How Justin Makes Smoothies
My favorite fruit delivery mechanism
~ July 14, 2024 ~Justin has been making smoothies almost daily for the past year.
Recipe
| Ingredients | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Frozen Mango | 1 portion | none |
| Other Frozen Fruit | 1 portion | cherry, strawberry, peach, etc. |
| Milk | fill to height of fruit in blender | cow, oat, or almond, etc. |
| Honey | 1-2 seconds of squeezing | preferrably in bear-shaped container |
| Blender | 1 blender | preferably a personal smoothie blender |
| Straw (optional) | 1 straw | preferably reusable and thick |
- Combine all ingredients in a blender, adding the fruit first, then milk, then honey.
- Blend the ingredients until desired consistency, shaking the blender if the fruit ever gets stuck. A blend may take ~3 rounds of 10-15 second blending, so about 30-45 seconds of total blend time (this depends on your blender).
- Serve, preferably with a thick straw.
Details
I love making smoothies since they’re fast, healthy, and yummy. Usually, I will have 0 to 2 smoothies per day, with an estimated average of 0.8 smoothies per day. I drink an average of less than 1 smoothie per day since I usually don’t drink one that day if I’m eating outside. Otherwise, I have a smoothie with almost every home-cooked meal I eat. To maximize convenience and consistency, I get all of my ingredients from Trader Joe’s on my weekly grocery trip. I find this to also be the most cost-effective option (based on my nearby grocery stores) and estimate each smoothie to cost slightly under $1 (not including cost of blender).
I only use frozen fruits in my smoothies for the convenience and texture. Since they are pre-frozen, it reduces a lot of effort needed to manually process and freeze fruits (I wish frozen bananas were more commonly sold). I’ve experimented with combinations of non-frozen fruits and ice, but the overall texture of these tests aren’t as smooth on average. It’s possible that a more high-powered blender is required for this method, but I haven’t tried that yet. One caveat is that the non-frozen fruits and ice method retains small ice crystals in the smoothie which can add crunchiness to the texture.
One unique aspect of my recipe is that I almost always include mangos, specifically Trader Joe’s Frozen Mango Chunks. The reason for this is that after experimenting with different smoothie combinations from Trader Joe’s frozen fruits, I’ve found that the only combination that doesn’t produce a smoothie with a sour taste is mango and any other fruit. The other commonly available fruits, cherries, strawberries, and peaches, are all slightly acidic/sour meaning they require the neutral taste of the mango to balance them out. Blueberries are another frozen fruit available at Trader Joe’s; however, I almost never use them in smoothies since they produce a heterogeneous texture when blended since the skins almost never fully pulverize. My favorite combination currently is mango and cherry since it produces a pretty pink color and tastes the most refreshing out of the combinations I’ve tried so far.
Next, the choice of liquids is important but simple. Any milk-related product seems to work for this and the choice of it doesn’t impact the overall taste/texture very much. I began using only whole milk, but after a few months I stopped since I found milk to spoil too quickly for me. Also, I began experimenting with avoiding dairy as a whole during that time period so I decided to try milk alternatives. First, I used almond milk since I viewed it as the standard milk alternative product. It worked fine, and I didn’t notice a significant taste difference in my smoothies from using actual milk, so I used it for a while. Later though, I began to dislike the taste of almond milk when drinking it by itself since I thought the almond taste was too strong and desired something more neutral. I began using Trader Joe’s Oat Beverage (basically oat milk) and have been using it regularly since. In terms of quantity of liquid, I always eyeball it and fill up my blender cup to about the level of the highest pieces of fruit.
In order to sweeten my smoothies a little, I also add a small quantity of honey (about 1-2 seconds of squeezing the honey bear container). I had previously tried adding more honey than this but found the taste of honey to overpower the fruit when doing this. I find the current quantity I use strikes a nice balance between adding sweetness without an overly-apparent honey flavor. I didn’t notice any textural differences when first adding honey, but it’s possible that it’s slightly contributed to the smoothness of the smoothies.
Blending was something that took a while to understand how to do effectively. In short, blend for slightly longer than you think it should take. This ensures that every fruit chunk is fully pulverized so the smoothie is fully smooth. Also, it aerates the smoothie which adds a creaminess to the texture of the smoothie. I usually do this for about 30-45 seconds of total blending. The blender I use is the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro, and it works well for me as a personal smoothie blender (I have no in-depth knowledge on different blender types, but I am satisfied with this one). I like that it includes a 24oz cup that you can drink your smoothie out of rather than having to transfer it to an external container, greatly simplifying the cleaning process. Cleaning is straightforward but it’s important to be diligent. This involves thoroughly washing the cup and blender cap with soap and water. When I initially started making smoothies, I wasn’t as diligent with cleaning my equipment leading to unfavorable, bacteria-like tastes in some of my smoothies.
Initially, I drank my smoothies straight out of the container. Now, I use a thick, reusable straw and find it to be a much more pleasant drinking experience. First, the straw makes every sip easier than drinking directly from the cup which requires more attention due to the potential for spillage. Previously, I’ve had many unpleasant instances where the contents of the smoothie would clump up and fall on my face when I rotated the cup vertically to drink from it. Since using a straw, this never happens since I don’t have to rotate the contents of the cup. This is important since I usually watch anime while drinking my smoothie so I no longer have to remove my attention from the screen to drink my smoothie. Next, the straw reduces the chance of any tiny fruit chunks from getting stuck in my teeth since the liquid now flows directly into my throat. I’ve noticed much less fruit-related food scraps since in my teeth doing this (although this could also be from blending my smoothies more thoroughly). Lastly, it just feels like a more delightful, sophisticated experience to drink from a straw. The only con of using a straw is that I have to clean it after every use, so I use a straw-cleaning brush for this.
That concludes my smoothie recipe. I will update this over time as my smoothie recipe evolves. Feel free to reach out to me about your personal experience with smoothies.