Today, for all conscious people, the issue of health is very relevant. Poor ecology, a sedentary lifestyle, malnutrition - this is not a complete list of the reasons for poor health. And if it is difficult to influence the solution of problems with the environment, and there is not always time for sports, then at least pay special attention to your nutrition and, thereby, bring great benefits to your body, everyone can do. A tasty and healthy drink called a smoothie will come to the aid of beginners in the field of proper nutrition. What it is and what it is eaten with, we will consider in more detail below.
Content
What is smoothie
Smoothie is a non-alcoholic, healthy, nutritious and delicious drink made from fruits or fresh vegetables with the addition of juice, ice cream, milk or ice. How to get such a thick consistency The fact is that vegetables and fruits are used entirely, so the drinks are quite thick. This cocktail is simple and easy to prepare. It can be a great quick breakfast idea, a healthy snack substitute, or a light meal for dinner. Also, vitamin smoothies will appeal not only to adults, but also to children.
If a child is capricious in food, then he will surely like such a fruit cocktail. This drink is very popular in 2020 and is present in the menu of almost all establishments, but it is not necessary to go to a cafe to enjoy a vitamin cocktail. Anyone can make a smoothie at home. To do this, it is enough to have at your disposal blender and a simple set of products, you may also need juicerif the family prefers fresh juices.
Benefits from use
It is very difficult to overestimate the merits of this drink, because smoothies are pure vitamins. Moreover, not only vitamins, but also fiber. Such a cocktail can replace a full meal, one serving usually contains several whole fruits or vegetables, and dairy products are animal protein that the body also needs. Also, smoothies are good because you can combine products that are useful for certain qualities. The use of such drinks will help prevent vitamin deficiency in children, because they are tasty, painted in rich - bright colors, which means that the child will be happy to eat them.
During pregnancy, women need vitamins and fiber, which are pleasant and tasty to get through such a drink, because you can combine anything in it, and this is very important for the fancy taste of expectant mothers.
During the period of illness, it will also be very useful for a weakened body to get a nutritious cocktail of vitamins, which will support immunity and accelerate recovery. Such support will not be superfluous for those who are actively involved in sports, especially if you use the right food composition.
For example, ginger and nuts, as part of the drink, will help restore strength after exercise, grapefruit is great for burning fat, and celery will be useful for a weight loss diet. You can also make an absolutely lean smoothie that will help diversify the dietary menu for vegetarians.It turns out, knowing the properties of certain products and using them for cooking, you can have a beneficial effect on the body and adhere to a certain diet with minimal discomfort. So you can make cocktails with fruits and adding protein powder, which contains the necessary proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Harm from use
The coin has two sides, and in the case of smoothies, too, there are advantages, but also disadvantages. In addition to the invaluable benefits, this drink can also bring harm to health. For example, dentists claim that after drinking this drink, a layer of sweet plaque remains on the teeth, which some types of microorganisms that live in the mouth use for their life. And already the waste products of these organisms have a detrimental effect on tooth enamel. You can consider this harm conditional, just do not forget to rinse your mouth or brush your teeth, as after a normal meal and drink the drink through a straw.
Nutritionists also remind that you should not forget that in essence it is liquid, but still it is food, not a drink. Control your diet in order to avoid problems with overeating and all that it implies. Be sure to remember that, despite the nutritional value and usefulness of these cocktails, the body needs solid food for the normal functioning of the intestines. Therefore, it is wise to replace one regular meal with a cocktail, and eat your regular meal the rest of the time. There are also contraindications to frequent use - problems with the digestive tract, increased sensitivity of the teeth.
Preparation for cooking
Before proceeding directly to the preparation, you need to make sure that you have everything you need. Required products: fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, milk, juice, ice, etc. (depending on the recipe you choose). Often, the products in the recipes are interchangeable and if there is no banana at hand, then you can not think about how to replace it, but feel free to use any other available fruit. However, if you decide to make a smoothie with some specific effect on the body, then you need to strictly adhere to the recipe.
Food must be fresh and thoroughly washed to avoid food poisoning. Smoothies can be made with both fresh and frozen fruits. Actually, this process will not do without blenderif it is available in your kitchen - no problem, also some recipes imply the use of fruit and vegetable juices. If there is juicer you can make them by yourself, if not, then you can use purchased ones, how to make juices at home can be found in the instructions for the juicer.
When using commercial juices and dairy products such as milk, yogurt and soft cheese, pay attention to the expiration date. Also keep in mind that the shelf life of this drink is not very long, since it does not use any preservatives. Smoothies are stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, and without it, the drink must be drunk within four hours.
Necessary accessories
If you have definitely decided to include smoothies in your diet on an ongoing basis, then the purchase of a blender should be taken seriously in order to avoid mistakes when choosing a tool.
A blender is an electric kitchen appliance, the purpose of which is to grind and whisk various products. There are several types - submersible and stationary. Which one is better to choose Both are suitable for preparing drinks, but it is difficult for a submersible to cope with nuts and ice. However, models of this type are usually equipped with additional attachments. Therefore, when acquiring a kitchen assistant for yourself, do not forget about this feature.Surely, the appearance of a new electrical appliance will cause a desire to try new culinary recipes, the choice should be stopped on a model with maximum functionality and sufficient power. Important criteria for choosing an electrical appliance are ease of use, material of manufacture, handle coating, bowl volume and, naturally, appearance.
