The All Fruit No Sugar and No Water Added Smoothie

The problem I have with most smoothie shops is that their smoothies have lots of added sugar and god knows what other ingredients.  Smoothie King does not mention if they use preservatives and artificial colors to their ingredients.  They will show "sorbet" as an ingredient but do not break down exactly what is in their sorbet - it could be anything!  Their ingredients will also list strawberries but I saw a box being delivered one morning to a local Smoothie King and the box clearly stated, "Strawberries - Sugar Added".  I wish more companies would be upfront about this.  They love to throw around the words "healthy" and "natural" and their products are anything but that.  In addition, just about every smoothie you buy is made with lots of crushed ice so in essence you are buying a big cup of sugar water with fruit added.  Could some items be loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup - who knows?  Rather than be at their mercy, I started making my own smoothies last year and the only ingredients come from fruit.

At Costco I buy the $8 bag of frozen strawberries.  The ingredients on the bag says "Strawberries" and there is no sugary goo.  When I reach in the bag it is a frozen strawberry i pull out - nothing more and nothing less.  This bag usually lasts me about a month if I have 3 to 5 smoothies per week.  They are not organic.  I wish they were but you can't have everything.  You can also buy organic fresh strawberries and freeze them for the same effect but that will make things more expensive.

Next, also at Costco, I buy the sliced pineapple spears.  Also not organic.  If I can buy organic I will but for some items it is difficult and I can't find any food prices better than Costco.  The pineapple spears also cost about $9 and lasts me about two weeks.  You can keep the pineapple spears in the fridge but if you are only going to have a smoothie or two a week, you can freeze them and they will last a long time.  They make the smoothie come out even better when they are frozen so there is no disadvantage to freezing them.

My next ingredient is fresh squeezed orange juice.  My local food store sells fresh squeezed oj.  It is rather pricey and does not stay sweet for more than few days in my fridge but to me it is worth it.  I lived in Florida for many years and love fresh squeezed non-pasteurized oj - juice straight from the orange.   The processed cartons of orange juice don't even taste like orange juice.  You can keep your Tropicana and Minute Maid - yuck! You can also make your own orange juice in a juicer if you prefer which is the healthiest alternative - but obviously more work.

I use the orange juice as my base liquid for the smoothie.  I usually add enough to cover the blades at the bottom of my blender.  Then I will slice up one pineapple spear and will spill in some of the pineapple juice from the bottom of the spears container for some more liquid and sweetness.  I then start blending until it is a nice orange pineapple mixture.  I also buy red seedless grapes from Costco which I clean thoroughly and then freeze.  Every now and then I can find organic red seedless grapes for a good price and I will buy those.  I will throw in 10-15 frozen grapes into the pineapple/orange mixture and then throw in the frozen strawberries one by one - until I get that icy smoothie texture.  Depending on the size of your frozen strawberries it can take anywhere from 5-10 strawberries.

To top things off you can also squeeze some fresh lime into it too.  The lime really gives it a great flavor but is just as tasty without the lime.  The trick to this smoothie is that the frozen strawberries and grapes and optionally the pineapple (if you freeze it) will give you the nice smoothie texture.  No ice is necessary.  Ice only will dilute the flavor adding the need to add sweeteners.  The grapes, oj, pineapple, and strawberries are sweet enough on their own and no added sweeteners are necessary - although I will tell you that some raw honey doesn't hurt if you have a real bad sweet tooth.

So to summarize:
Fresh Squeezed non-pasteurized orange juice
1+ Pineapple Spears (with a little pineapple juice)
10-15 frozen grapes
Frozen Strawberries (add one by one until desired smoothie texture)
Optional squeeze of lime

Just as an added note,  this is more of a treat for me during the warmer months of the year and I usually only make these right after a good hard morning workout just before my shower and breakfast.  A smoothie always tastes way better after a workout.  I have learned from numerous sources that if you are going to have something high in carbohydrates, the best time to have it is within 30 to 60 minutes after a workout as your muscles are begging to have their glycogen levels replenished. After a good workout your muscles are on high alert to absorb carbohydrates. Simply put, it will help re-energize your muscles and it is less likely all those carbs will be converted to stored fat.


I hope you enjoy this smoothie idea after your next workout!  Until next time!