What makes smoothies so popular? Could it be the vibrant colours, the fab nutritious boost or just the fact that smoothies make any type of fruit better? Maybe it’s all of them. In today’s post, I want to show you that sometimes, the best recipes are well… NOT recipes.

Smoothies are the BEST for just experimenting and putting together all of your favourite things, and create your perfect drink. With these ratio’s, you’ll learn just how to make the perfect fruit or green smoothie and turn it into whatever you want it to be. As well as the ratio’s, I’ve included lots of pairing suggestions to get you started.

The key thing that you need to make a smoothie, is a blender. There are an abundance of blenders out there in all price ranges. If you can afford a Vitamix – go for it.

It is always great to have frozen fruits in the freezer such as bananas, berries, kale or spinach, mango, coconut milk ice blocks etc. If you always have one or some of these things, then you will always have an excellent base for a smoothie even when you think you have nothing left to eat in the house.

• When I make a smoothie, I like to sometimes add fresh produce to the smoothies, such as sprouts, greens, herbs and fruits.
• Keep a stock up of superfoods to add to the smoothies such as hemp seeds, maca, root powder, maqui powder, barley grass juice powder, spirulina, mushroom powder, chia seeds, protein powder, dulse etc.
• If I want to make a smoothie into a meal, I simply drink 1 or more litres of it. Or turn the smoothie into a smoothie bowl. It a great way to pack in the nutrition in a delicious combo that doesn’t compromise on taste!

Smoothies are a great way to add fresh greens to your diet and they are the BEST for just experimenting and putting together all of your favourite things, and create your perfect drink. With these ratio’s, you’ll learn just how to make the perfect fruit or green smoothie and turn it into whatever you want it to be. As well as the ratio’s, I’ve included lots of pairing suggestions to get you started.

Fruit Smoothie

The key to a good fruit smoothie, no matter what fruit you’re using, is using ripe fruit.

I really can’t stress that enough. Underripe fruit is not sweet, it’s often hard in texture, and it definitely doesn’t make a good smoothie… Ripe fruit should be sweet smelling, firm with a little give when gently squeezed and bright in colour. Bananas are one of the most commonly used ingredients in smoothies, and they are ripe when they are yellow and have some brown speckles! Trust me, that’s when they are at their best!

There are two ratio’s that I always use for fruit smoothies, depending on whether the fruit is frozen or not. Personally, I prefer using the frozen fruit version, but the unfrozen is totally fine if you don’t have frozen fruit on hand!

Unfrozen fruit smoothie:

3 parts fruit
2 parts liquid
2-3 ice cubes
1-2 tbsp add ins

Frozen fruit smoothie:

3 parts frozen fruit
3 parts liquid
1-2 tbsp add ins

Green Smoothie

2 parts liquid
2 parts greens
3 parts frozen fruit

Tip: Blend the greens and the liquid first so that the leaves get super smooth before adding the fruit, then blend again. This will help the greens break down, so you don’t get any leafy chunks in your smoothie!

Flavour Combinations

Now this is the fun part. There really are no limits here, you can combine WHATEVER fruits you like. Below I have compiled a list of my favourite combinations, and suggestions of add ins that you can build on. This list is by no means a limit, add as MANY more items as you can think of!

Berries

Eg. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, black mulberries, boysenberry, etc

Goes great with: bananas, cooked beets, grapefruit, apricots, figs, lemon, ginger, maple syrup, mango, melon, mint, orange, nectarine, peach, pear, pineapple, plums, mint, vanilla.

Bananas – the base for MOST smoothies

Goes great with: Berries (all kinds), coconut, dates, figs, ginger, maple syrup, mangoes, orange, papaya, passion fruit, pomegranate, vanilla.

Greens

Examples of great smoothie greens: Baby spinach, kale, swiss chard, beet greens, romaine lettuce, arugula (rocket), collard greens.

Personally, I like using acidic, citrus fruits and juice in green smoothies. Combinations such as pineapple, mango, orange, lemon, lime, ginger, grapefruit, pomelo all work really well. Also throw in some berries for a sweet hit.

Liquids

• Water – the most basic way to create a light smoothie. Flavourless so let’s the ingredients shine through, creates a mild tasting smoothie.
• Fruit juice – such as orange, pineapple, tropical, cranberry, pomegranate – goes best in banana/berry/green smoothies. Will create a fresh, bright smoothie. The flavour of juice complements greens beautifully.
• Plant milks – such as oat, coconut, rice, almond…Goes great with berries and other sweet ingredients. Will create a rich, thick smoothie, great for post workouts or mornings when you need something a bit more filling.

Add Ins

The add ins might be my favourite part of smoothie making, they allow you to add some nutritional benefits to your smoothie, or just some great flavour.

Here are some suggestions:

To add to berry based smoothies: Fresh ginger, lime juice, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, avocado, lemon/lime zest, peppermint extract (just a couple of drops), vanilla, acai.

To add to banana based smoohies: cacao powder, maca powder, boabab, acai, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, turmeric (just a pinch), avocado, peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, dates, cardamom (just a pinch), cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg (just a pinch) sesame seeds, coconut yoghurt.

To add to green smoothies: Fresh ginger, lime juice, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, avocado, lemon/lime zest, vanilla, acai, turmeric (just a pinch), nut butters, dates, coconut yoghurt.

With all these skills above, you’ll be able to confidently get in the kitchen and make your own perfect smoothies, every time! Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you have a favourite, go-to smoothie!