I have been a smoothie addict for several years, and recently got interested in saving some cash and making my own (at $5 a smoothie, the commercial smoothie shops were making $60+ from me each month!). To begin my quest for the perfect smoothie, I had to define a few requirements:
My first task was locating a high quality blender. I had numerous discussions with employees at various smoothie making shops, and they told me that their commercial blenders are crazy expensive (my estimates are in the $300 to $500 range). Ouch! I can understand that kind of investment when you are making 100s of smoothies a month, but this seemed excessive when you are making 1 or 2 a week. I read numerous blender reviews, and settled on the Hamilton Beach 52654 blender based on the awesome feedback from smoothie connoisseurs, and the fact that it is supposed to destroy every chunk of ice it comes in contact with. This blender has far exceeded my expectations, and has made some killer smoothies so far!
Once I had a blender, I needed a way to find organic fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rasberries, mango, etc.) for a reasonable price. I checked out a couple of local grocery stores, and settled on frozen berries from Whole Foods (I try to use fresh fruit when possible, but frozen fruit seems to be a better fit for my busy lifestyle). After I had fruit and a killer blender, I needed to find some smoothie recipes to try. The Internet is the best place to find smoothie recipes, and I now have 4 - 5 recipes that I use pretty regularly (my favorite is strawberries, blueberries, bananas, 4 ice cubes, skim milk and a touch of sugar). I’ve experimented now for a few months, and I can safely say that my smoothies are BETTER than any of the commercial places. They are also tailored exactly to my tastes, which is a huge benefit in my mind. Each smoothie costs me roughly $1 to make, and they are oooooh so yummy! If you are a smoothie addict like myself, please leave me a comment with your favorite smoothie recipe.