Decide on what kind of flavors you’re in the mood for—the Strawberry Mango Sunshine is sweeter with a bit of tartness to it and the Banana Berry Breeze is more toned down with creamier flavors.

Gather up your fruits—these can be frozen or fresh. It helps to have at least some frozen fruit in there to give you a thicker smoothie consistency. If you’re using fresh fruit, give them a wash and chop them up. (You can also freeze some for future use—this is what I do with my bananas, I peel them, cut them up and put them in a container in the freezer.)

I’ve never been a fan of the typical red and green mangoes that are sold in most of the grocery stores around me, but then on my trip to the Philippines this year, I got a taste of a champagne mango and they’ve turned into my latest obsession. So of course my first smoothie is centered around these delicious sweet fruits. The easiest way to get the mango out is to cut out the core, cube each half of the mango and then scoop it out with a spoon.

No matter what kind of smoothie I make, I always like to keep a few staples that I throw into each. I usually pick the fruits, a mixer like coconut water or almond milk, and then add in extra goodies like chia seeds, cacao nibs, collagen, and oats. Then I throw in some kind of supplement like maca, moringa + turmeric, etc. I sometimes add in protein powder, which can give you different flavors too, but the taste can also be a little too overwhelming, so if I want the added protein, I go for a flavorless powder.

Both of my smoothie recipes will make 1 serving—probably close to 12 ounces or so. Here’s a quick breakdown of what goes into the first one along with some of the benefits you can enjoy from each of the ingredients (the full recipe card is at the bottom of the page):

The second smoothie is a lot less sweet than the first, I think it’d make for a good morning/breakfast smoothie (full recipe for this one is at the bottom of the page also):

(Most of the health benefits info above is from healthline.com.)

Once you’ve got everything portioned out, go ahead and toss it all in. I usually put the frozen stuff on the bottom so it gets blended well.

I’m using a Vitamix Drink Machine Two-Step, (they have some less expensive options too) which makes blending my smoothies so easy. I’ve gone through a bunch of other blenders and this one by far is the easiest and best at blending all sorts of things, it even blends the frozen stuff really well. I also like that it comes with this smaller container, which is the perfect size for making a serving or two. I also have a Ninja Professional 1500W, it’s really convenient to use the single serve cups because I can put the lid on and take to-go. Both the Vitamix and Ninja also have a bunch of different containers and attachments that you can use with them.

The last thing I add in is usually the liquid base. I like to use coconut water when I’m going with a fruitier smoothie, and almond milk when I want something that’s smooth and creamier.

My Vitamix lets me choose how long I want to blend for (I set it to 30 seconds) and then all I have to do it put the lid on, make sure the top is closed, and flip the switch. It blends to a really nice consistency and then stops when it’s done.

Pop off the lid, grab a cute cup and fill it on up! For some reason I always like the look of a Mason jar, they also make it easy to take to work in the morning since I can just put a lid on and throw it in my bag. I really recommend these grey reusable plastic lids, they fit perfectly and don’t have the problem of rusting that the metal lids tend to develop.

Now it’s time for your tasty, and nutrient packed reward. 😋

Hope you’re keeping cool this summer!