A Smoothie Cheat Sheet

A Smoothie Cheat Sheet

A smoothie is a great on-the-go snack option. With juice bars available across the metro, do you know what you’re supposed to put in your smoothie for a truly healthy drink?

What’s your base?

First, let’s take a look at what your base is for your smoothie. Is it ice, frozen fruit, frozen yogurt? The best base is something you know is good for you. Try using frozen bananas or ice for your base instead of sugar-laden frozen yogurt that is commonly used at juice bars. Or, if you are making one at home, use plain yogurt that isn’t sweetened with refined sugar. Choose a pack of yogurt in the grocery that says “natural” or “plain” then check the ingredients label to see if there is no refined or artificial sugars. Another good smoothie base option is Coconut Milk/Gata, which is abundant in the Philippines, or organic dairy milk.

Avoid unwanted hidden junk

Now you have chosen your smoothie base, the next step is to choose your other ingredients to go with it. You can use almost any fruit in a smoothie. Here’s a tip, use fresh fruit instead or canned, preserved, or dried fruit. These options usually have added ingredients such as preservatives, refined sugars, even artificial colors. Use fresh fruits that are in season for a full flavored smoothie that’s not so expensive. Vegetables such as spinach or kale can also be added to a smoothie, as well.

You may also opt to add some “boosters” like flaxseed meal, chlorella powder, etc to give your smoothie a nutrition-kick.

Choose what’s real

Lastly, keep this one simple tip in mind when making or choosing your smoothies, choose what is real. With every ingredient, avoid things that are artificial or processed. This 1 simple rule will help ensure that your smoothie is junk-free and truly healthy. With everything else discussed, let’s talk about sweeteners. When choosing your sweetener, choose good sources like real honey, muscovado sugar, or coco sugar. Skip the white or brown sugars, artificial sweeteners, even the stevia packets that aren’t really pure stevia anyway.