As you probably know by now, I’m a massive smoothie fan and have them most days, either for breakfast, as a mid-afternoon treat or post-exercise. The post-exercise smoothie is always particularly satisfying, especially after a long run when you want to refuel with something tasty and nutritious – it’s so easy just to whip up a smoothie or a juice.
I do quite frequently make juices too – and if you’re looking for some juice inspiration then check out the Curry’s blog post on post-workout juices – but, I can’t help but love a good old smoothie, mainly because I am a peanut butter addict and you can’t really throw peanut butter into a juice, can you?
My go-to recipe for smoothies consists of the following. Protein powder (my current one is MyProtein Toffee Whey Protein Powder), soy milk, peanut butter and a banana. So, so tasty and ticks lots of boxes for me by providing protein and good fats. I usually use Alpro Hazelnut Milk but whilst I’m giving up sugar for lent I’ve moved onto their Whole Bean Soy Milk instead.
I was kindly gifted an awesome Kenwood kMix Blender (£129.99*) from Curry’s to help me whip up the perfect post-exercise smoothie. Last weekend I went out for a run and managed 11km, which is my longest run since I sprained my ankle, so it was the perfect opportunity to come home and test out my new blender! The blender itself is absolutely amazing – it can make soups as well as crush ice – I can see myself using these features a lot (it can even make dips, how cool is that?)
I must admit, I do find myself coming back to that same recipe time and time again, but I’ve been trying to mix it up a bit (geddit?) and try a few different flavours – I made one with coconut water and pineapple the other day that was amazing. I get quite a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and I love this graphic which helps you build the perfect ‘green’ smoothie.
Some other quick tips for smoothies:
1. Add in extra ingredients like wheatgrass (a great source of fibre, vitamins, minerals and protein) or flaxseed (source of fibre and fatty acids – one of the greatest sources of omega 3). You can buy packets of flaxseed in Aldi relatively cheaply.
2. Adding frozen banana to smoothies gives them a thicker, creamier, consistency
3. Freeze-ahead ‘smoothie packs’ with all your favourite smoothie ingredients so you can whip them up quickly in the morning.
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4. Add washing-up-liquid and hot water to your blender after you’ve made a smoothie and then whizz it up – you still need to wash it afterwards but it’ll save cleaning time by getting a lot of the gunk that sticks to the sides out.
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5. Add porridge oats to smoothies – they’ll keep you fuller for longer and also give you a hit of fibre (and apparently also protect against cancer and heart disease!)
What are your favourite smoothie recipes? Do you have any smoothie tips?
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