Jun 1st, 2010 Posted in health | no comment »
Its hard to find a good alternative to sweet and fatty foods but if you are willing to take a chance then investing in a smoothie maker may just be the answer. Childern also like these shakes and love to actually make them.
These are not specifically designed for children as adults have these and consume them regular as part of a diet. Adding sweet fruits can take away the cravings for chocolate and will also fill up the person digesting this amount of fruit.
If you have a smoothie every day as part of your healthy diet then you will be more than likely to hit the target of your 5 a day and it makes it easier to give your children their daily requirements.
Adding ice to your ingredients can make your drink alot more refreshing for you and your children, especially on a hot day, this is ideal to consume a healthy drink. Even ice cream or chilled yoghurt, or both can be added for a complete meal.
If you dont have much time and find it hard to put aside time to make them then you can make up 5 or 10 different mixes and chill them in drink containers. You can then take them to work or put within the packed lunch of your children for a healthy drink through the day.
Having a recipe book will give you more creative ideas so you dont run out of different tastes and mixtures. You cannot drink the same ones all the time and sometimes you may mix fruits that dont go well together which may put you off the whole idea.
If you want you can do a little research on the best types of machines to make sure you are buying the right one as you may buy one and later realise it does not have the correct functions you need. There are review websites with comments from actual smoothie lovers which offer their opinions on the best ones.
You can get a very affordable smoothie maker but if you want the best features then expect to pay up to 60 for a top make. Many have different blade speeds and ways to clean. Some are easier to use than others where as some are alot louder than others.
A kenwood smoothie maker is your best option for this type of device. A smoothie maker is a great way to help you consume more fruits.
Tags: Diet, fruit recipies, health, healthy, kenwood, smoothie, smoothie maker
Jul 14th, 2009 Posted in health | no comment »
by Nick Jaggs
Have you any idea of what is going into that smoothie you are drinking? In recent years this type of drink has become big business and many companies will use words like “healthy” and “natural” to describe theirs. However, what you may not realize is that the smoothie you purchased from your local grocery store is not all that it seems. Although the label may show a sunny outdoor scene or lots of fruit in a blender to show you that they contain lots of living ingredients. What you will soon discover that these have been produced on a mass scale using fruit puree that has been pasteurized to help extend its shelf life.
Also be aware that not all the drinks your local juice or smoothie bar offers are not completely natural. Many of the companies who provide commercial equipment to smoothie outlets will also supply them with frozen portions of fruit purees high in sugar. In most cases the kinds of professional blenders you see being used to make smoothies in a juice bar have been supplied to them for nothing as long as they use their frozen fruit purees as well.
However, there are now a few juice bars where to simplify their operations and save money actually make their own frozen fruit products. Again some will produce good drinks, but a few others load theirs with sugar. Don’t think that for one minute the company that create these are trying to prevent us from getting natural ingredients, they just use this as a way to help streamline their business to ensure that they make a profit. Although there may be times when we as the consumer lose out because of this.
The concept behind a real smoothie is simple. It is a blended health drink that was made popular in the USA. There is no specific definition for what this type of drink is other than it is fruit based and must be thick and smooth, and will often be made using frozen fruit and/or ice. A lot of the independent juice bars today are focused on health and will offer you a freshly prepared first class natural product. Also in some of the better juice bars they provide super foods and boosters to enhance the smoothies of health enthusiasts.
If you do find a great juice bar then you should be using it regularly. But for many the only real contact with have with smoothies is the ready prepared bottle variety. The problem is that they don’t provide the same great taste and goodness you get from having one that is freshly prepared.
A great way of trying a smoothie to see if you like it is to make your own at home. However, there has been some confusion caused by a few of the blender manufacturers regarding smoothie makers. When we talk about smoothie makers we actually do mean a blender which has for many years been a vital piece of equipment in many kitchens. That was until some bright spark in some marketing company thought it would be a good idea to call them smoothie makers so that a company could target those people wanting to make their own smoothies. It is for this reason alone that we think blenders and smoothie makers are two different machines, when in fact they are not.
Making smoothies at home is very simple you just need to put some ingredients into the jug and then press the button. It only takes a matter of seconds to pulp a full jug of fresh fruit and juice, and at a lot less than you would pay for the high street ones. As well as the drink being delicious it is full of vital nutrients your body needs. Some people will use frozen fruit chunks that they have prepared earlier or add ice to the fresh fruit. To give the smoothie a much creamier tangier taste adding yoghurt is recommended. But you could experiment as well using different healthy ingredients in order to get the health benefits from them as well.
For making such drinks you need a blender or smoothie maker. It is important that you go for one which will do everything you require and is able to deal with frozen ingredients. The cheaper models may save you money but are as effective and blending ice in such machines can be very demanding on them. So it is better to go for a more expensive model. Ideally go for one that allows you to mill dry ingredients as well such as the Mill Blender by the American company L’Equip. This is a machine that not only allows you to create smoothies but allows you to grind up flax which is full of essential fatty acids and which can be added to the drink.
Many health enthusiasts demand much out of their kitchen equipment and some will spend several hundred pounds on purchasing commercial blenders like the Blendtec Total Blender. But you don’t need to although you will get many years of good service out of such a model spending more than 60 on yours will be sufficient, especially if you intend to use ice in your smoothies. If you are looking for a good quality smoothie maker there are plenty of online sites such as www.ukjuicers.com who have available what you may need.
About the Author:
There are a wide variety of
smoothie makers available to buy from various online stores. It is worth doing a littleresearch into what type is most suitable for you and you diet needs. You may also consider choosing from the many
juicers which can be a great alternative to a smoothie maker.
Tags: blenders, fitness, fruit juicer, hand blenders, health, healthy juices, home appliances, juicers, juices, nutrients, nutrition, smoothie maker, smoothies