Consider buying organic and raw as much as possible. That way, your food will retain all the goodness that was in it from the start. Find out more about berries, fruit, and vegetables here.
Below is a handy guide to various ingredients you should have at home:
FROZEN FRUIT and BERRIES: Banana, blueberries, cherries, dates, kiwi, mango, melon, nectarines, papaya, peaches, pineapple, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and all kinds of berries freeze well. Apples, citrus fruits, pears, and watermelon are best frozen as juice.
FRESH FRUIT: All fresh fruits make a fine smoothie bowl, but, for best consistency, use frozen fruit and berries. That way, you won’t have to use ice, which impairs flavor.
VEGETABLES: You can “smuggle” avocado, beets, carrots, celery, kale, pumpkin, spinach, zucchini, and many other vegetables into a smoothie bowl. Go easy in the beginning, taste your way forward, and make sure you don’t use too many vegetables.
NUTS: Preferably, choose natural, unsalted, organic, raw, unroasted almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts. Nuts go rancid fairly quickly, so if you don’t use nuts in large quantities, freeze them instead. Most nuts benefit from prior soaking, anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight, which removes indigestible enzymes. Pre-soaking will also ensure that your body absorbs more nutrients from nuts.
NUT and SEED BUTTER: Raw, preferably organic, nut butters are a good source of energy and rich in both minerals and protein. Nut butters made of roasted nuts are not as nutritious, so go for raw on principle. Almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, peanut butter, pistachio butter, tahini (sesame paste), walnut butter, and many others are available in health food stores. Nut butters are not difficult to make at home and can be flavored with raw cacao, cinnamon, vanilla, and other goodies.
SEEDS: Chia seeds, flaxseed, hemp seeds, psyllium seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds make a perfect addition to smoothie bowls. Besides, chia seeds, flaxseed, and psyllium seeds form a gel that provides a thicker consistency.
PROTEIN: Brown rice protein, hemp protein, oat protein, pea protein, and many other great vegan protein mixes are available in health food stores. Find out more about protein here.
HEALTHY OILS: To get the most out of oils, make sure you buy them cold-pressed. They’re sometimes called extra virgin or raw oils. Preferably, buy organic. Almond oil, coconut oil, and nut oils, avocado oil, canola oil, chia seed oil, flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, and olive oil, as well as many others are available in supermarkets and/or health food stores. Oil goes rancid relatively quickly, so it’s wise to buy small bottles. Flaxseed oil and hempseed oil should be stored in a refrigerator, while other oils are best kept in a cool, dark place.
FIBER: Psyllium seeds and psyllium husks, flax seeds, chia seeds.
SUPERFOODS: Baobab, barley grass, bee pollen (not for vegans), beet powder, buckwheat (sprouted), cacao butter, cacao nibs and raw cacao, camu camu, carob, carrot powder, cayenne pepper, chia seeds, chlorella, cinnamon, coconut (unsweetened, grated), coconut sugar, ginger, goji berries, hemp seeds, inca berries, lúcuma, maca, mulberries, spirulina, stinging nettle, turmeric, vanilla powder, vegan proteins, wheatgrass.
SUPERBERRY and FRUIT POWDERS: Berry powders are usually made of whole freeze-dried berries, including pulp, skin, and seeds, which have been ground to a powder. As always, I recommend that you buy organic and raw before other options. Watch out for sweetened berry powders! Berry powder is very convenient because it keeps up to 18 months. In addition, most powders freeze well if you want to keep them for longer. The powders on offer are many and varied, e.g. açaí, acerola, aronia, blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, buckthorn, cloudberry, cranberry, goji berry, guarana, inca berry, lúcuma, mango, maqui, moringa, mulberry, passion fruit, pomegranate, raspberry, rosehip, sour cherry, strawberry, etc.
SWEETENERS: Agave syrup, banana powder and frozen bananas, coconut, coconut sugar, dates, maple syrup, raw honey (not vegan), stevia, and sweet fruits.
LIQUIDS: Water, fresh juices, coconut water, almond, seed, and nut milks, oat and soy products.
Before investing in a blender, make sure you’re clear about what you need. Buying a relatively inexpensive model may prove to be the wrong choice and so, for that matter, might be an expensive one. What’s particularly annoying is blowing money on a blender that doesn’t meet your expectations and then banishing it to the back of the kitchen cabinet. In this section, I provide some tips about the points to consider before buying a new blender.
FREQUENCY AND QUANTITY: If you’re planning on making smoothies frequently, it definitely pays to invest in a high-speed blender. High-speed blenders are durable, come with a long warranty and can basically blend anything to a silky consistency—from ice, seeds, nuts, frozen fruit and berries to hard vegetables, such as carrots and beets, and all kinds of leafy greens. They’re fast and efficient. They do the job perfectly, without any ingredients getting stuck or failing to engage with the blade. Some brands come with an optional dry-blending jar, which allows you to make your own flour from various grains, soy beans, or nuts/seeds.
