4 smoothie recipes (updated)

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Smoothies are a staple food for me. They have been ever since my student days. They make for an easy snack or meal and when prepared right they are healthy and very very colorful. Where I used to prefer smoothies for summer time, I have come to have them year round and almost once a week. More than 3 years ago, I wrote an article on here, where I shared my basic smoothie recipe. Please feel free to read it here. The main change between now and then? I no longer use dairy to make my smoothies, but stick to plant based milks. Today I will be sharing with you my current preferred recipes. These are my 4 favorite smoothies.

1.) The Fruity smoothie

The most standard way of making a smoothie is by making sure it’s filled to the brim with fruit. Where before I used yoghurt to make my smoothies, I’ve switched to coconut milk by now. One can of coconut milk seems to be the perfect measurement for most smoothies so I love how I can just open up one can and be done. No measuring needed!

My fruit smoothies always contain the following:

  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 1 banana (option: frozen)
  • assorted fruits, favorites: peaches, berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, in season or frozen), pineapple, kiwi fruit, papaya, mango, apricots, etc.

You can always add in seeds, nuts, coconut shavings or any additives of your choice. I no longer use any additional sweeteners in my fruit smoothies. So no honey, no sugar and no agave or maple syrup. If your smoothie is all fruit it will be sweet enough of its own accord.

2.) The Green smoothie

Green smoothie making is something new in my arsenal. And just like with making fruit smoothies, I just faff about: I chuck the ingredients in a blender and see what happens. Sometimes I get the best and vibrant green smoothies. And sometimes they’re a yucky brown color. Some taste great, but look awful, while some look great but taste awful. It’s still a bit hit or miss but here’s one combination that always works:

  • 1 can of coconut milk, an equal amount of almond milk (unsweetened), or water
  • 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach (= 4 – 5 lumps of frozen spinach) or kale
  • 250 grams of fresh pineapple

I love pineapple in combination with spinach or kale. The flavors match very well and this combination has never not been tasty. If you don’t like pineapples, I find that mango works really well too, but gives a more gel like texture to your smoothie. Other vegetables I’ve used are courgette/ zucchini, broccoli, cucumber, avocado, carrots and beets. The most successful for me were courgette, carrots and avocado. Avocado makes the smoothie very thick, rich and filling. I use courgette to substitute bananas in my fruit smoothies and sneak in some extra veggies. Lastly, carrots + oranges are a very good and easy combination to make as well.

Add ins for my green smoothies are seeds and nuts as above, but in the case of green smoothies I also like to add in some spirulina and chia seeds on top. For these smoothies I sometimes choose to add some sweetener to help the taste.

3.) The Meal time smoothie

Yes, a smoothie can be a meal in itself. If you make sure you combine plenty of fruits and veggies into your smoothie, and add a bit of protein you will have a quick and easy meal that will leave you full for hours. This smoothie also needs some seeds to provide some fiber which is essential to make it a well rounded meal. I especially like these type of smoothies after a work out. I don’t have a standard recipe, but this is pretty much fool proof:

  • 1 scoop of protein powder (whey, soy, hemp, etc.)
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 1 cup of (frozen) blueberries
  • 1 (frozen) banana
  • 1/2 courgette
  • 2 cubes of frozen spinach
  • 2 table spoons of flax seeds
  • 1 table spoon of hemp seeds
  • 1 tea spoon of chia seeds (to go on top)
  • some ice cubes if you don’t use frozen fruits

Of course you can always use a scoop of protein powder in your fruit or green smoothies. It will make for a great post-work out snack.

4.) The Treat time smoothie

Finally you can always have a smoothie that is not too healthy. Because we all have to satisfy that sweet tooth from time to time. There are two main ingredients that always work to turn any smoothie into a treat: chocolate and peanut butter. You can add chocolate (in the form of cocoa powder) to any berry or cherry flavored smoothie. And banana and peanut butter is a classic combination. The ultimate treat smoothie? Combining the chocolate and peanut butter into one. This is not my recipe, but I’ve tried it and it is incredible.

