Smoothies - General Cooking Principles
Smoothies - thick drink made from berries, fruits or vegetables crushed in a blender. Natural, vanilla or fruit yoghurts, ryazhenka, juices, milk, herbal teas or ice itself can be used as a liquid base. In a blender, the ice is crushed, which gives the drink the desired consistency. Also crushed ice (or several cubes) can be added to the ready-made smoothie. Smoothies are great for breakfast, snacks and low-calorie dinners. Drink fills the body with a lack of vitamins and nutrients, gives energy and just gives a great mood. Smoothies are especially relevant in hot summer weather, when you so much want to refresh yourself and satisfy your hunger without spending a minute at the stove.
Of the berries for smoothies most often used strawberry, raspberry, currant, cherry and lingonberry. You can take any kind of fruit: bananas, peaches, apricots, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, kiwi, grapefruits, lemons, apples, etc. To give a smooth taste and aroma, you can add vanilla, spices, spices, syrups or spicy herbs. Smoothies can be turned into a delicious dessert by adding ice cream, cream, chocolate or candied fruit. Optionally, the drink can be sweetened with sugar or fructose. But for dietary meals it is preferable to use honey. Ready-made smoothies are sometimes sprinkled with cashew nuts or any other chopped nuts.
A special place smoothies occupied in the diet and medical nutrition. Fruit or vegetable drink can replace food intake and not experience the feeling of hunger. You can also arrange a fasting day on smoothies alone. To make smoothies for weight loss, you should preferably use the following ingredients:
- Vegetables and greens. Tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, spinach, cilantro, dill, parsley, sorrel, basil, white cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions, etc. are excellent;
- Frozen or fresh fruits (citrus fruits, pineapples, apples, limes, kiwi, cherries, apricots, melons, peaches);
- From the berries you can add raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, currants, strawberries, gooseberries;
- Vegetable or fruit juices, green tea without sugar, skimmed milk, natural yoghurt, cottage cheese or kefir are used as the basis for fat-burning smoothies;
- To make the drink more useful, add flaxseed, sesame or pumpkin seeds or flakes from wheat germ germ.
In the smoothie for weight loss, you can add a powerful natural fat burner: shredded ginger root. You can also enrich the drink with cereals or turmeric.
Smoothies - food and tableware
To make a smoothie, you will need a minimum of kitchen appliances and utensils: a bowl or bowl for a blender, the blender itself, a knife, a cutting board, vegetable cutters or vegetable peelers (for convenience) and a grater. Smoothies are served in transparent thick-walled glasses with straws. Glasses can be decorated with a piece of berry or a slice of fruit, also in a smoothie you need to throw a couple of ice cubes.
Preparation of products consists in washing and cleaning fruits, berries and vegetables. It is necessary to remove the seeds, cut the stem and remove the "tails" (if any). It is also necessary to freeze enough ice in advance. Some recipes use frozen berries and fruits, so you can put them in the freezer for one hour. For convenience, you can cut large fruits into several pieces so that they are more easily ground in a blender. If you use cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts in a vegetable smoothie, boil them a little beforehand, or even better, cook them in a double boiler.
Smoothie Recipes:
Recipe 1: Strawberry Smoothie (Option 1)
Strawberry smoothie perfectly refreshes, satisfies hunger between main meals and gives the body energy. Ideal for breakfast or dinner. Preparing a strawberry smoothie is extremely simple. All that is needed for this is fresh berries and any dairy base (kefir, natural yoghurt, etc.).
Ingredients Required:
- 0.5 liters of natural yogurt;
- Fresh strawberries - 700-800 g;
- Sugar - 1.5-2 spoons;
- Lemon juice - 13-15 ml;
- Ice cubes.
Cooking method:
Brute brute, discarding spoiled and overripe, wash, remove the "tails". Put the strawberries in a bowl and chop with a blender until smooth. Pour yogurt and lemon juice, add sugar to taste. Stir all ingredients again. Spread the ice and spread evenly with a spoon. Pour into transparent glasses, decorate with a half of fresh strawberries and a leaf of mint.
Recipe 2: Strawberry Smoothie (Option 2) with Orange Juice
This strawberry smoothie can be made from fresh or frozen berries. Orange juice makes smoothies even tastier, healthier and more aromatic. As a basis, you can take a natural or fruit yogurt.
Ingredients Required:
- Fresh or frozen strawberries - several large berries (7-9 pieces);
- Packaging fruit or natural yogurt;
- Orange juice - 70 ml.
Cooking method:
Fresh strawberries bust, wash, remove the leaves with the "tails". Put for 1 hour in the freezer. If frozen strawberries are used, no preparatory activities are required. Put the frozen strawberries into the bowl and chop with a blender. Then pour in orange juice and yogurt. Stir the ingredients in a blender again. Pour smoothie into transparent glasses and decorate with fresh strawberries. Serve immediately.