PRICE: Blender prices range from a relatively modest cost to a substantial investment, and they vary in quality. There are basic blenders for making simple liquid smoothies and there are high-speed ones for making more advanced smoothies and smoothie bowls, such as those containing ice, frozen fruit, hard vegetables, seeds, and nuts, and those for making nut milks.
DIFFERENT SPEEDS: It’s important that your blender can work at different speeds. Usually starting on a low speed in order to crush and blend the contents, you then increase the speed in order to make the smoothie homogenous and creamy. Finally, you let the blender run on a high speed for a short time. Vitamix Pro 750 offers several preset programs, which is ideal if you want to do other things while the blender is working.
MOTOR POWER: Naturally, it’s important that your blender has a robust motor in order to crush ice cubes and frozen ingredients, among other reasons. The motor should have a minimum power output of 1,000 watts, and preferably more.
CONTAINER DESIGN is important for proper flow during the blending process. The container should never be perfectly round, but have a shape that creates resistance. That’s why most quality blenders come with square or clover-leaf-shaped containers. The container’s top lid should have a filler cap with a feed hole for adding new ingredients during blending, without having to stop the blender or open the lid entirely.
Containers made of BPA-free, unbreakable and scratch-resistant plastic offer an additional advantage. Glass containers are good, but they are usually very heavy and break more easily. Jars made of inexpensive plastic may contain BPA, and they may scratch and discolor easily. If you go for a simpler machine, I recommend buying one with a glass jar.
BLADES should be large, sturdy, and twisted at the right angle. Use a wooden spoon or a flexible silicone spatula when emptying the container or stirring the contents so as not to damage the blade. Never use metal objects inside the jar.
ACCOMPANYING TAMPER: A good blender comes with an accompanying tamper, which is used to push the ingredients down toward the blade. The tamper is tailored to the jar and doesn’t damage the metal blade. Use the tamper to feed hard or slow-moving ingredients down toward the blade and remove any air pockets. Containers come in different sizes, so never use a tamper in a machine for which it isn’t intended, even it they’re the same brand. Always read the instructions carefully or contact your dealer if there’s anything you’re not sure about. Never, ever feed anything into a blender that doesn’t come with an accompanying tamper while the blender is running!
PROTECTION AGAINST OVERHEATING: Some machines are equipped with a built-in overheat protection mechanism. The machine simply stops and you have to wait some time before being able to use it again.
WARRANTY is another thing to bear in mind. I’ve owned a dozen or so blenders, roughly half of which broke down within a year. Check the warranty period before buying a blender. The standard period is one year, or two years if you’re lucky. The blenders I’m using come with a seven-year warranty.
LOOK AFTER YOUR BLENDER: Read the instructions carefully or contact your dealer if there’s anything you’re not sure about. The warranty won’t apply if you misuse the blender, so look after it.
Common beginners’ mistakes
» dropping the container on the floor, causing it to crack and break.
» damaging the blade with sharp or metal objects when scraping out food.
» poking things into the machine with the motor running.
» placing the container incorrectly onto the machine.
» removing the container before the machine has stopped, even with the motor switched off.
» using ice or ingredients that are too hard (in the more basic models).
» causing the motor to overheat.
Things to keep in mind when buying a blender
» price.
» motor power output (at least 1,000 W).
» number of speeds.
» preset programs.
» material, size, and form of the container.
» design and thickness of the blade.
» whether it has a tamper and filler cap.
» whether it has protection against overheating.
» warranty period.
All the recipes in this book were made with the Vitamix Pro 750 and Vitamix S-30 high-speed blenders, both of which have an accompanying tamper to make the job easier. There’s a definite advantage to having a high-speed blender when making smoothie bowls, because you will commonly use nuts, seeds, and green leaves, as well as frozen ingredients.
Vitamix Pro 750 is a true powerhouse! It’s a largish blender with a 2-quart / 2-liter container (though you can buy smaller containers separately). Vitamix S-30, also called personal blender, is a smaller machine with a 1¼-quart / 1.2-liter container and a takeout container, much like a sports drink container in which you can blend ingredients directly. You fill it with the ingredients of your choice, screw on the blade base, attach it to the blender, run the blender to achieve the desired consistency, and then replace the base with an accompanying sports drink lid. It’s perfect for taking into work, for when you’re working out, or for when you’re on your way somewhere.
If you don’t have a high-speed blender but wish to use frozen fruit, let it thaw slightly and use more liquid than indicated in the recipe—or just drop the ice altogether if your blender can’t handle it. If the ingredients get stuck or aren’t engaging with the blade, stop the machine, scrape the sides of the jar with a silicone spatula, and then just run the blender again.
When making smoothies, always add the liquid first, then the soft ingredients that are easy to crush, then the nuts or seeds, and frozen fruit or ice last. Start on a low speed and increase it gradually. If needed, use the tamper.
Good luck!
