Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice (really try to get fresh OJ for this one)
1 banana
2/3 cup frozen strawberries
2 scoops fat-free vanilla yogurt
1 cup ice

Make sure you crush the ice completely and the drink is smooth.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup of skim milk
1/4 plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats (I grind these to dust in my food processor but it’s not necessary)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder (optional)
*Water to thin it down to taste (optional)
1 med banana (optional)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender.

2. Blend until you’re happy with the texture. You may add some water to make it thinner, but it’s not necessary.

Ingredients:

2 c organic calcium-fortified orange juice
1 c frozen organic strawberries
1/3 c frozen organic blueberries
1 med banana, can be frozen or extra ripe.

Optional:
1/8 c. Flax oil
3 scoops protein powder

Directions:

Blend the main ingredients in your blender until smooth, then add any optional ingredients desired.

This also freezes really well (for smoothie Popsicles).

If you only need to feed yourself, then you can cut the ingredients in half

Ingredients:

1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C low fat cottage cheese
1 frozen banana
1 C frozen strawberries (any berry is fine)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Add more juice or water to get desired consistency. Experiment with different fruits! Raspberries, blueberries, and peaches all work well. The cottage cheese is a great source of protein and makes the smoothie nice and thick. This is my favorite way to refuel after a long workout.

This green smoothie is incredibly high in antioxidants and iron as well as providing 2.5 servings of water for your diet.

One half small seeded watermelon, peel and all
A pint of strawberries hulled
2 c. raw spinach rinsed
1 cup water (or as needed to be smooth)

Scrub the watermelon well under cold water to be sure it’s clean. Cut out any lesions or dark spots. Quarter the half.
Spin the watermelon for 10 seconds until slightly chunky.
Add remainder of ingredients and spin until smooth.

(You can add ice if you prefer them frozen. 6 ice cubes replace 1/3 c. water)

Smoothies are a nutritious way of getting a good supply of vitamins, nutrients, good sugars and antioxidants into your system. The last term may not mean much to many people, as it is often used as a tag line for doctors and health salesmen to make it sound like their products are better than others, but antioxidants are a very important part of a healthy diet.

When your body breaks down food, chemicals, and other substances in your body, a great amount of that break down is in the form of oxidation. Like rust, oxidation occurs when oxygen bonds with other materials, to make a different kind of material. When oxidation happens, it creates something called a free radical. Those free radicals are harmful to your health; they can penetrate cells, can cause damage to the cells, or worse, they can damage your chromosomes. That damage can cause your cells to go out of control, and voila, you have one of the causes of cancer and other illnesses.

So, getting these free radicals out of your system, and reducing their creation can reduce your chances of cancer. That is why antioxidants are so important in your diet, they reduce the reactions that create the free radicals that harm your cells and cause cancer, heart disease, even Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Luckily, some of the tastiest fruits and berries out there are also have some of the highest concentrations of free radicals. You might even be putting them into your smoothies all ready, just because they taste good.
Some of the highest antioxidant providing berries are:

Blueberries – A single cup of wild blueberries have almost 10 times the USDA recommended minimum intake of antioxidants, 10 times! Even cultivated blueberries have 6-7 times the USDA recommended minimum pre cup.

Cranberries – Not always the first choice for tossing into a healthy smoothie, but these tart berries have as many anti-oxidants as a cup of cultivated blueberries. Not to everyone’s taste, but they just add that little bit of contrast to a sweet smoothie you’ll love.

Blackberries, Raspberries, Marion berries – All of the berries from this family are brimming with antioxidants. Best of all, they are extremely popular, and you can usually find them as a lovely added flavor for your smoothie.

Strawberries – That’s right, the staple fruit of the smoothie is filled with antioxidant goodness. Not as much as some as the listed above, but a cup’s worth of them still have more than the recommended daily USDA value for antioxidants.

All of the above berries make fantastic additions to your daily smoothie. That said, nutritionists have said that as much as those berries provide so many antioxidants, our bodies aren’t built to take them all in a berry’s uncooked form. So they recommend getting more then you need, and mixing and matching your intake so that you get the most out of what you eat. What more can you ask for? We’re giving you an excuse to load up your daily smoothie with delicious berries of all kinds and you can truly say you are doing it for better health!

How does protein, antioxidants, water, potassium, vitamin C, and calcium sound? Not only does this smoothie have all of the above healthy stuff and more, it tastes great!

Ingredients

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup orange juice, divided
6 strawberries, washed and hulled
1 ripe banana
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
6 large ice cubes

Directions:

Additional strawberries and orange slices, for garnish sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cups orange juice in saucepan, let stand 1 minute. Over low heat, stir until gelatin completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. Blend remaining orange juice, strawberries, banana and vanilla yogurt in blender at high speed until smooth. Add gelatin mixture, process until blended. Add ice cubes, process at high speed until smooth and frosty. Garnish with additional strawberries and orange slices. Serve immediately.

Calories: 198 Carbs: 67 Fat: 1.9 Protein: 6.7