4 Smoothie Slip-ups to Avoid

With no signs of the smoothie craze slowing, there’s no doubt these drinks are the perfect way to efficiently pack in a whole range of nutrients without wasting too much time or effort. They’re incredibly versatile with a massive range of possible combinations to keep each day fresh and interesting. Smoothies are also much cheaper and healthier than most store-bought equivalents. But lack of knowledge means that people are taking an "anything goes" approach to smoothie-making. They assume that just because it’s been whizzed up in a blender, it means it’s healthy and will help you toward your nutritional goals. This simply isn’t true. Here are four of the most common smoothie mistakes to avoid, making sure that all your recipes taste great and are good for you. —Jenny Holt

too many ingredients. It can be easy to think the more the merrier when it comes to concocting a nutritious and delicious smoothie. In fact, this isn’t the case at all. Too many ingredients will lead to an unappetising brown sludge that doesn’t taste of anything in particular, and often has an unmanageably thick consistency. Instead of adding the contents of the fruit and veg aisle into your blender, pick two or three main ingredients, then add accents and any supplementary foods to complement them. An example could be a cup of unsweetened coconut water, a handful of both baby spinach and raspberries, a small piece of ginger, a sprig of mint and a teaspoon of chia seeds. Simple, tangy, and incredibly good for you.

too much fat. Fat is an essential element of any healthy diet. But people often overestimate how much they need to be healthy, and how much fat naturally occurs in many of the foods we eat. It’s generally not necessary to add extra fats to your smoothies, unless you’re trying to gain weight. Instead, if you want a smoothie to substitute an entire meal, consider some raw unsalted nuts or seeds, or a third of an avocado. In general, you’ll appreciate your fats more when you eat them as part of a meal, so try to limit the amount you put in smoothies.

low-quality produce. When it comes to ingredients to avoid putting in your smoothies, sub-standard fruit, veg and other elements are definitely up there at the top of the list. Poor-quality superfoods are often cut with other, cheaper substances, or can be full of dust and made from the least nutritious part of the plant. Budget fruit and vegetables have often travelled a great distance from where they were grown, and have had to be subjected to a series of treatments to help them withstand the journey. Upon reaching their destination, they’re gassed to simulate the ripening process. All of this means that they’re not as tasty, far less nutritious, and often harbour potentially harmful chemicals. Buy locally grown produce to get the best out of each and every smoothie you make, while helping the environment, too.

too much sugar. Research is making the case increasingly clear that sugar is incredibly addictive, and actually far more responsible for the obesity sweeping the globe than fat or any other component of our diets. This is because not all calories are created equal—refined sugars trick our bodies into thinking they’re not full, and are stored as liver fat which sets up a cycle of insulin resistance leading to type two diabetes and a host of other serious illnesses. The bottom line: avoid adding too much sugar to your smoothies. This means sugar, honey, too much high-carb fruit, processed juices, agave nectar and anything else which is composed primarily of sugar. Although you may find yourself craving a sweeter combination at first, your taste buds will soon adjust and you’ll be quaffing your low-sugar smoothies and feeling great about it within weeks.