Recipe 3: Banana Smoothie
Banana smoothies are very good for healthy bones and teeth, as it is rich in calcium. It can be prepared for breakfast, afternoon snack or for a small snack between main meals. Banana smoothies are very nourishing, aromatic and tasty. To reduce calorie content, you can use low-fat or 1% vanilla yogurt.
Ingredients Required:
- Bananas - 2 pcs. (from more ripe bananas, smoothies will turn out with a higher glycemic index, which is undesirable for a figure);
- 60 ml of nonfat or vanilla yoghurt;
- 350-400 ml of skim or 1% milk;
- Flakes from wheat germ germs - 1.5-2 tbsp. l
Cooking method:
Wash bananas, peel, cut into several pieces. Put in bowl, add yogurt, milk and cereal. Grind all ingredients with a blender until smooth. You can sprinkle smoothies with pine nuts or throw a couple of ice cubes.
Recipe 4: Fruit Smoothie
A fruit smoothie is prepared very simply, you can use any kind of fruit for cooking: peaches, apricots, mangoes, apples, oranges, coconuts, bananas, etc. A great option for a hot summer day. Smoothies can be prepared for breakfast, so that the day is as fruitful and energetic as possible.
Ingredients Required:
- Sweet oranges - 4 pcs .;
- 1 red grapefruit;
- 3 ripe bananas;
- A handful of ice.
Cooking method:
Squeeze juice from oranges and grapefruit. Peel off the rind. Peel bananas, cut them into several pieces and place in a blender bowl. Pour citrus juice over bananas and lay out ice. Grind all the ingredients with a blender until smooth. Sprinkle ready smoothie zest of oranges and grapefruit.
Recipe 5: Slimming Smoothies (Option 1)
Currants, cottage cheese and honey are suitable for making such a smoothie. Also, the recipe uses pineapple juice, known for its magical fat burning properties.
Ingredients Required:
- Currants - 2-3 spoons;
- Liquid honey - 8-10 ml;
- Cottage cheese - 50 g;
- Pineapple juice - 180-200 ml.
Cooking method:
Remove the currants from the twigs (can be used and frozen), wash and put in the bowl. Add cottage cheese and pour pineapple juice. Grind the ingredients with a blender, then add liquid honey. Beat everything again and serve immediately. Optionally add 1-2 ice cubes.
Recipe 6: Slimming Smoothies (Option 2) with Ginger
Such a smoothie not only contributes to weight loss, but also provides the body with vitamins and nutrients. The recipe uses kiwi, apple, grapefruit and banana. Also included in the smoothie is ginger, which is a powerful weapon against excess weight. The green hour is used as a base, and honey is used as a sweetener.
Ingredients Required:
- 1/2 grapefruit;
- 1/2 Kiwi;
- Apple - 1 pc .;
- 1/4 ripe banana;
- 2-3 g of ginger root;
- A glass of green tea;
- Liquid honey - 2 tsp.
Cooking method:
Wash fruit and peel. Remove the core from the apple. Ginger grate. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, pour in green tea and add honey. Grind ingredients with a blender until smooth. You can also add crushed ice to smoothies.
Smoothies - secrets and tips from the best chefs
- It is desirable that the composition of the smoothie included at least one ingredient with a dense texture (banana, pear or mango). Of the berries for these purposes, black currant or raspberry;
- Too dense fruit mass can be diluted with a small amount of water, milk or fruit juice;
- In a purely vegetable smoothies (for example, from cucumber, green onions and sweet pepper) you can add to taste a little salt and black pepper;
- You can turn a smoothie into a useful energy drink if you add a few drops of ginseng or lemongrass tincture;
- sometimes some quail eggs are added to breakfast smoothies (3-4 pcs.);
Having decided to include a smoothie in the daily ration, it is necessary to choose the right blender - not all devices are suitable for making a fruit drink. You should not buy too bulky models - such blenders are used mainly in cafes and restaurants, in order to grind immediately the ingredients in large quantities. Not quite suitable for making smoothies and dip blenders. Included with such models are usually small bowls, and a homogeneous consistency with the help of an immersion blender is quite difficult. Therefore, it is best to give preference to a stationary device having a compact size. Complete with a blender must go a big hour or
tall glass in which it would be convenient to mix the cocktail. Also, the blender should have a sufficiently powerful motor that can grind all the ingredients at once. Pay attention to the sharpness of the knives and the ability of the device to operate in several speeds.
You can make smoothies without a blender: just prepare the berries and fruits, grate them and grate through a meat grinder. Next, the mixture must be shifted to a bowl or any other container and combine with juice, yogurt, kefir or milk. For mixing the mass, you can use an ordinary whisk. Delicious and healthy drink is ready!
