Healthy smoothie recipes to kickstart your day

Nothing really soothes you on a hot day like a cold beverage, but if you’re someone who is health conscious, grabbing a can of soda everyday may not be the best thing for your body. Instead, you can opt for delicious home-made smoothies, which are not only much healthier options, but are also easier to make.  

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Here are three lip-smacking smoothie recipes that might just make you ditch cold sodas forever (don’t blame us). But first. Let’s take a quick look at what we will need. 

Smoothie making prerequisites

To make tasty smoothies, you will need a blender. This can either be a jar blender like the Croma Personal 450W blender, or a hand blender, like the Bosch CleverMixx 400W blender. Both will be fine. You will also need some crushed ice, which is better to work with compared to ice cubes. Lastly, you will need the ingredients for the smoothie, depending on what you’re preparing.   

To actually make your smoothie, put all your ingredients into the blender, starting with the liquids first and harder ingredients towards the end. Add your crushed ice, and use the blender to whir these ingredients together. Start at a low speed and gradually increase it to high as required. Depending on your recipe, you may need to use the blender for 30-60 seconds (until you have the consistency you want). 

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s quickly dive into the blender for recipe number one.  

1. Berry blast smoothie

A berry blast smoothie is a great drink to supplement your breakfast, and even a healthy post-workout meal if you club it with some protein powder. All you need is 1 cup of frozen mixed berries, half a cup of plain Greek yogurt, half a cup of low-fat milk and a handful of rolled oats (optional). For a post-workout variant, throw in 1 scoop of any protein powder of your choice.  

2. Chocolate peanut butter smoothie

A very healthy alternative to most beverages when you crave for something sweet on a hot day, the chocolate peanut butter smoothie is super easy to prepare. All you need is 1 ripe banana, two tablespoons of peanut butter (preferably creamy), 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and a teaspoon of honey (optional). You can also toss in some frozen banana chunks for some extra flavour. 

3. Tropical green smoothie

Also known as a tropical green powerhouse, this smoothie is a great daily dose of vitamins and antioxidants. It is also easy to put together. All you need is 1 cup of frozen mango chunks, half a cup of pineapple chunks, half a banana, half a cup of baby spinach, and half a cup of plain Greek yogurt. You can also add a splash of coconut water for flavour.  

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Those were three quick smoothie recipes that are both easy to make and extremely healthy. Now that’s how you beat the summer heat without a calorie crisis!