Smoothies brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables, good-for-you ingredients and superfoods are our favourite way to give our bodies more nutrients and nourishment. Great to kickstart your metabolism in the morning or satisfy a 3pm energy slump, we’re sharing our secrets to help you create your own beautiful blends and get the perfect smoothie, every time.

‘I start every day with a large green smoothie that I make at home and then pour into a container that I can take in the car with me to work – I then sip on it all morning at my desk. My favourite blend is baby spinach, parsley, mint, coconut water and cucumber – no specific quantities of each, just whatever I have in the fridge.’ Donna Hay

Smoothie or juice?
We favour smoothies made in a blender over juices, as a smoothie processes the whole fruit or vegetable, skin and all, which retains more of the fibre and goodness of the whole ingredient. Juices (made in a juicer where just the liquid has been extracted from the produce) still contain nutrients, however you will require more fresh produce than you would if you’re making a smoothie, and you lose all the fibre in the pulp that’s left behind in your juicer. A smoothie will also fill you up more – meaning we’re less likely to resort to guilty snacks later in the day.

The perfect green smoothie blend
Our tips to making the perfect smoothie? Don’t worry too much about measuring exact quantities, be creative with whatever you have in the fridge or freezer and ensure you have a good balance of sweet and savoury (but be mindful that you should take it easy on the fruit to avoid overloading your daily blend with too much sugar – in our green smoothies, we choose just one or two fruits to blend with four or five vegetables or herbs).

+ Choose your liquid base. For a calcium boost, we use milk or yoghurt, but for a more refreshing icy smoothie, we love coconut water. You could also use a dairy-free milk such as almond milk or coconut milk. Always pour your liquid into your blender first – this will help all the other ingredients blend more effectively.
+ Add your leaves. We use spinach, kale or silverbeet (with leaves trimmed and chopped) – or all three! – and a herb such as mint or parsley.
+ Next on our list is celery and cucumber, then a bit of sweetness from fruits such as green apple, pear, papaya, mango, banana or berries – whatever we have available. You can also add avocado (trust us and give it a try –it adds a delicious creaminess and we promise you’ll be hooked).
+ Some other options are chopped fresh ginger or chia seeds here for a boost of nutrition. If we are making a dairy-based smoothie, we also like to add a sprinkling of LSA (a mix of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almond meal).
+ Finish with ice – although you may not need to add ice if one of your fruits or vegetables were frozen (a great tip is to use your banana or mango from the freezer, as it will make your smoothie extra creamy. It also lasts longer so you’ll reduce waste).
+ Taste test! If you need extra sweetness,add a little more fruit or coconut water.

Click the links to try these delicious recipes or make up your own..

* Our favourite breakfast smoothie

* Our pure green smoothie

More top smoothie tips:
Have leftovers? Freeze in an ice-cube tray to pop out and use as a base in your next smoothie.We think smoothies are best made fresh, but you could blend them up the night before and pop them in a portable container to take to work with you the next day. Just shake before you drink. Or, you can chop all the fruit and veg the night before so all you have to do in the morning is pop in the blender and go.