Smoothie Base - What To Use?

by Anonymous

Question: I have been looking on your site as I am trying to develop a nice smoothie base which I can use across a range of different fruits. I would prefer just to use the pure juice. What would you recommendations be? a mix of citrus and fruit, or solo?

Also, I note that in many of your recipes involve Vanilla. This seems like a great idea! Can you use seeds or does this not have the same effects?

Answer: The best smoothie base is really dependent on your taste buds. I have used fruit juice in the past. But I generally find the juice too sweet or adds too many calories. So, I try to find really juicy fruit so that I don't have to use much to sweeten the smoothie.

Otherwise, I like to use water as the liquid in many of my smoothies. Then I add flavored liquid stevia drops. This adds a lot of sweetness and flavor without the dreaded calories. Just make sure to use less water in the beginning and add more if needed. Otherwise, your smoothie can taste "watered down".

Here is where I get my liquid stevia: iHerb.com

I also use cultured Greek yogurt as a base in my smoothies. It adds a lot of protein to my smoothies... all while adding some healthy digestive probiotics.

Regarding vanilla... I generally use powdered vanilla bean. But that can get expensive. So if you want a more affordable vanilla, try using vanilla extract. But make sure to buy extract without a bunch of chemicals or sugars added. iHerb.com also sells this. You can also use NuNaturals Vanilla Extract. This is very yummy as well.

I hope this helps you out!

Happy Blending!

DaNae