Inside Scoop: Here’s how to build the perfect smoothie ratio.

There’s always this thought of, ‘oh, I’ll go into the kitchen with an easy smoothie recipe in my head, make it and have a delicious healthy smoothie in 30 seconds.’

Then you throw everything in the blender, blend smooth, and end up with a weird tasting brown mush. How could this have gone so wrong? Should I have just made a salad? Little did you know there IS such thing as ‘the perfect smoothie ratio’, and there is a subtle science to building a delicious smoothie every single time.

SMOOTHIE FOOD BUILDING BLOCKS:

Choose the liquid

Simple as it may be, but you can use any liquid in your smoothie you desire: water, coconut water or a dairy-free milk (almond, hemp, coconut, cashew, rice, oat…etc.).

Choose your greens/ veggies

Pick any greens but be aware that some greens have a bitter taste like, and some have a bit of spice to them, we like kale, spinach but parsley, swiss chard, collards, dandelion work as well. Vegetables such as cucumber, sweet potato, squash, carrots, beets work nice with the proper flavour combination of fruit.

Choose your fruit

Pick any fruit you desire as well, but be aware that you need to match flavours between the fruit and the vegetables you put in: banana, apple, berries, mango, peaches, pineapple, oranges, pears and more. You can freeze your fruit for a more refreshing, creamy and chilled smoothie. Bananas are awesome when frozen.

Choose your fat/protein

We love hemp seeds, hemp protein or other protein powder*, nut or seed butters (almond, peanut, cashew, hazelnut, sunflower), avocado, coconut oil, flax or chia seeds.

Add your superfoods

This isn’t a necessary step, but can increase your smoothie nutritional density, superfoods such as raw cacao, oats, bee pollen, shredded coconut, goji berries, matcha, maca…etc.

Sweeten* if needed

You don’t have to add a sweetener if you have enough sweet fruit, or you don’t mind a bitter taste, but our favourite smoothie sweetener is whole dates, if you don’t have dates a small amount of raw honey, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, swerve and green leaf stevia.

Garnish

Totally up to you, but you can garnish with cacao nibs, hemp seeds, berries, shredded coconut, mint leaves…just be creative.

Optional: add 3-4 ice cubes per serving for a refreshing cold boost.

Okay, so now you’ve come up with your recipe, remember that the perfect smoothie ratio means nothing if your recipe doesn’t go together well. The flavours need to compliment each other, for example, if you add berries with bitter greens and a banana you’re going to get a very bitter smoothie, you need to balance it out with more sweetness, like dates and pineapple. Keep in mind the flavours you are combining.

Now for our top 5 steps to remember to make sure your smoothie always comes out delicious and nutritious.

OUR TOP 5 TIPS FOR CREATING THE SMOOTHIE OF YOUR DREAMS:

1. Ratio is everything!

The perfect smoothe ratio looks something like this:

• ¾ – 1 cup liquid
• About 1 cup of fruit
• 1 banana (optional addition to fruit)
• a very large handful of greens
• ¼ cup veggies (if adding)
• 1-2 Tbsp healthy fats / protein
• sprinkle a small amount of superfoods or add-ins
• 2-3 dates or 1-2 tsp sweetener

Remember that this smoothie ratio is just a general guideline and your recipe won’t be exact every single time. Start off on the lower side of each ingredient and then add more as you go to balance out the flavours and texture.

2. Organize

Preparing your smoothie in layers to create the best consistency is key. Consider hard ingredients first, next is greens, nut butters, powders, oats, seeds and last but not least is the liquid.

The hardest ingredients closest to the blades makes sure everything gets blended properly and no chunks are left behind.

3. Thicken

Use ingredients such as oats, ground flax, avocado, nut milks, and yogurt to keep your smoothie a desired consistency.

If you make a smoothie that’s too runny try adding some of these ingredients. Smoothies tend to be thicker and creamier with frozen fruits and a few ice cubes.

If your smoothie is too thick, you just need a dash more liquid to get it the desired consistency.

4. Pre-portion and freeze

Pick out the ingredients that work for you, or use the recipes that are tried and true to your taste. You can portion days worth of smoothies, by placing in a plastic bag/ glass container and freeze (minus the milk, nut butters, powders etc.).

This makes your smoothie making process and your perfect smoothie ratio so much easier. Just grab, blend and go. Also, freezing your produce before blending makes your smoothie way smoother.

5. Flavour Flav

You might find a basic 3 ingredient smoothie a bit bland or flavourless. That’s where special flavours come in handy.

Add spices, herbs, extracts and sweeteners to your smoothies to boost their flavour. Ingredients like ginger, mint, cinnamon, basil, vanilla extract, cacao powder, himalayan salt and maple syrup make for great enhancers and are beneficial in terms of nutrients.

Just keep in mind, when adding sweeteners – avoid refined sugars, and don’t add too much. You want your smoothie to be jam packed with nutrients, not a dessert.

*A SMOOTHER NOTE ON PROTEIN POWDER: 

Smoothies for breakfast are amazing, but you need to make sure an adequate amount of protein is added to them to keep blood sugars balanced and keep you feeling full for a good portion of your morning. Add protein powder, full-fat greek yogurt, hemp seeds or chia seeds. Aim for 25 grams of protein for breakfast, and try to stick to vegan protein powder or grass-fed organic whey protein. Remember that protein powder might be sweetened with stevia so you can probably ditch any added sweetener.

Here are some great smoothies to get you started.

Okay, so you’ve been through this article and it still sounds like way too much effort, but you like, really like smoothies… check out our favourite brand of SMOOTHIE CUBES. You never have to worry about ratio, what you’re going to put in your smoothie, cleaning your blender. All you need to do is add the cube to liquid, shake and buh-bye, you’re out the door. Check out our interview with Evive Smoothie here.

Do you have a favourite smoothie recipe? We want to hear it, drop a comment below.