Selection of beverage components
This drink can be prepared from absolutely any fruit. Both fresh and frozen berries are suitable for use. It is advisable to combine fruit and vegetable components in one cocktail, for the reason that a purely fruit version contains a lot of sugar, which affects the calorie content of the product.
How to choose products for smoothies The answer is simple - the fruit should be fresh, ripe, without damage.
Vegetables are selected according to the same principle. Poor quality ingredients can cause fermentation in the drink, which in turn can lead to indigestion. Skim milk and unsweetened yogurt are recommended if you are looking for your figure. Allergy sufferers and those who are contraindicated for gluten and lactose should carefully study the composition of the products and make sure that the recipe does not contain components that can cause unwanted body reactions.
List of the best smoothie recipes
How to make a smoothie You can make it yourself, according to your own recipe, using the ingredients you want. When coming up with your recipes, use the principle: a good drink consists of a couple of solid components, a maximum of two spices and one or two liquids. If there are not too many of your own ideas, it makes sense to use ready-made and proven recipes. Below are the recipes, among which everyone can find a suitable option for breakfast, lunch, diet dinner or instead of a sandwich for a snack.
Vegetable smoothies
- pumpkin - 250 g;
- asparagus - 1 pc.;
- yogurt - 100 ml.
Cut the pumpkin, peeled and peeled, into medium cubes. Pour everything over with yogurt, grind until smooth.
- broccoli - 150 g;
- salad - 50g;
- sesame seeds - 10 g;
- yogurt - 250 g.
Chop lettuce leaves, cut broccoli into small pieces. Put the vegetables in a bowl, pour in kefir, add sesame seeds, beat, you can add salt to taste.
- boiled beets - 170 g;
- spinach - 100 g;
- asparagus - 200 g;
- figs - 2 pcs.;
- beet juice - 150 ml.
Cut the asparagus with spinach into small pieces, pour over the beet juice, chop. Add chopped boiled beets and figs to the resulting mass of vegetables, grind again, you can add salt to taste. This smoothie option will be beneficial for hemoglobin.
- carrots - 1 pc.;
- green apple - 1 pc .;
- oatmeal - 50 g;
- kefir - 100 ml;
- yogurt (unsweetened) - 100 ml.
The apple can be peeled and cut if desired. Wash carrots and chop too. Put the apple, carrots, flakes in a bowl, pour in kefir, then add yogurt, beat everything.
- broccoli - 100 g;
- green apple - 1 pc .;
- cucumber - 100 g;
- kefir - 100 g;
Wash all ingredients, cut into small pieces, add kefir and beat.
Fruit smoothies
- strawberries - 250 g;
- yogurt - 350 g;
- ice - 80 g.
Wash the strawberries, separate the stalks. You can also use frozen berries. Pour yogurt over ice and strawberries, beat.
- watermelon - 300 g;
- milk - 80 ml;
- ice - 120 g.
Cut the watermelon pulp into medium cubes. Fold the watermelon into a container with milk, beat. Add ice to the resulting mixture and continue beating until smooth. The amount of ice can be increased to taste.
- blueberries - 300 g;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- honey - 2 tsp;
- green tea - 1 tsp;
- water - 50 g;
- milk 1.5% - 180 ml.
Pour green tea with hot water for 4 minutes, drain. Add honey to the resulting tea. IN blender fold the fruit, pour over the milk, mix until smooth. Add tea with honey to the fruit and milk mixture and stir again.
- banana - 2 pcs.;
- strawberries - 100 g;
- flax seeds - 10 g;
- kefir - 200 ml.
Place the washed fruit in a bowl and beat until smooth. Then pour in kefir with flax seeds, beat again.
- banana - 2 pcs.;
- kiwi - 2 pcs.;
- peach - 1 pc.;
- juice (apple) - 50ml;
- water - 100 ml.
Cut the peeled fruit into small pieces and place in a jug for beating. Beat until smooth, then pour in apple juice, peach, beat again until smooth.
- cherry - 250 g;
- blueberries - 50 g;
- grapes - 50 g;
- ice -120 g;
- water - 100g;
- cinnamon - 1 g;
- sugar - 10 g
Remove seeds from grapes and cherries, wash. Put together with blueberries in blender and grind. Add ice, sugar and cinnamon to the resulting mixture, mix again. Dilute the whipped berry mixture with water.
- raspberries (can be frozen) - 250 g;
- ice cream - 50 g;
- milk - 150 ml;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. l.
Grind the berries with ice cream until smooth. Add milk and sugar, beat again. When using frozen raspberries, the berries do not need to be thawed.
Smoothies for children
- banana - 1 pc.;
- kefir - 50 ml;
- honey - 15 g.
Pour yogurt and honey with banana, beat until smooth.
- cherry - 50g;
- strawberries - 50 g;
- yogurt - 50 ml;
- vanillin to taste.
