
• Honey or your favorite sweetener
• Flax seeds or soy milk (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine frozen banana (keep these stored in the freezer) with the other fresh or frozen fruit.

2. Add water and sweetener.

3. If this is all you are eating for breakfast, add either flax seeds or soy milk for protein to regulate your blood sugar level.

4. Blend well and enjoy this easy and fresh source of nutrition.

Tips & Warnings

• Because smoothies are pureed, your digestive system does much less work. They also provide the illusion of an indulgent treat, and they are easy to bring "on the go."

• Flax seeds are a very good way to get our Omega-3s, which are otherwise only found in fish. Fruits are diuretics and good weight loss tools because of their high water content.