Breakfast Smoothies

The Best Breakfast Smoothies

I love smoothies, especially as a delicious morning drink to boost my energy, so I am particularly fond of Breakfast Smoothie Recipes! Here you will find out how to make breakfast smoothies, ideas for blends, breakfast smoothie recipes, links and equipment, and lots more!

I started out buying bottles of Innocent Breakfast Smoothies and Innocent Superfruit Smoothies, but because it can get quite costly I decided to take a look at making my own as well.

It's really easy to make your own smoothies - all you need is a couple of kitchen gadgets which, if you like to cook, you may well have already. Smoothie and juice making is a great way to use up any leftover fruit that isn't going to get used up before it goes overripe - so perfect for maintaining a green kitchen!

Breakfast Smoothies are also perfect for those who don't always have the appetite for breakfast in the mornings. It is a very important meal because our bodies need to refuel, but if you find you can't stomach food so early, then a smoothie is perfect. Plus you can hit 2 of your 5 a day before the day has even started!

Read on for lots of ideas on how to make the best breakfast smoothies to begin your day!

The first smoothie I ever experienced was in London years ago - it was an Innocent one (more on Innocent further down the page!) - and it was strawberry and banana heaven!

I have to confess, I do love the Innocent blend in particular, so I was delighted to find that they produced the recipe for this exact smoothie in their recipe book!

All you need are 2 and a half apples, 7 strawberries, half a banana and half an orange.

Cut the apple into wedges and juice them in a juicer. Squeeze the orange half into a blender along with the apple juice. Add the banana and strawberries and blend to desired consistency! This makes one large portion.

There are lots of other variations on this basic but classic smoothie - some prefer pineapple juice instead of orange, some use yoghurt, some use soy milk... such as the video below, which uses frozen strawberries and soy milk.

Great for getting you going in the morning as strawberries provide energy, and bananas provide slow release energy!

I love Innocent smoothies, so I just had to get their recipe book. Contains oodles of scrumptious recipes, plus a healthy dose of their usual wonderful humour. Breakfast smoothies can be found within, including smoothies to wake you up and the best smoothie for a liquid breakfast.

Best Healthy Fruit and Veg to Start the Day

You can have lots of fun combining different fruits and vegetables to make great smoothies. But which ones are best for breakfast?

Apples - because they are good for you and they mix with pretty much anything else

Strawberries - because they are great for energy

Mangoes - great for waking you up and packed with beta-carotene too

Lemons - a brilliant detox fruit. as morning drinkers of hot water and lemon will already know!

Kiwis - perfect for a boost of vitamin C that will get your immune system working nicely

Bananas - great for slow release energy, these also thicken and sweeten a smoothie. And did you know they contain all 8 of the amino acids that our bodies can't produce themselves?

Oranges - another great wake-up fruit full of citrus burst!

There are three main gadgets you need to make a good smoothie - a juicer, a blender and a citrus squeezer. You don't have to spend a fortune, but obviously it pays in the long run to get a better piece of equipment that will first of all work well, and second of all last a long time. Here are some recommendations:

The Innocent Superfruit Smoothie is one of my favourites. According to the bottle, it contains:

19 Pressed Grapes, ½ a Mashed Banana, ¼ of a Crushed Pomegranate, ½ a Freshly Squeezed Orange, 43 Squashed Blueberries, 35 Peeled Acai Berries, and a Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice.

Here is a slightly more basic pomegranate and blueberry version you can make at home:

Cut up one apple and juice. Add to the blender. Squeeze an orange and put the juice in the blender. Quarter a pomegranate, pull back the skin and remove the seeds. Juice this too and also add to the blender. Add a punnet of blueberries and half a banana, whizz, and Bob's your uncle.

Superfruits are so called because they contain lots of antioxidants, which are good for you inside and out. Blueberries in particular are thought to be the richest source of antioxidants there is.

Different fruits and veg need preparing differently when making a smoothie. Some need blending and some need juicing. Basically, it is usually fruit that needs blending and vegetables (and harder fruit like apples) that need juicing, but here's a quick guide!

The following need BLENDING:

• Avocado
• Bananas
• Blackberries
• Blackcurrants
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Cranberries
• Dates
• Kiwis
• Lychees
• Mangoes
• Melons (they can also be juiced, but are better blended when ripe)
• Nectarines
• Passion Fruits
• Peaches
• Pineapples (can also be juiced)
• Prunes
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Watermelons

While the following citrus fruits need SQUEEZING

• Lemons
• Oranges
• Limes

And these need JUICING!

• Apples
• Beetroots
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Celery
• Melons (but are better blended if ripe)
• Pears
• Pineapples (can also be blended)
• Pomegranates
• Spinach

Breakfast in a Glass that will keep you fuller for longer!

Oats and yoghurt - two great breakfast staples, Oats keep you feeling full, and yoghurt is excellent for your gut.

There are lots of ways to get these in your breakfast smoothie but a favourite of mine is with bananas - try this awesome Banana Oat Smoothie recipe from Martha Stewart!

Do you prefer a nice thick smoothie in the morning (or any other time of day!) or are you more of a straight healthy juice type person?

I've mentioned Innocent a few times, and I think it only fair, because they introduced me to the world of smoothness, after all. And in addition to their wonderful recipe book and delicious bottles of smoothie, I adore their sense of humour, and their dedication to providing eco-friendly, completely natural products. There is nothing in an Innocent smoothie, other than proper smoothie ingredients, i.e. fruit, veg, honey, yoghurt and the like.

Innocent also give 10% of their profits from their recipe book to The Innocent Foundation, a grant giving organisation that works with NGOs to deliver their vision of building sustainable futures for the world's poorest people. Click the link to find out more.

You can also find out more about Innocent and their products by visiting the Innocent Website.

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