Say, where's the FAQ?? Sorry if the following questions had already been answered.

1. Are there any general principles of smoothie-making? For example, maybe something like "no more than a quarter of your blender carafe ought to be ice cubes" or "half of your carafe should be full of fruits".... Like, someone was quoted in one of these threads about how the secret to smooth smoothies is soy milk!

2. Speaking of which, anyone have any ideas on how to sweeten up my smoothies?? I've used two whole apples or two whole pears and that seems to make no difference to a half-gallon veggie smoothie. I've also tried a cup or two of sweetened soy milk to no dramatic effect. Have you ever tried using pure honey? I'd rather not dump sugar in there (not that that's much different than fruits and honey, I'd imagine, even with all the fiber and whatnot)....


TIA!!!

I put a couple of medjool dates into the smoothie this morning. Usually I add banana so it's sweet enough for the kids but didn't have any so soaked dates plus the soak water did the trick.

liquid first, presumably water or nut milk. Then lighter solids, veggies and hard or frozen fruits and ice last. Start low so the food has time to come in contact with the blades and ramp it up to high once the food has been chopped. Note: going to high immediately produces an inferior blend since many food particles "bounce" off the blades instead of getting chopped. A combination of low to high is better.

Paul

OMG, how could I have forgotten about bananas...yes, bananas!

Thanks!

Hmmm, interesting: so it's the softer stuff first?? I'd imagine that the harder stuff needs to be closer to the blades....

Anyway, thanks for that tip!

The blender needs to get going, then it can suck the harder stuff down into the blades no problem.

Coconut water is great in smoothies! I've never had to add a sweetener to a smoothie, but I do almost always add a banana so I guess that's why. Chia seed gel, maca root powder and/or psyllium husk are great additions, too.

Hey, I know that your up in the air about honey, but what about raw sugar that you get from whole foods, or a vegan grocery store?.. Good Luck and let me know...

I'm pretty sure raw sugar isn't raw--they have to cook it at least to 170F to get it to crystallize, if I'm not mistaken.

I like using medjool dates or raw honey.

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