Wash ripe cherries, remove seeds. Rinse the strawberries, remove the stalks. Chop strawberries and cherries, then add chilled yogurt and vanillin, beat again.
- pineapple (canned) -300 g;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- orange juice -50 ml;
- pineapple juice - 50 ml.
Cut the fruit into medium pieces and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. Put the frozen fruits in a blender, pour in the juice and mix until smooth.
- banana - 1 pc.;
- blueberries - 150 g;
- yogurt - 150 g;
- orange juice - 150 ml.
Grind the fruits, add juice and yogurt to the resulting mixture, mix again.
- blueberries - 100 g;
- orange - 2 pcs.;
- oatmeal - 1.5 tbsp. l .;
- rice or regular milk - 0.5 tbsp.
Wash blueberries, peel oranges. Put the fruits in a bowl, add the flakes and pour over the milk, chop everything until smooth.
Slimming smoothie
- strawberries - 250 g;
- kefir - 100 ml;
- cottage cheese - 100 g.
Chop the washed strawberries. Add low-fat kefir (can be replaced with yogurt), low-fat cottage cheese into the resulting mixture. Whisk again until smooth.
- kiwi - 4 pcs.;
- juice - 50 ml;
- yogurt - 200 ml;
- honey - 1 tbsp.
Peel the kiwi, squeeze the juice from 1 orange, put everything in a blender, pour over yogurt and honey, beat until smooth.
- raspberries - 250 g;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- kiwi - 1 pc.;
- kefir - 250 ml.
Peel the kiwi, cut into pieces, add the raspberries and the rest of the ingredients, pour in the kefir and beat until smooth. Kefir can be replaced with natural yogurt.
- tangerine - 2 pcs.;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- yogurt - 100 g;
- milk - 300 ml;
- honey - 1 tbsp.
Peel the tangerines and divide into wedges, pour over yogurt, beat until smooth. Pour milk and honey into the resulting mixture, beat again.
- banana - 1 pc.;
- kiwi - 3 pcs.;
- green tea - 250 ml;
- grapes - 70 g;
- apple - 1 pc.
Cut the kiwi into pieces, remove the seeds from the apple and grapes, chop. Pour green tea into the resulting mass, stir.
- avocado - 0.5 pcs.;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- oatmeal - 2 tablespoons;
- milk - 0.5 tbsp.;
- honey - 20 g;
- cinnamon - 1 g.
Peel the avocado, mash it into small pieces. Add flakes to fruits, chop. Pour milk, honey and season with cinnamon to the resulting mixture, beat again.
- banana - 1 pc.;
- oatmeal - 60 g;
- yogurt - 100 ml;
- honey - 1 tsp
Put peeled banana, cereal, honey and yogurt into a bowl. Beat everything until smooth. Yogurt can be replaced with kefir.
Smoothies for vegetarians
- currants -250 g;
- tofu (soy cheese) - 50 g;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- almonds - 30 g;
- water - 100 ml.
Wash the currants, place in a blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything until smooth, gradually add water to the desired density.
- persimmon - 1 pc.;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- dried apricots - 4 pcs.;
- coconut flakes - 20 g;
- water.
Remove the stalk and seeds from the persimmon. Beat all ingredients until smooth, at the end add water to the desired consistency.
- almond milk - 150 g;
- tofu - 50 g;
- banana - 1 pc.;
- peanut butter - 1 tablespoon;
- water - 50 ml.
Pour all ingredients with almond milk and water, beat until smooth.
- rice milk - 400 ml;
- flax seeds - 80 g;
- sunflower seeds - 5 tbsp;
- banana - 1 pc.
Fry sunflower seeds, pour all the ingredients with rice milk, beat until smooth.
- banana - 1 pc.;
- raspberries - 200 g;
- grapefruit - 1 pc .;
- water 250 ml.
Peel the grapefruit, disassemble into slices. Pour all the fruits with water, beat until smooth.
Smoothies are delicious benefits
Summing up all of the above, we can and should conclude that smoothies are really very healthy drinks. Their use will provide your body with the necessary vitamins and give a boost of energy, while not being deposited "extra centimeters" at the waist. The drink can be used as a snack, for post-workout recuperation, or as part of a weight loss diet.
For all the benefits of smoothies, keep in mind that everything is good in moderation. You should not get too carried away with cocktails, in order to avoid intestinal upset, and do not forget about oral hygiene, smoothies can harm your teeth.
Anyone who has decided to prepare this drink at home on their own is advised not to be afraid to experiment with a combination of products. Don't stop trying proven recipes, come up with your own original fruit and vegetable combinations. The most incredible and original tastes can only be born thanks to your imagination.
I used a blender to make a mango smoothie. I'm still not sure if this is a smoothie. But it turned out thick.
you missed the point.
A couple of solid products and one or two giving liquid
Informative, I read and learned a lot of new things for myself. Literally all aspects of these wonderful drinks are sorted out. Honey smoothies are the most unusual, such a choice is rather for an amateur. For weight loss, I often use fruit smoothies, they are well absorbed and can serve as a tasty, nutritious, sweet snack without added sugar and other substitutes)