My parents first taught me a basic recipe for a homemade healthy smoothie and I’ve made my own minor adjustments over the last few years depending on what I may be craving or if I’m needing a little extra of something. I try to make one every morning because I feel such a big difference in my energy at practice when I’ve had my smoothie. It’s great because the natural sugars from the fruit give you a burst of energy to start the day and you get your fruit servings in right away!  Here ya go, enjoy!

The basics:
–1 banana
–4 medium-size strawberries OR 3/4 cup frozen fruit of choice
–2 heaping spoonfuls of yogurt (I go for the greek yogurt to get a little more protein)
–1/2 cup juice of choice, OR milk/milk-substitute, OR water, OR coconut water (my option)
–1-2 Tbsp. (or to taste) nutritional yeast*
–1 tsp. bee pollen*

*You can find these at your local health food store. Nutritional yeast will be in the bulk food section, and you may have to ask where to find the bee pollen because I’m not sure of what section it lives in.

My current additions:
–Couple generous shakes of cinnamon
–1/2-1 Tbsp. organic tahini** (for calcium, healthy fats, protein, B-vitamins, and vitamin E)

More options:
–1-2 Tbsp. (or to taste) Peanut butter**
–1/2 Tbsp. honey for a little added sweetness or 1 tsp. vanilla extract for a little flavor
–1 raw egg (if you’re feeling adventurous!)
A couple tips to keep in mind if you’re wanting to watch your sugar, fat, and/or calorie intake…

–If you want it a bit sweeter, choose either flavored yogurts OR a little honey, NOT both. Vanilla yogurt is super tasty but has a lot of sugar, even in the low- and non-fat options. Or go for the original yogurt which has minimal sugar and you can add a little honey.
–If you choose fruit juice, this also has quite a bit of sugar, so just keep that in mind when choosing yogurt and option of adding honey
**I use organic tahini (hulled sesame seeds) as opposed to peanut butter because although it has a bit more calories and fat, it’s the healthy unsaturated fats your body needs, and also tends to have less sodium, carbs, and sugar, and roughly the same amount of fiber and protein. Some organic peanut butters are similar to tahini in the sense of the unsat. fats, but not all, so make sure to check the label. Whether you go with the tahini or the peanut butter, try not to add too much as that’s where the calories and grams of fat add up. Not to mention tahini has quite a distinct taste, which is bitter in comparison to peanut butter. You may be able to find organic tahini and peanut butter at your local grocery store, but if they don’t have these options then the health food store is the next place to look.
–I use coconut water rather than fruit juice because it has fewer calories, fat, and sugar, plus many added benefits. Zico coconut water has a couple different flavors including citrus, pineapple, and now chocolate, because the original has an interesting taste to it, some people like it, others not so much. Click on the link to see all it’s benefits!

If you give the smoothie a try with no honey, no fruit juice, and just original yogurt and it turns out to be way to bland with just the natural sugars from the fruits, then start out making the smoothies with fruit juice, honey, and/or flavored yogurt and slowly ween yourself off of the extra sugary items one by one! Just make sure to watch your sugar intake the rest of the day

I hope you give it a try and enjoy it! And if you come up with a new addition please let me know, I’d love to try a new twist to my daily kick-start.