1.  Choose about 1.5 cups total frozen fruit (your choice)

• Frozen banana
  • Break ripe bananas into large chunks and freezeovernight. You keep a bag of bananas in your freezer at all times. It’s a great way to use up bananas as they ripen. I usually include ½ of a banana in all my smoothies as theyprovide a smooth and creamy texture.
• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches,pineapple, mango, rhubarb, etc
  • Frozen fruit can be bought in bulk in the freezeraisle of most grocery stores
  • Berries are a great choice as they are naturallylow in sugar
  • Note that you can also use fresh fruit but mayneed to then add a few ice cubes to the mix to achieve a frosty consistency.

2. Add about 1 cup of your favorite low fat milk

• Add more or less as needed to achieve the consistency youdesire. I find that a good rule of thumb is to make sure the milk just covers whatever fruit I have in the bottom of the blender.
• Use 1% or skim milk, almond, soy or rice milk
  • Try to choose plant based milks that are theunsweetened variety.

 3. Add your favorite flavorings

• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can also get creativeand try other extracts such as almond, cherry, mint, orange, lemon, etc. A variety of extracts can be found in the baking aisle at most grocery stores.
• A dash or two of your favorite spice. Sweet spices suchas cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Dried ground spices work best but if you have a high powered blender, you can also through in fresh ginger which is wonderful.
• ½ to 1 Tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (such asHershey’s)

4. Add a sweetener

• Non-calorie sugar substitutes are recommended (Stevia,Splenda, Monkfruit, etc). “Heatlhy” sweeteners such as honey and agave nectar are concentrated sources of fructose which cause metabolic mayhem in the body.

 5. Add a scoop of Whey Protein Powder

• Whey protein comes in a variety of flavors. It can bepurchased in many supermarkets, drugstores and health food stores. I buy a brand called JARROW from Amazon.com. The flavored varieties usually contain non-caloric sweeteners so you may needto add less of your own. I like to use unflavored since it provides more flexibility for me to add my own preferred flavors and sweeteners. Vanilla flavored whey protein also works well inmost smoothie recipes. Chocolate is nice but you can easily make your own chocolate flavor using cocoa powder. Just make sure the whey protein you choose does not contain any added sugars - -read the label carefully.
  • Whey protein is an excellent healthy addition tomake your smoothie a super food. According to the Natural Standard Research Collaboration whey protein is a good appetite suppressantand source of protein. Some research also suggests that it can support cardiovascular health, blood glucose control and well as increase muscle mass and weight loss

Here are some of my favorite flavor combinations:

- Chocolate covered cherry - - frozen dark cherries, cocoa powder & vanilla extract

- Orange Julius – Orange segments, ½ frozen banana, vanilla extract

- Pina Colada – Pineapple chunks, coconut flakes, ½ banana, rum extract

- Strawberry Banana Rhubarb – frozen strawberries & Rhubarb, ½ banana, vanilla extract

- Have fun and experiment! The combinations are endless!

 Enjoy!!!