Smoothie Maker Instructions

You can make a smoothie at home.

Smoothie makers are different than traditional kitchen blenders. Modern smoothie makers are intended to make speciality frozen fruit drinks quickly. The pitcher is designed to push the fruit into the blades, crush ice without damaging the blades and dispense your drink from a tap without a mess. Smoothie makers make it simple for anyone to create tasty, healthy beverages.

Things You'll Need

• Fruit
• Yogurt
• Ice
• Fruit juice
• Milk (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the smoothie maker on the counter or a flat surface. Put the pitcher into the base of the mixer and twist to ensure it's properly connected. Remove lid and stirring stick from pitcher.

2. Wash, peel and slice 1 cup of fresh fruit. Place the fruit into the pitcher. Use one kind of fruit or your favorite combination. Fruit choices can include bananas, strawberries, blueberries, melon, pineapple, peaches and raspberries.

3. Add yogurt to the pitcher. You can use fruit flavored, plain, fresh or frozen yogurt. If you select fresh yogurt, add one 8 ounce container to the pitcher. If you prefer frozen, add 1 cup to the pitcher. Vanilla yogurt can enhance the flavor of fruit in smoothies.

4. Pour 1/2 cup of fruit juice into the pitcher. Choose pineapple, orange or apple juice. Juice can be canned, fresh or frozen. Add 1/2 cup milk if you don't want fruit juice. Try a combination of 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup raspberry fruit sorbet in your next smoothie.

5. Add enough ice to bring your smoothie liquid up to the marker on the pitcher. Generally, this takes about 4 to 6 ice cubes to accomplish.

6. Replace the lid on the pitcher. Insert the stirring stick. Mix the smoothie for 1 minute on high, using the stick to stir in all directions. Use the stick to move any chucks of fruit around to the center blades.

7. Check the smoothie's consistency. If pieces of fruit are still visible, continue to blend for another 30 seconds. When your smoothie is evenly blended, dispense or poor into glasses and enjoy. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for washing your smoothie maker.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't add ice cubes if you use frozen fruit. Instead, increase the quantity of juice or milk added to the pitcher's indicated fill-line. Use soy milk rather than juice for a high-protein shake.

References

• Happy Juicer: How to Make a Smoothie

Resources

• Smoothie Web: Free Smoothie Recipes