As the temperature rises, I crave easy, cool meals that I can throw together in an instant. One of my go-to breakfasts during the summer months is smoothies (if you couldn’t already tell from my insta stories). I used to love making them with my family at home, but fell out of practice until my Marley Spoon subscription began sending me smoothie recipes and it reignited my love for them!

I also love that smoothies are an easy way to be less wasteful about food. Have a banana that’s about to go bad? Throw it in a smoothie! Overbought spinach or kale for a salad you don’t feel like eating? Make a green smoothie! Want to be cost effective while staying healthy? Get a bunch of frozen fruits and mix them up for a variety of smoothie combos!

You can tailor smoothies to every palate and dietary need – lactose intolerant, picky eaters, berry allergy, daily cravings, etc. – you can customize it to match your needs! In this post I’ll share my staple smoothie ingredients that I always have on hand – and I’m sure many of you already have these ingredients, too – as well as some fun recipes that you can test and tweak to suit your taste!

My Smoothie Basics

These are my go-to ingredients I have on hand for any smoothies. You probably have some of these already or can easily and cheaply get them from your local store. A lot of these ingredients also last for weeks, so you can create smoothies when you feel like it without feeling pressure to use up all your ingredients right away.

• A Milk of Your Choice (I love Vanilla Almond Milk) or Coconut Water – these are liquid bases that last a long time in your fridge and can be a great neutral starting point for any smoothie
• Apples – I try to have a few green and red ones for different smoothies since they last for weeks in your fridge
• Chia Seeds or Hemp Hearts – healthy protein!
• Honey
• Cinammon
• Frozen fruits – Trader Joe’s Mangoes or Berry Blends are my favorites so you can mix and match for different flavor combinations
• Ice – an easy way to add in a creamy texture (but you can skip if you’re using frozen fruits)

Smoothie Recipes

Below are a few of my favorite recipes I’ve tried – some are inspired by Marley Spoon and other I’ve concocted with leftover ingredients and ended up loving! Most of these recipes make enough for two servings, so you can have enough for you and a roommate or save the second round for the next day.

Fruit Smoothies

Red Smoothie

• 1/2 cup of raspberries
• 1/4 cup strawberries
• 1 chopped red apple
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 cups coconut water
• 3/4 cup ice

Berry Blast

• 1 chopped banana
• 1 cup (frozen) berry medley (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. of your preference)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 cups coconut water
• 1 cup ice

Cinnamon Banana

• 1 chopped red apple
• 2 chopped bananas
• 1 oz honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup ice

Tropical Breeze

• 3/4 cup frozen mango
• 1 chopped banana
• 1 chopped kiwi
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
• 1 1/2 cup coconut water

Green Smoothies

Healthy Greens

• 1/2 bunch kale
• 1 chopped apple
• 1 oz chopped fresh ginger
• 1 chopped banana
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/5 cups coconut water
• 1 1/2 cups ice

Sweet Green (Marley Spoon)

• 8 oz pineapple
• 1 chopped and peeled cucumber
• 1 oz celery
• 1 oz honey
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 1/2 cups ice

Green Thumb (Marley Spoon)

• 1 chopped kiwi
• 2 pears
• 1 chopped and peeled cucumber
• 2 oz baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1 cup ice

Dessert Smoothies

Smoothies are also a fun and healthy alternative as a sweet dessert! Who wouldn’t want a peanut butter date, banana nutella, or a blueberry, raspberry, blackberry combo to beat the heat on a hot summer night?

Peanut Butter Date

• 3 dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 2 chopped banana
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup ice

Banana Nutella

• 1/3 cup of Nutella
• 1 chopped banana
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup ice
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Berry Treat

• 1 1/2 cup mixed berries (frozen)
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
• 1oz honey
• 1 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1/2 cup ice

I hope these delicious, easy smoothie recipes give you inspiration to experiment with this perfect warm-weather treat! Please let me know if you have any favorite smoothie combos or add-ins that I should try out in the comments!

XOXO

Parisa