When you have a smoothie are you sure you know what is going into it? Certainly the smoothie has become big business these days because words such as “natural” and “healthy” have been used to describe certain food products. However the smoothies that you see on the supermarket shelf are not as “innocent” as they may seem. Many of these products use advertisements where sunny outdoor scenes are used or the blender contains fruit to convey an image that these contain vital and fresh living ingredients. But often these are produced on mass using machinery and vats of fruit purees which to extend their shelf life have been pasteurized.

Not every juice and smoothie bar set up offers completely natural products to you either. In some cases they use frozen fruit purees high in sugar that have been supplied to them by the company that supplies the juice and smoothie making equipment. Certainly these types of professional blenders are very expensive to purchase and juice bars will often be provided them for free as long as they use the companies frozen fruit portions to create their smoothies.

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 original idea of a smoothie was very simple. It was a way of blending a healthy drink. Made most popular in the USA still there is no definitive term to describe this type of drink. Most of us simply recognize as this drink being a fruit based one made from frozen or fresh fruit and ice. Many of the independent juice bars tend to focus on the health side and so create high quality products that are freshly prepared when ordered, plus to further enhance the smoothies for some health enthusiasts they add super foods or boosters to them.

If you happen to have a juice bar like this close to where you are then you should support it. But if your only contact with smoothies is drinking the ready bottled variety you are losing out on getting all the goodness and flavour that freshly prepared ones offer.

One of the best ways to try a delicious smoothie that is fresh to make it at home. However, first let us clear up the confusion that has arisen created by blender manufacturers. A smoothie maker and a blender are one and the same. Up until a few years ago this type of kitchen appliance was known as a blender until someone in a marketing department came up with the idea of calling them smoothie makers so that the company could target those wanting to make their own smoothies. Whilst companies were profiting from the demand created by the rise in people wanting to make smoothies the decision to then call a blender a smoothie maker happened and results in us thinking they are two different machines. When in fact they are not.

It is very simple to make a smoothie just place the ingredients in the jug of the blender and press the button. Only a few seconds later you have a jug full of pulped fruit and juice which will cost you much less than you would pay for the high street ones. As well as tasting great these smoothies are full of essential nutrients. You can like others use frozen fruit chunks or you could use some fresh fruit mixed with ice. To make the smoothie creamier and tangier add some yoghurt or just experiment to gain more health benefits by adding other healthy ingredients to it.

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.

There are many health enthusiasts who place great demands on their kitchen equipment and spend hundreds on buying commercial grade equipment such as the Blendtec Total Blender. Although a luxury model they do offer you a long time of service, but you yourself don’t need to break the bank to make your own smoothies at home. If you intend to blend ice or frozen ingredients in your smoothies avoid those that cost below 60. Instead to go for a much more expensive model such as the smoothie makers to be found at www.ukjuicers.com.