Weight Loss Smoothies

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If you are trying to lose weight, you might consider making weight loss smoothies - fruit or protein shakes at home. Most smoothies you purchase are filled with sugar and loaded with extra calories - some smoothies are over 2,000 calories.

So how can you make weight loss smoothies at home? Make sure you check the calories of ingredients. Use water or skim milk. Use low-fat or low-calorie yogurt. Use fresh fruits or vegetables and then add low-calorie protein powder. Smoothies can be delicious and filling - but you have to be careful to not add too many extra calories or it may turn out that your smoothie undermines your weight loss goals.

For some great smoothie recipes: How to Make Smoothies

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• How to Diet Using Green Smoothies (brighthub.com)
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Smoothie Blenders

If you love smoothies and want to make them at home, you'll want to research smoothie blenders and find one that fits within your budget, but also will do the job well.

I've gone through at least a dozen blenders in the last year, reviewing them and determining which smoothie blenders work well and which just don't cut it. I've tried even the high end blenders such as Blendtec and VitaMix - both are good blenders, but just to make smoothies they are much more expensive and do about the same job as some of the low-end blenders.

Oster blenders are good for making smoothies at home, however their base gear seems to burn the plastic at the bottom of the jar - so I've opted to not continue using that brand for my smoothies. Right now I'm trying out a $24 Black and Decker smoothie blender. The nice thing about buying a blender from Walmart or Target or other local stories, is if they don't work, you can simply return them and try something else.

Smoothie blenders range in price from $15-$800. If you're going to be blending daily and making green smoothies, want to make soups and lots of other blended recipes - you should consider a higher end blender. However, for your basic smoothie... most blenders will do fairly well. Just make sure you add enough liquid so the ice and ingredients will blend better.

Blender Mixer

If you are a smoothie fan, you likely want to get a high quality blender mixer to make smoothies. There are so many options, and your personal taste will come into play here. When searching for a good blender mixer, make sure to read reviews from former customers - rather than just looking at marketing materials provided by the manufacturer.

Top of the line blender mixers include VitaMix and Blendtec. Both are quite expensive, and both have high customer reviews. The VitaMix is a bit taller and may not fit underneath your countertop, but the Blendtec seems to have less market base as it is a newer brand, therefore more customers seem to rate their VitaMix high.

Smoothies can be made by a $30 blender such as the Oster blender - but you might discover your blender burns out more quickly, or leaves chunks of ice - or that you have to stir the ingredients. I've gone through about 12 blenders in the past 5 years - testing them. I currently am using an Oster blender (that was $40 on sale). It works fine for smoothies, while I'm figuring out what blender mixer to try out next. :)

Check out How to Make Smoothies to get some great smoothie recipes.

Yogurt Smoothie

Making a yogurt smoothie is quick and easy... and a healthy way to get more fruit and calcium into your diet.

Take 1 cup of your favorite fruit (bananas, strawberries, peaches, etc.)
Add 1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
Add 1 cup milk (skim, soy, rice milk, or water also work)
Sweeten to taste with honey
Add 1/2 cup ice

Blend until smooth.

A yogurt smoothie can be a great meal replacement, help you lose weight, get some quick energy and feel great. See more great smoothie recipes at How To Make Smoothies.

Smoothie Franchises

If you are interested in smoothie franchises, all it takes is a bit of online research to find the most popular franchise brands in the smoothie industry. There are a few major smoothie franchises in the United States but some are only available in specific locations across the country.

When considering a franchise, you should do enough research to determine if your business could do well throughout the year or if you would need to offer other products during the winter months. Many smoothie franchises do very well, especially as more natural and health-conscious consumers are searching for healthy meal replacements.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Although you may wonder about making a frozen fruit smoothie in the winter time, think again. Frozen fruit smoothies can be a delicious way to increase your immune system and get extra nutrients into your diet.

Fresh fruits are more expensive to purchase during the winter season, but you can easily purchase frozen fruits at any local grocery store. Simply use the frozen fruit in your smoothie. I like adding greens such as spinach and flax seed oil to my smoothies for extra nutrition. Be creative.

You may decide that your frozen fruit smoothie could be used as an ice cream topping or heated up and poured over a warm piece of pie (although not as healthy as eating your smoothie by itself - it can be a fun treat.)