Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Make Healthy Smoothies With A Juicer

Healthy smoothies are a great way to cool off in warm weather. The United States Department of Agriculture's food pyramid recommends one to two cups of fruit (depending on age and gender) per day. Make a healthy smoothie with freshly made juice from your juicer, fresh fruits, yogurt and fresh fruits you've prepared ahead of time to meet your daily recommended fruit intake.


Instructions


Prepare and Freeze Fruit


1. Thoroughly wash fruit under running water. Be careful not to squash delicate fruits such as berries.


2. Remove all stems, seeds, leaves, peels, pits and other undesirable parts of the fruit that will not blend and will leave unpleasant chunks in your smoothie.


3. Finely dice large fruits such as bananas, apples, cantaloupe or pineapple, and spread it out flat in a large sealable bag. Leave small, delicate fruits like berries whole and put in a sealable bag in a single layer.


4. Freeze the fruit for up to two weeks. The fruit is ready to use after freezing for two to four hours.


Smoothie Technique


5. Juice fresh fruits to create the required amount of juice for your smoothie. Rinse fruit and remove all stems, seeds, leaves, peels and pits. Chop fruit down to a manageable size (depending how large your juicer is), then add to the juicer and turn on.


6. Extract the liquid from your juicer and pour into the blender. Unless your recipe notes otherwise, liquids always go into the blender first.


7. Add semiliquid and soft ingredients like yogurt and fresh fruit to the blender.


8. Remove the frozen fruit from your freezer and immediately add to the blender. Solid ingredients like frozen fruits and ice cubes always go in last. Blend until smooth and serve.


Sample Recipe


9. Core, peel and slice two medium-sized apples. Juice the apples and add the extracted juice to your blender.


10. Peel and dice one fresh kiwi and add to the blender.


11. Remove frozen strawberries and bananas from the freezer and immediately add to the blender. Blend until smooth and serve immediately.







Tags: fresh fruits, from your, your juicer, Blend until, Blend until smooth