any thoughts on home made fruit smoothies?

It's a great idea. I bought a Blendtec blender and I have a green smoothie about once per day.

Usually, spinich, banana, and some other fruit. Milk if I'm hungry and need calories, water if I'm trying to be healthy. I'm going to buy almond milk this week and try it out as well.

Lots of fruit will mess up your sugar numbers, but it is healthy fruit and healthy sugars, so I ignore it.

I love home made smoothies. Here's my favourite recipe:

1 scoop vanilla flavoured protein powder (get a good brand some vanilla flavours are better than others)
50g frozen mango
50g frozen strawberry
50g frozen guava
100g milk/yoghurt/laban - use low fat varieties if you prefer (whatever fits in with your goals/macros)

blend

I have this as my post workout meal, and it tastes like ice cream. (i eat it out of a bowl with a spoon rather than drinking it) It's high in sugar (albeit natural sugar from fruits) so if you have a reason to avoid sugar then you might prefer to use a different recipe that has less fruit in it, you can get various "green" smoothies that are more veggie based.

Fruit smoothie recipe:

10 medium-large frozen strawberries
4 ounces unsweetened cranberry juice
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
stevia to taste

Put cranberry juice in blender, add protein powder. Mix well. Add berries one at a time. Blend after each one. (Usually on a low speed and then up it.) If you add them all at once they will stick together and clump. Add stevia to taste.

I also throw in frozen blueberries with the strawberries. YUM!

By using frozen strawberries it makes it like a milkshake. I tried fresh and wasn't impressed. No milk so lower calories!

Awesome idea! I use 1 cup almond milk, a scoop of protein powder, 1/4 cup of instant oats (adds a little bit of bulk and you can't taste it), and whatever fruit I have in the fridge - fresh or frozen. If I'm using fresh, I add ice cubes to make it cold. Awesome.

Omg! I just found an old smoothie blender in the back of my cabinet that I didn't even know I had, and I've made 3 kinds of smoothies so far. I'd be more than happy to tell you how I made them. Now before I tell you, just keep in mind that I am obsessed with Strawberry Banana smoothies of any kind. :laugh:

Okay, my first smoothie I call the Strawberry-Banana Gogurt smoothie:

1 cup of 0% fat free milk
1 medium sized Banana
4 strawberries
1 stick of low fat strawberry-banana gogurt

All together 228 calories, 50 carbs, 1 gram of fat, and 7 grams of protein

And that's it. Just blend those together to get your smoothie. You can also throw some ice in there if you want a frozen smoothie.

My second smoothie I call the Strawberry-Banana Cream Smoothie:

1 cup 0% milk
1 medium sized banana
3 strawberries
1 container of Yoplait Light Banana cream pie flavored yogurt

The third I call the Strawberry-Banana Lemon Cream Smoothie

It has all the same ingredients as the Banana Cream smoothie except you use Yoplait Light Lemon Cream Pie flavored yogurt.

The Banana cream and Lemon cream smoothies both have 288 calories, 59 carbs, no fat, and 14 grams of protein.

I haven't been able to afford it yet, but I've been wanting to buy some powdered protein to add to these. I would suggest doing that and make you a protein smoothie. :drinker:

Lot's of good advice and recipes. Watch the sugar in your fruits!

I LOVE homemade smoothies!
Here's my recipe:

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
1 serving of light vanilla yogurt
1 banana
1 cup of mixed berries
Ice

Put the ice in the bottom of the blender, squeeze the 1/2 lemon over it, add the fruit and yogurt, and blend.

It's delicious, and low calorie.

It's an awesome idea! The recipes are endless and are as healthy as you make them. We make smoothies with frozen berries, bananas, plain greek yogurt and skim milk. One of my faves is adding the 25 calorie diet swiss miss cocoa mix to it.. it tastes just like a banana split. Sometimes we add protein powder, cocoa and flax seed. Buy fruit in bulk and freeze it on cookie sheets then toss it in ziploc bags. Even bananas, if they get overripe, they are awesome as they add sweetness and flavor. I just peel them, wrap in plastic wrap and toss in the freezer. It's easier to make the smoothies tho if you cut them in chunks first. We also use mango, peaches nectarines, black sweet cherries, blueberries, raspberries and pineapple. Just about any fruit will do. Some people even put spinach in them but I prefer to just eat that in a salad.

That's a great idea. I am very excited because I have broken 3 of my parents blenders when I was younger from making SO MANY SMOOTHIES! and should have a brand new at my house waiting for me (Thanks to the BF). Soy, milk, water, yogurt, almond, coconut. Anything is good. You may need to try a few different recipes.
*have you heard of the Green Monster Smoothie? http://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/04/my-top-secret-diet-weapon/ It's good (I like to try different flavors of yogurt or adding berries as well.

I also found this: 7 detox smoothies - also explains what each of them does for your body. http://girlgetstrong.com/2011/10/10/7-detox-smoothies-with-added-health-detox-benefits/

Smoothies are AWESOME! :drinker:

I also drink Shakeology, so when it comes to chocolate protein powder, I might be able to incorporate some of the Chocolate recipes. http://www.decidetostayfit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/shakeology-recipes.pdf

Enjoy and drink up! :drinker:

great idea, even maybe add some good vitamin enriched protien powder for a complete benefit!

these all sound great, i if i have bananas that turn brown i peel them, slice in half and put them in the freezer for smooties.

my current favorite is:
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen dark cherries
1/2 cup greek yogurt
tablespoon hershey's cocoa powder
dash of vanilla
sweetner of choice
ice..

blend... Yum E.

I love my fruit smoothie in the mornings. 1-2 cups of your favorite berries 1 scoop whey protein 1 cup of water blend well. You can blend a few ice cubes into it to get it frothy.

My wife bought one of those "Ninja" blenders and it works great. My smoothies are relatively straight forward. I use one serving of any "premium" (read "not cheap, unknown) vanilla flavored whey protein, one cup frozen fruit, and water to desired thickness. Tastes great, very low cal and great for running right out the door for a busy day.

Go with the ninja blender. It is by far the best blender ive ever used. Easy to clean. You will not be disappointed with this blender. Specially if u are pressed for time. Blends in about 5 seconds and no more shaking the blender or scraping the sides down to the blades.