How to Make a Healthier Smoothie Shake

Smoothie shakes are delicious, but unfortunately they are not always nutritious. They can be packed with calories and very few nutrients or fiber. Fortunately smoothies feature very bold flavors. You can sneak in some healthy ingredients without sacrificing taste.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• oatmeal
• extra fiber
• fresh fruit
• fresh veggies
• frozen fruit
• yogurt
• juice
• honey
• ice

1. 
   Sturdy Blender

   Get a sturdy blender. A weak one will break if you ask it to blend too much. If you have no choice but to use a weak blender, chop up everything as fine as you can. Also, blend the hard things first then gradually add the softer ingredients once the hard stuff is liquid.

2. 
   More Fiber

   Put a half cup of oatmeal in the bottom of the blender. Don't worry, you wont even taste it. The oatmeal will be chopped up so fine that you would never know it was there. It doesn't affect the taste and it adds a lot of healthy fiber. Also throw in a tablespoon of extra fiber like Metamucil. Just like the oatmeal, you wont taste it and it will clean out your digestive system.

3. 
   You wont even taste the yucky carrots.

   Peel, chop up, and toss in a fresh carrot. Even if you don't like carrots, they are good for you. When you blend them into a smoothie with fruit, you can't taste them. Just don't add more than one or you will be able to tell that they are in there.

4. 
   Cut Up Two Apples

   Remove the cores of two apples and put them in the blender. Apples make the smoothie sweet and also add quite a bit of fiber. If you don't have apples you can use pears.

5. 
   Add a Banana

   Add a banana. They are a great source of potassium and mellow out the acid taste of other fruits. Add just one if you don't like the taste of banana. Add two if you want to taste them in the smoothie.

6. Put in whatever else you have. Anything goes in a smoothie shake. Use whatever you have around like oranges, pineapple, or watermelon. Beware things with strong flavors like green vegetables or apricots. They can overpower the smoothie.

7. 
   Add Yogurt

   Mix in several spoonfuls of yogurt. This provides protein, calcium, and sweetens things up.

8. 
   Thin With Juice

   Use fruit juice to thin out the smoothie. Orange juice is good to use because you can still taste the other ingredients. You can mix in some apple juice, grape juice, or cranberry juice but be careful how much you use. Too much of these juices will overpower other flavors and can upset stomachs. If you are concerned about the calories in fruit juice, you can use water.

9. 
   Frozen Fruit

   Chill with frozen fruit. Blending it into the smoothie makes it colorful, cold, and slushy. If you want a lighter tasting smoothie you can use ice instead. If you want it sweeter, add a shot of honey.

Resources

• Maxmonkey articles
• How To Make an Old Donut Taste New
• How To Avoid Having Your eHow Article Removed
• EmergingDragon.com
• IwantTHEMfired.com
• PressThePoint.com

[melissalewis]

on 6/13/2009 I love smoothies! This sounds chock full of good stuff...
5* article!

[genius2b]

on 6/11/2009 Absolutely great article!
I'm going to make this tomorrow! :)
thanks
5*

[Susanh]

on 5/11/2009 Fantastic recipe for a clean diet! I like the addition of the oatmeal and the (surprising) carrot. Flax seed is another good addition to smoothies. :)

[magnadea]

on 5/9/2009 Sounds great, thanks! 5* and rec

[cjmaster]

on 5/5/2009 Wow, that's a pretty great article! I'll be sure to use the oatmeal tip, although I don't drink smoothies much.