  • 2 frozen bananas
  • ¾ cup almond milk (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup natural peanut butter
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 7 ice cubes (about 2 handfuls)

What is your favorite smoothie?

24 responses to “4 smoothie recipes (updated)”

  1. Jolet Avatar

    Ik krijg spontaan zin in een smoothie!

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Hihi gewoon maken dan 😉

  2. Svenja Avatar

    Hmmm wat een heerlijke recepten. Bedankt voor de inspiratie <3

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      No problem 🙂

  3. Ellemieke Avatar

    Wauw! mijn smoothies zien er meestal modderig raar uit door al die verschillende soorten fruit door elkaar, maar deze hebben echt specifiek 1 mooi helder kleurtje!

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Idd letten op de kleuren van je fruit. Als je groene smoothies maakt ga dan voor geel fruit dan blijft je smoothie groen. Voor oranje: wortel met sinaasappel, paars bramen of bosbessen, rood is frambozen of kersen en licht roze is aardbeien.

  4. TodaysLovely Avatar

    yummeh! wat zien ze er smakelijk eruit zeg!

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Dank je.

  5. Suus Avatar
    Suus

    I wish I didn’t f’ing hate bananas… But they really taste like Satan’s cat’s last week’s litter to me. I’ll try the green one though! Do you have more barf-nana free smoothie recipes?

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      You can substitute banana for courgette really easily. Texture is the same, but you don’t have the sweet flavor. Courgette has a neutral flavor and color (especially when you peel it first) so you can combine it with anything. Plus you squeeze in some extra veggies with every smoothie you make.

  6. Marloes Avatar

    Lekkere recepten! Ik ben gek op smoothies <3

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Idd smoothies for the win!

  7. AWildDog Avatar

    I have two basic smoothies that I make at the moment – berry and tropical. Sometimes with diary, sometimes without. I sometimes add a small apple as well, it doesn’t add much to the taste unless its a sourish one but I get the nutrients from the apple.

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      I don’t always like the texture of apples in my smoothies. It can be a bit starchy for me sometimes. And I prefer sour apples 🙂

      1. AWildDog Avatar

        Really? I hadn’t noticed any difference!

      2. indiequeen84 Avatar

        I wasn’t able to eat apples for a few years due to my hayfever and cross contamination of pollen. Ever since I haven’t liked apples as much. Unless they are really hard and sour, I just can’t be bothered haha.

      3. AWildDog Avatar

        Oh yeah I totally forgot about your apple thing!

      4. indiequeen84 Avatar

        Nah no worries. It’s gone by now, but since I’m not so used to having apples anymore I simply forget about them. I only have them in winter usually when there aren’t that many other fruits around.

  8. Bella Avatar
    Bella

    Heel leuk dit soort recepten artikelen, ik ben gek op smoothies. Ik ga deze zeker uitproberen. Ik maak zelf erg vaak een smoothie van wortelen, komkommer, selderij en appel. De appel maakt het wat zoeter waardoor je makkelijk alle groente binnen krijgt.

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Oh die klinkt ook goed. Denk alleen dat mijn blender die niet zo leuk zal vinden. Motor vind het niet zo leuk als ik heel veel harde dingen er in mik.

      1. Bella Avatar
        Bella

        Haha dat probleem heb ik ook, ik zou heel graag zo een geavanceerde blender willen hebben. Wat ik doe is de groente echt zo klein mogelijk snijden en voldoende water erbij doen, dan lukt het meestal wel 😃

      2. indiequeen84 Avatar

        Ik hou alleen van vrij dikke smoothies. Als ze heel waterig zijn vind ik ze nooit zo lekker ;-). Toch maar eens investeren in zo’n industrieel ding.

  9. AC Avatar
    AC

    Just wanted to clarify…do you really mean 1 can of coconut MILK or coconut WATER? Your smoothies don’t look like they have coconut milk in them since they don’t appear to be ‘cloudy’.

    1. indiequeen84 Avatar

      Coconut milk yes. Usually, if you buy a can of coconut milk, you have a part that is more liquidy and transparent and a part that is more creamy and white. I simply shake up the can and make sure I use more fruit than liquid, but enough liquid that it will still blend.

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