SAN ANTONIO – If you want to whip up the perfect home smoothie in a blender, don’t even think about just tossing in all of the ingredients. Proper assembly is required for a great smoothie!
Recipe: Avocado blueberry smoothie
To help your blender work at peak performance, Consumer Reports says this is the optimal order of things:
- Liquid first. Start with about a cup. It will create a vortex that helps pull down the other ingredients.
- Next, come the leafy greens and herbs.
- Then add seeds or nuts.
- Soft foods like nut butters, yogurt or tofu follow.
- Then come the fresh fruits and veggies.
- The top layer should have heavier frozen fruits. They help push the ingredients down toward the blades. The frozen stuff creates body and oomph.
- Start the blender on low and increase to full speed for at least one minute.
- While mixing, add powders, fiber or collagen.
- For a frostier drink, add a few ice cubes at the end.
- Finally, enjoy it!
But here’s a caveat, you will need to reverse the order in a personal blender because you will flip it over.
If you need a new blender, CR recommends the Vitamix Professional Series 750 for $550. But for less than half that price, they also recommend the Dash Chef Series Digital for $200.