Smoothie (nutri-niinja etc)

I don't have a nutri-ninja but do have a powerful blender that I use for smoothies all the time (daily in fact). I guess it's a case of trial and error depending on your taste but here are a few general hints I can give (I have been juicing and blending for years).

I buy fresh pineappples and cut them into 2cm chunks that I freeze and use maybe 3 chunks as the basis for most of my smoothies. You can also freeze other fruits like mango or even buy berries ready frozen for use in smoothies.

I also generally use half a banana for a slightly creamy texture or a whole banana in a post ride recovery smoothy for a bit of extra carb replenishment.

Here are some basic recipes I use most of the time:-

Mango Smoothie
3 x 2cm chunks of pineapple
Similar amount of frozen mango
slice of honeydew melon
1/2 banana
1/2 orange
1 tsp honey
250 ml cold water

Spinach Smoothie
Big handful of prewashed baby spinach leaves
3 x 2cm chunks of pineapple
slice of honeydew melon
1/2 banana
1 cm piece of fresh root ginger (optional if you don't like ginger)
1 tsp honey
250 ml cold water

Berry Smoothie
Handfull of berries (blueberry/strawberry or even black grapes works too)
3 x 2cm chunks of pineapple
slice of honeydew melon
1/2 banana
1 tsp honey
250 ml cold water

Citrus Smoothie
1 whole orange or 2 x tangerines
3 x 2cm chunks of pineapple
slice of honeydew melon
1 tsp honey
250 ml cold water

I usually add about 25g of unflavoured impact whey isolate to the smoothie as well for my recovery drink after a long, hard ride and substitute milk for the water.

I generally steer clear of root vegetables like carrots as they don't blend very well and give the smoothie a very rough texture. Similarly any fruits that have pips in like raspberries as they make the drink very gritty. I also substitute maybe 1/2 apple (no need to peel) if I have run out of melon as the "background" fruit.

I hope that helps and as I say, try a few things and see what you prefer.

p.s. Steer clear of beetroot!

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19655584#p19655584]JGSI[/url] wrote:

Bit overpriced blender imo.. yes you cannot blend beetroot
best to save up for a quality juicer.. to get the beetroot effect proper.. a money saver especially when you crop your own beet from the allotment!

I've had both over the years and much prefer the blender as it's a bit more versatile and gives you the whole fruit/veg in the drink and much simpler to clean after use. I think you tend to use more produce in a juicer as well whereas you can use water/milk/soy etc. in your smoothie for variation.

I blend raspberries all the time but if the seeds bother you then pour your smoothie through a sieve.

Made the same mistake with a kale drink as well. Absolutely revolting. Spinach is a better option.

I generally stick in a banana plus whatever frozen fruit I've bought. Usually waitrose frozen blueberries and lidl forest fruits mix. Lidl also do a milled linseed thing if you want a bit of fat and protein as well which I've found doesn't add too much grit.

I assumed everyone used frozen fruit!

Much cheaper than what passes as fresh in the shops (discovered Lidl are doing 750g bags of strawberries and raspberries for around £2.50) and almost certainly more nutritious.

If you want to do things properly then grow your own spinach, it's very easy to do.