Lazy Smoothies

What works and what doesn't? Healthy smoothies tried for taste, ease and cost by someone who'd like to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Suggestions welcome!

[lazysmoothies]

Simple banana & raspberry smoothie

I’ve finally settled into my new place, so here’s a very simple smoothie to start off with again!

1 banana

½ cup (frozen) raspberries

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

That’s it! An easy three ingredient smoothie. It’s sweet and not very thick at all. Use more raspberries if you want a stronger raspberry flavour, but do keep in mind you’ll end up with more pips in your smoothie as well.

Cost: €0.73. Makes one and a half large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add chunks of peeled banana, raspberries and almond milk to the blender

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Kiwi, apple & spinach smoothie

Sorry for the long absence, I got a new job and this fell by the wayside, which obviously means I should get better at making simple, quick smoothies— that’s the whole point of this blog!

@makesh7thappen requested a smoothie with kiwi, so here’s one where kiwi is the main flavour, bulked up with apple, spinach and oats.

Use ripe kiwis for this smoothie or it might turn out a bit too tart, as the apple does not add enough sweetness on its own. A ripe kiwi is brown and a little soft, but not too squishy or wrinkly! If you have a sweet tooth, sweeten it with a little honey, otherwise this smoothie is nice and refreshing.

1 cup frozen spinach

½ cup oats

1 cup water (do not add dairy; kiwi turns that very bitter, as I learned too late...)

1 apple

2 kiwis

Cost: €0.72. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add spinach, oats and water to the blender

Blend

Chop up and core the apple (no peeling necessary)

Do peel the kiwis and remove the ends before chopping them up (Or cutting them in half and scooping the insides out with a spoon may be easier)

Add apple and kiwis

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Pineapple, cucumber & spinach smoothie

This is a sweet smoothie that tastes mainly of pineapple. I used the syrup the pineapple was canned in, but if you’re cutting down on sugar I’d replace it with water.

1 cup frozen spinach

1/2 cup oats

1 cup pineapple syrup (if there’s not enough in the can, add water)

1/2 cup yoghurt

1 cup cucumber (cut in roughly 1 cm discs, halved)

5 pineapple rings (c. 1 cup or half a 567g can)

Cost: €0.98. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add spinach, oats, pineapple syrup and yoghurt to the blender

Blend

Add cucumber and pineapple

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Coconut green smoothie

If you like coconut and dislike green veg, coconut drink or coconut milk is a great smoothie base for a strong coconut flavour. It’s sweet and also makes the texture nice and silky.

1 cup frozen spinach

½ cup oats

1 1/2 cup coconut drink

1 apple

5 pineapple rings (c. 1 cup or half a 567g can)

Cost: €0.98. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add spinach, oats and coconut drink to the blender

Blend

Cut up an apple

Add apple and pineapple

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Pineapple & beans breakfast smoothie

This smoothie tastes of pineapple and beans, which I like— but I’m on the ‘yay’ side of the pineapple on pizza debate.

5 pineapple rings (c. 1 cup or half a 567g can)

1/2 cup canned brown beans

1/4 cup frozen kale

1/2 cup oats

1 cup apple juice

Cost: €1.20. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add kale, oats and apple juice to the blender

Blend

Add beans and pineapple

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Apple & avocado cinnamon breakfast smoothie

The last of the avocado! If you use frozen avocado like I did and don’t have a terribly powerful blender, let it defrost first. Frozen avocado is solid and takes a long time to blend.

This smoothie is thick and creamy, but feel free to add more milk (or a substitute) to thin it down if preferred. It tastes of apple and cinnamon, followed by the distinct and stubborn flavour of avocado.

2 smallish apples

1/2 avocado

1 cup kale

1/2 cup brown beans

1 cup milk

1/2 cup yoghurt

2 tsp cinnamon

Cost: €2.00. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add kale, milk and yoghurt to the blender

Blend

Chop up the apples

Add apple, avocado, beans and cinnamon

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Apple, banana & kale cinnamon smoothie

I needed to use up an old banana and an apple that had become more ripe than I like, but were still perfectly fine for a smoothie. So this one is simple and nicely cinnamon-y.

1 apple

1 banana

1 cup kale

1/2 cup oats

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup yoghurt 

1 tsp cinnamon

Cost: €1.10. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Cut up an apple

Peel a banana

Add kale, almond milk and yoghurt to the blender first

Blend

Add apple, banana, cinnamon and oats

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

A note on peanut butter!

I’m a big fan of peanut butter because it’s tasty and an easy source of protein, but not all peanut butters are created equal.

Try to buy the kind with the highest peanut content, or without added sugar; for smoothies especially there’s enough sugar in the fruit already.

The one on the left is my favourite so far; the ingredients are 85% peanuts, vegetable oil and salt, that’s it. The one on the right is slightly paler and already has 10% fewer peanuts in it; the paler peanut butter is the lower the peanut content, which is usually replaced by fat and sugar.

The regular types of Kraft, Skippy and other American/British/Australian brands of peanut butter often aren’t very good but they do sell ‘natural’ variations with more peanuts in them, though do check the ingredients list even then.

