Are smoothies part of your daily routine? If not, they should be! Whether you’re dashing out the door to work, picking up the kids at daycare, or leaving the gym after a workout, smoothies are a tasty, convenient way to fit more fruits, vegetables, fiber, and protein in your diet.

And, if you’re looking to lose weight, a smoothie packed with the right ingredients will help you reach your goal. But, not all smoothies are low calorie or healthy. If you’re getting one from a fast food chain the smoothie probably contains very little fruit or produce yet is loaded with calories and sugars (e.g., McDonald's large Mango Smoothie packs a whopping 72 grams of sugar yet provides just 1 gram of fiber and 4 grams of protein).

With a little know-how and some advance planning, you can quickly and easily make smoothies at home that not only taste delicious but help you eat nutritiously. Depending on your goals, a smoothie can serve as a meal replacement, a healthy snack or a post-workout meal.

The options are endless when making a smoothie. Pretty much any type of fruit or vegetable combination can be made. Depending on your preferences and nutritional needs, you can adjust the taste to your liking using a blend of protein, fiber, milk, flavorings/spices and sweeteners.

Punch up Protein & Fiber with LeanMeal RS™

All of our recipes use a scoop of LeanMeal RS™ Meal Replacement Drink Mix powder. Many of our recipes use French Vanilla and our more decadent smoothies use Dutch Chocolate. Each scoop of LeanMeal RS provides 18 grams of whey protein to keep you feeling full longer plus 8 grams of prebiotic fiber to promote the growth of beneficial microbes. When mixed with water, each serving contains just 120-130 calories.

Want to boost the fiber and protein content of your smoothie further? Add a small handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts, and cashews), seeds (chia, ground flax, and poppy) or a small amount of nut butter (peanut, almond, and hazelnut). Nut butters are a good source of protein but also are relatively high in calories (2 tablespoons of peanut butter provides 8 grams of protein but 188 calories) so be sure to use them sparingly.

Add Creaminess with Milk

The use of milk (plant or animal based) adds a creamy texture to your smoothie. To keep the saturated fat content low, opt for non-fat or low-fat dairy milk or plain, non-fat Greek yogurt. We prefer plant based milks as they are lower in calories (provided you use unsweetened versions) and are low in fat (plus it’s the good kind). Excellent options include almond, soy, rice, coconut and our new favorite, cashew milk. With the exception of soy and rice milk, a cup of plant based milk adds about 30 calories to your smoothie. Soy milk contains 85 calories but also adds 7 grams of protein.

Boost Flavor with Herbs & Spices

Boost the flavor of your smoothie without adding a lot of added sugar and calories by using various flavorings, spices and herbs. Coffee or tea (Jasmine, green, lavender) add dimension while grated peel (lemon, orange, lime) ginger root, basil and mint add a fresh flavor. Experiment with spices like vanilla, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

Use Sweeteners Sparingly

Fruit based smoothies don’t usually need any sweetener as fruit is naturally sweet enough. However, smoothies made with vegetables, especially dark greens, need a little something. You can add a dash of sweetness by adding some honey, dried fruit (dates, apricots, and raisins), juice (orange, apple, pomegranate, and pear) or coconut water but use these sparingly as the sugar content is very concentrated and the calories can add up quickly. For example, just 1 pitted Medjool date adds 66 calories and 16 grams of sugars and ½ cup of orange juice adds 56 calories and 10 grams of sugars.

How to Make a Great Smoothie

You don’t need to be a master chef to make a great tasting, healthy smoothie. But, knowing a few tricks can make the difference between finding lumps of ice in the bottom of your glass.

The key thing is to pour in liquids, fruits and vegetables first then add ice last. Start with the lowest blender speed and work up to higher speeds once the mixture smoothes out. Add ice slowly to prevent your blender from getting completely clogged.

