Smoothies! Are they really good for you and what flavours would you recommend?

Question

I have only tried the shop bought smoothies and wondered what the fresh ones taste like? Is it just as good to have a smoothie instead of eating fresh fruit daily?

Answer 1

Try the fresh ones, i have a smoothie maker and just put in strawberries and banana, orange and pineapple, pears make it gritty tho and banana a bit thick but ok iif you add more of the jucier fruit also put a few ice cubes in with the fruit, but i have read a report that said that because of the fruit being so pulped more of the sugars were released into the stomach and not naturally by the digestive system and your are more likely to gain weight because of it.
The five a day theory is based on a portion of fruit/veg being about 80 grammes or 3 ounces approx....

Answer 2

Smoothies are good for you - but if shop bought some are better than others. The best shop bought are Innocent as they don't add any preservatives, added sugars, e numbers, flavouring or other stuff, and don't use concentrate juice.
Smoothies are bettter for you than just having fruit juice, because you get the fibre from the fruit - this is why a 250ml portion of an Innocent smoothie gives you two portions a day of your 5, whereas a lot of other manufactured smoothies and all juices will only give you 1 portion. The smoothie also ensures, because it is a mix of ingredients, that you are going some way to achieving the mix you should. Some will provide all the vitamin C you need a day in one glass, others will provide lots of antioxidants or other essential nutrients - all depending on the ingredients.
A smoothie can also be an easier way of persuading a child to have some of their 5 portions a day and if you make your own, they can have fun deciding what should go in the mix.
My favourites are those based on berry fruit - have just bought, but not yet tried the Innocent Strawberry and cherry, which sounds delicious!

Answer 3

Well its good to eat fresh fruit everyday and perhaps when the fruit is blended it loses some of its vitamins or something. But fresh fruit smoothies are super tasty! If you put banana in it its makes the consistancy nice and creamy! And banana is the king of fruits I think, its has the most amount of vitamins. Its a brain food.
I think shop bought smoothies should be ok if they make it fresh too... but if they make it from powder or canned stuff then its better to make your own.
Also... for something different, put a dollop of natural yoghurt inside the blender (the plain unsweetened yoghurt) or vanilla yoghurt if you cant find the other kind. You'll get a nice creamy taste better than any milkshake!!

Also... on a friday night, put a few measures of white rum or something for a wicked fruit cocktail that is still semi-good for you!!

Good luck :o)

Answer 4

I think that the only smoothies that are good for you are the ones that you make yourself, because you know exactly what has gone into it. Having a smoothie that you have made yourself and eating frsh fruit are both good for you, I don't necessary think that one is better for you than the other as they are equally good.

Try the following recipes which are very nice

Fruit Smoothies
125ml Milk
125ml ice
250g ripe fresh fruit, such as mangoes, apricots, raspberries etc
1 tbsp artificial sweetener
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Place all the ingredients in a liquidiser and process until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses

or Strawberry and Watermelon Smoothies
12 Strawberries, hulled
2 handfuls of fresh mint leaves
1 seedless watermelon

Method
1. Place the strawberries in a blender and add the mint. Whizz to blend.

2. Add the watermelon pulp to the blender and whizz again. Serve immediately.

or Red rooster smoothie
2x125ml fruit-flavoured yoghurt, ideally strawberry, raspberry or cherry
400g/14oz fresh or frozen summer berries
290ml/½ pint cranberry juice
2 bananas, peeled and roughly chopped

Method
1. Place all of the ingredients in a liquidizer and blitz until smooth. Pour into tall glasses and enjoy straight away. If you want your smoothie on the move, pour it into a clean 'take-away' coffee cup with a lid and drink it through a straw. If you're fussy about pips or seeds or you're worried they'll get stuck in your teeth, strain the smoothie through a sieve before pouring into glasses

or Apricot smoothie
100g/3½oz apricot halves (from a can) chopped
syrup from can of apricot halves
200g/7¼oz yoghurt
squeeze of lime juice
handful of ice
½ tsp vanilla essence
pinch of sugar
2 tbsp honey

Method
1. Place all the ingredients into a liquidiser and blend together until combined and smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into a tall serving glass and serve immediately

or Mango, strawberry and banana fruit smoothie

3 strawberries
100g/4oz peeled and chopped mango flesh
1 small or ½ medium banana
1 orange, squeezed
1 passion fruit (optional)

Method
Wash and hull the strawberries and then simply blend all the fruit together

or Mango smoothie
200ml/7fl oz Greek-style yoghurt
2 tbsp double cream
2 scoops ginger ice cream
¼ mango, roughly chopped
2 tbsp melted chocolate, to garnish

Method
1. Place the Greek-style yoghurt into a liquidiser or blender, with the cream, ice cream and mango.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into a large sundae glass, creating chocolate swirls.
4. Pour the smoothie into the decorated glass, to serve

Answer 5

I make smoothies with fresh fruit every day,Ive done hundreds of different mixes and they all taste lovely.

My favourite is banana,pineapple and strawberries.

I find it a lot easier than trying to fit 5 fruits in daily and its just as good for you as eating the fruit whole.

Argos are doing a smoothie maker for £14-99 at the moment.

Answer 6

In theory smoothies are good for you but due to the natural sugars in fruit when they are pureed they become quite high in calories. This is due to the molecular changes in the fruit and the fact that the quantity you are consuming increases greatly compared to if you actually just eat the fruit. Also when blitzed down your body does not need to work the break the fruit down so therefore just eating fruit is a lot better for you.

Answer 7

Some can be nice, some can be horrible, some can be healthy, some can be unhealthy...

For me, the nicest flavour is strawberry..and I'm talking about fresh strawberries, no artificial colouring or anything...that can count as 1 portion of your 5 a day (fruit or veg)

You can also get vegetable smoothies, which I haven't tried...

Answer 8

fresh fruit can be expensive to buy - buy it if you can afford to. I use a mix of fresh fruit/frozen fruit or even tinned fruit. I really enjoy mango and banana smoothies.

Its all down to personal taste. Thats the fun part - you can experiment if you have your own smoothie maker/blender

have fun!

Answer 9

I recently bought a blender and I make my own smoothies,
or yummies. You can have such a variation and experiment
to find what you like the best. I use one cup of vanilla yogurt
one cup of strawberries and how ever much soy milk(vanilla)
to make it the right consistency. I also use watermelon, bananas, chocolate. I am very inventive. You can use a veggie mix too. Just try it...hope you like it.

Answer 10

They are good for you - even better if you juice as well, try juicing 4 apples, 1/4 cucumber, 1/2 pineapple, 1/4 Lime, and a handful of spinach. Then blend the juice with half an avocado and ice, its looks terrible but tastes fab - a real booster!