On the ingredients list look for dextrose, maltodextrose and syrup besides just sugar to avoid.

Of course a peanut butter closer to 100% peanuts would be the best, but those are not always as readily available and may be more expensive as well.

[lazysmoothies]

Mandarin, banana & kale peanut butter smoothie

Mandarins are an effective sweetener, and with the banana and (in my case) almond milk this is a sweet smoothie.

The only downside is that the pith doesn’t blend well if it’s not all removed when peeling the mandarins and will make for the occasional lump in the smoothie.

1 banana

3 mandarins

1 cup kale

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp peanut butter

Cost: €1.20. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add some more milk if it’s too thick.

Peel a banana

Peel mandarins

Add kale and almond milk to the blender first

Blend

Add peanut butter, mandarins and banana

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Banana & kale chocolate smoothie

A.k.a. ‘I screwed up and want chocolate’-smoothie. Good with chocolate sprinkles on top too...

This smoothie almost has the consistency of chocolate milk, and tastes of chocolate and banana. You can skip the yoghurt for a sweeter smoothie, and the oats are entirely optional as well.

2 bananas

1 cup kale

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup yoghurt

1/2 cup oats

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 tbsp peanut butter

Cost: €1.11. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Add kale, oats, milk and yoghurt to the blender

Blend thoroughly

Peel two bananas

Add cocoa, peanut butter and bananas

Blend again

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Raspberry, apple and kale smoothie

Mixing something red and something green makes something brown, but this smoothie tastes better than it looks!

Raspberry is the main flavour and overall it’s tart and fresh. As usual with raspberries there’s a lot of seeds in it.

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1 apple

1 cup kale

1 cup apple juice

Cost: €0.98. Makes almost two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add some more juice if it’s too thick.

Put kale and apple juice in the blender first

Blend

Cut up an apple

Add apple and raspberries

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Apple & kale mint smoothie

This smoothie is simple and refreshing, minty but not too minty, and not too sweet. Honey would sweeten it nicely if you prefer. I’m sure using fresh mint would be better, but I already had mint tea and it was an easy option. Check that nothing has been added to it, it should be 100% mint.

With my not particularly powerful blender, the end result was chewy. Adding more water will help, though unless you have a good blender the texture won’t be entirely smooth.

2 apples

1 cup kale

1 cup water

1/2 tbsp dried peppermint (1 tea bag)

Cost: €0.63. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add some more water if it’s too thick.

Cut up two apples

Add kale, mint and water to the blender

Blend

Add the apples

Blend some more

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Apple, banana, cinnamon & bean smoothie

This smoothie almost looks like pancake batter, but tastes of banana, beans and cinnamon. I don’t mind the bean flavour coming through, but if you do, change the proportions!

1 apple

1 banana

1/2 cup brown beans

1 cup yoghurt

1 tsp cinnamon

Cost: €0.98. Makes two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add some milk if it’s too thick.

Cut up an apple

Peel a banana

Put everything in the blender

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Quick blender cleaning tip!

Half fill it with hot water, add one drop of dish washing liquid, close the lid properly (not like I did...) and turn it on for about ten seconds.

Don’t use more than one drop or as you can see, it might get messy.

[lazysmoothies]

Apple, pear & spinach cinnamon smoothie

Cinnamon is a nice flavouring for this simple smoothie. 

Tastes mostly of apple, pear and cinnamon, not of spinach at all. It’s slightly grainy because of the pear.

1 apple

1 pear (a slightly soft, ripe one!)

1 cup spinach

1 cup yoghurt

1 tsp cinnamon

Cost: €0.90. Makes almost two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add some milk if it’s too thick.

Cut an apple and a pear, no need to peel

Put spinach and yoghurt in the blender first

Blend

Add fruit and cinnamon

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Banana & beans peanut butter breakfast smoothie

If you want a filling smoothie, I’d recommend one with beans as well as oats; it works well as a meal replacement for me at least!

This one tastes mostly of peanut butter and banana.

1/2 cup brown beans

1 banana

1/2 cup kale

½ cup oats

1/2 cup yoghurt

3/4 cup milk (or a milk alternative)

2 tbsp peanut butter

Cost: €1.56. Makes almost two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy. Add more milk if it’s too thick.

Put the milk, yoghurt, kale and oats in the blender first

Blend

Peel a banana

Add banana, beans and peanut butter to the blender

Blend thoroughly

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.

[lazysmoothies]

Raspberry & banana smoothie

What else to do with raspberries? Stick them with my other favourite fruit! It tastes nicely of both, and is a pretty pink colour.

Frozen raspberries have seeds that you’ll notice when drinking it.

½ cup frozen raspberries

1 banana

½ cup oats

1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)

½ cup yoghurt (I used unsweetened soy yoghurt)

Cost: €1.02. Makes almost two large glassfuls. The cups are a rough measurement; I use a regular sized mug, the relative proportions are more important than accuracy.

Peel the banana

Put everything in the blender

Blend thoroughly (pulse first, then blend normally, add more liquid if too thick)

Done! Store leftover smoothie in an airtight container in the fridge and rinse the blender– it’ll save scrubbing later.