Quick Smoothies – Simple Recipes

One of the most heavily-used items in our kitchen is our food processor. Not a week goes by where we don’t use it – from smoothies, to grating cheese, shredding vegetables and grinding spices, the convenience of having a good multi-use food processor makes eating healthy food much easier. Quick smoothies takes less than 60 seconds from start to finish, so there really is no faster food!

Given I spend most of my days trying in some part to convince people that healthy eating isn’t difficult, a smoothie is proof that this is the case. You can’t even use a lack of cooking ability as an excuse – chuck a load of raw ingredients in a blender and press go – nothing more difficult than that! Another of the obstacles people face when it comes to improving their diet is time. Not an excuse here!

Now we are into summer and with me making a real effort to reduce my processed sugar intake, I have started to drink lots more smoothies. I have basically thrown various mixtures of fruit, vegetables and ice into the blender and pressed fire, enjoying what has come out! You can’t really go wrong as the recipes are so simple.

The major benefit to me is how quickly you can make these things – a couple of smoothies can be made in literally seconds. I can put the blender together, prepare my smoothie, wash up and drink it all within 5 minutes. With a 60 hour working week and a young family, time is limited so anything that makes life easier is welcome!

This brings me onto my point – convenience. There is no quicker multiple-ingredient, healthy food option.

Try a few of these recipes…

 

 

 

 

 Very Berry

• 1 Handful of fresh strawberries
• 1 Handful of fresh raspberries
• 1 Handful of fresh blueberries
• 1/2 pint of crushed ice

Orange, Carrot and Ginger

• 2 x Large, peeled oranges (don’t worry about removing excess pith)
• 2 x Large, peeled carrots
• Fresh, grated ginger (to taste)
• 1 Handful of fresh spinach leaves
• 150ml Fresh Orange Juice

Apple, Blueberry and Banana

• 1 Handful of fresh blueberries
• 1 Small banana
• 50 ml Apple juice
• 1/2 pint of cracked ice

Tropical

• 1/4 Pineapple
• 1 Passion fruit
• 50ml Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Pint cracked ice
• 2-3 Mint leaves

Black and White

• 1 Handful of blackberries
• 1 Handful of blackcurrants
• 50ml Whole milk
• 50ml Natural yogurt

I spent some time researching a few places and liked these recipes, LA Fitness Summer Smoothies and of course, the Good Food Channel. I haven’t tried them all, but a good few I have and they are ideal for a quick breakfast or post-workout snack where you want a natural carb hit to temporarily raise insulin levels, allowing for quick and effective post-workout nutrient delivery.

With time pressures making healthy eating more difficult, use any advantage you can to get the healthy ingredients into your diet. Smoothies are a fantastic way of doing that and means you can remove one more excuse from your I’m too busy/tired/uninspired etc arsenal as to why you can’t live and eat more healthily.

Try these recipes and come back to me – let me know if you discover any interesting recipes!