Smoothies seem like a healthy choice for a snack. Many commercial smoothies, however, contain added sugars in the form of sweetened juice, honey and frozen yogurt or sorbet. As a result, some top 700 calories each -- more calories than many people should consume in one meal, let alone between meals. Make your own smoothie at home to benefit from healthy ingredients, without as many calories and sugar.
Ingredients
Include both fruits and vegetables in a healthy smoothie. You will need a green apple, large banana, a date, a medium carrot and fresh pineapple. Orange juice provides moisture for blending -- choose calcium-enriched for extra nutrition. A healthy smoothie may also include fresh spinach leaves and flaxseed oil. To make your smoothie as cold as possible, have a few ice cubes on hand to blend in at the end.
Method
Place 1/2 cup of the green apple, chopped, into the jar of your blender. Add one-half of the banana, the date, the carrot and 1 cup of the pineapple, cubed. Pour in the juice and flaxseed oil and then top with the spinach leaves and the ice cubes. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until you reach the desired consistency. You might need to use a tamper to encourage the fruits and veggies through the blades.
Nutrition
This smoothie contains 388 calories and 8 g of fat, 7 g of which is the heart-healthy unsaturated type. The smoothie also provides 5 g of protein. If you drink the entire smoothie, you get more than 100 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamins A, C and K and the trace mineral manganese. The smoothie also provides 141 micrograms of folate, 106 mg of calcium and 2.2 mg of iron. If you use calcium-enhanced juice, the calcium content will be higher. The smoothie provides 1,256 mg of potassium -- making it a very high source of this mineral that supports healthy blood pressure, digestion and energy.
Considerations
A high-speed blender helps make whipping up this fruity-flavored, green smoothie a snap. Freezing the banana and pineapple can make the texture of this smoothie especially smooth. Spinach adds a bright green color, but the flavor is so mild that even kids will not detect its presence. Although the smoothie contains a significant amount of sugar, all comes from natural sources rather than added processed sugars such as high fructose corn syrup. Experiment with using different fruits -- strawberries, kiwis and papayas are all good choices for this recipe.
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