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Smoothies are an easy, tasty way to add nutrition to your diet. The most important part of making a smoothie is to use a blender powerful enough to handle frozen fruit and to process it long enough - but not too long.

A good quality blender is very important. You want it to have enough power to turn frozen berries into a smooth texture. I use a cordless hand blender and love it. This is best for one person as it's easy to rinse off the blender blades and the container you mix in. I find I make many more smoothies now that I don't have to wrestle with washing a large blender jar. I admit it - I'm lazy.

Add the liquid ingredients first, then protein powder (if you wish) and then the fruit. I find this works out best for making everything blend evenly.

Here are a few recipes that I've developed over the years:

Hulk Smoothie: My grandson is autistic. We have a hard time getting him to eat healthy food. When he was visiting recently, we went to see the movie the "Incredible Hulk". I was making my smoothie with Alive Health powder and it turned the shake green. I used pineapple juice, a 1/2 a banana and some blueberries and a bit of soy milk. On a whim I asked Cameron if he wanted an "Hulk Shake" and he said yes! Now he drinks one several times a week and this gives him a tremendous nutrition boost, especially since he refuses to eat fruit.

Hulk Shake
1 Scoop Protein Powder ("Alive" mix makes it green)
1 Cup pineapple juice
Soy or rice milk
Banana
1 Small Kiwi

Mocha Smoothie

Cold Coffee (or 4-5 Coffee ice cubes)
1 Cup milk (rice, almond milk or soy work well)
1 Banana
1 TBS cocoa powder (good quality - for the antioxidants)

The banana adds sweetness, but you may want to add a little honey.

Tropical Treat

1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1 Cup Almond, Rice or Soy milk
Cup Coconut Milk (optional)
2 Ice cubes
Cup fresh pineapple
1 Banana

TIPS: Pineapple juice makes a smoothie a little sweeter than orange juice. Pomegranate, Blueberry, Apricot Nectar and Orange Juice are also great to use. I use Almond Milk to avoid dairy and it has a very mild flavor. Bananas add body to a smoothie as well as sweetness. Ripe, pealed, nectarines, peaches or plums add more texture and sweetness.

Yogurt and soft tofu may also be added for protein. Ice Cream is yummy, but isn't all that healthy. Frozen Yogurt works well too.

Smoothies are fun to experiment with and can become a family activity, with each member making their own recipe'. They are an excellent way to get more fruit into reluctant fruit eaters.

Learn more about this author, Pat Merewether.
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