Use Fresh or Frozen Fruit. Depending on where you live and the time of year, getting fresh fruit can be difficult. If the fruit aisle is limited, head to the frozen section of your grocery store to find a wide array of frozen fruits including mango, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, pineapple and black cherries. Note, if you use frozen fruit, then you’ll need little to no ice to make your smoothie. A cup of fruit will add 60 – 120 calories to your smoothie.

Use In-Season Veggies. All sorts of vegetables can be used in a smoothie from kale and spinach to carrots and beets. Vegetables naturally contain far less sugar than fruit and incorporating them into a smoothie makes it easy to get more of these nutritious foods. A cup of veggies can add 10 – 75 calories to your smoothie.

Invest in a Good Blender. If you already own a basic kitchen blender, then this equipment will work fine. But, it you make smoothies often, you may want to invest in a Vitamix machine. The machine blends incredibly well and makes clean up a breeze. Plus, the Vitamix is great for pureeing soups.

Here’s our 7 Healthy Smoothie Recipes, with each one representing a different color group. Try a few or experiment on your own. Share your recipes with us!

GreenBiotics Smoothie

1 scoop of LeanMeal RS French Vanilla

1 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1 pitted date

2 cups chopped kale

½ banana

1 to 1 ½ cups ice cubes

Nutrition: Calories: 337; Total Fat: 5g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 50mg; Sodium: 408mg; Carbohydrate: 58g; Dietary Fiber: 15g; Sugar: 27g; Protein: 24g

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

1 scoop of LeanMeal RS French Vanilla

1 peeled, frozen orange

½ banana

1 cup of milk (soy, cashew or almond)

2 Tbsp orange zest

Nutrition: Calories: 289; Total Fat: 4g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 50mg; Sodium: 350mg; Carbohydrate: 48g; Dietary Fiber: 18g; Sugar: 26g; Protein: 20g

Raspberry Red Smoothie

1 scoop of LeanMeal RS French Vanilla

1 cup frozen fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries)

½ cup pomegranate juice

1 cup of soy milk

Nutrition: Calories: 300; Total Fat: 7g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 50mg; Sodium: 264mg; Carbohydrate: 37g; Dietary Fiber: 16g; Sugar: 18g; Protein: 27g

Coffee Chocolate Leanachino

1 scoop LeanMeal RS Dutch Chocolate

1 cup chilled coffee

½ frozen banana

1 cup of almond milk

1 cup ice cubes

Nutrition: Calories: 216; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 45mg; Sodium: 381mg; Carbohydrate: 27g; Dietary Fiber: 12g; Sugar: 11g; Protein: 20g

Tropical Mango Smoothie

1 scoop LeanMeal RS French Vanilla

½ banana

1 cup frozen mango pieces

1 cup of unsweetened coconut water or almond milk

1 tablespoon lime zest

Juice from 1 lime

Nutrition: Calories: 296; Total Fat: 4.5g; Saturated Fat: 1.0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5g; Cholesterol: 50mg; Sodium: 340mg; Carbohydrate: 50g; Dietary Fiber: 13g; Sugar: 32g; Protein: 21g

Watermelon Strawberry Mint Smoothie

1 scoop LeanMeal RS French Vanilla

1 cup frozen watermelon

4 fresh strawberries

1 cup of unsweetened coconut water

3-4 fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon fresh ginger root or

¼ teaspoon dried ginger

Nutrition: Calories: 256; Total Fat: 2g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 50mg; Sodium: 220mg; Carbohydrate: 47g; Dietary Fiber: 11g; Sugar: 32g; Protein: 20g

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie

1 scoop LeanMeal RS Dutch Chocolate

½ banana

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

¼ cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 cup of cashew milk

Nutrition: Calories: 473; Total Fat: 24g; Saturated Fat: 4g; Monounsaturated Fat: 13g; Cholesterol: 45mg; Sodium: 496mg; Carbohydrate: 47g; Dietary Fiber: 16g; Sugar: 11g; Protein: 29g

Note from the editor: And on the 7th day, we created this smoothie. It is indulgent but the fat is primarily from unsaturated sources and the fiber and protein content are high. Reward yourself with this smoothie after a hard workout!