Rourke's Random Musings

Yogurt smoothies can have a pretty wide range of flavor and consistency. The yogurt is always the same, so the variety comes from the fruit and the liquids. The liquid is often overlooked, but it shouldn’t be; there’s a huge variety of flavors you can buy as a juice or a nectar but can’t easily find as fresh or frozen fruit. Adding only a small amount of such a liquid to a smoothie can enhance the flavor considerably without impacting the texture. After all, you want to drink your smoothie and not eat it with a spoon, right?

Apple juice is the most basic and versatile liquid you can use for making smoothies. Any berry smoothie will work well with apple juice, including banana-berry smoothies. You won’t get much in the way of flavor out of apple juice, but it will add sweetness.

Orange juice is excellent in more tropical smoothies. I use orange juice with mangoes in particular, because the acidity cuts the chalky flavor that you find with that fruit. Peaches and pineapple also work well with OJ. For a unique taste, try banana, strawberry, and orange juice. Make sure you’re using enough sweet fruit, as orange juice is quite acidic.

Coconut nectar goes really well with pineapple. Pineapple-coconut smoothies were a favorite of Jen’s until I started using soy milk.

Any milk will work in a yogurt smoothie, producing a very creamy, right smoothie. Soy milk is one of the healthier options and produces excellent smoothies. The first couple of times I had a soy smoothie the flavor seemed a bit odd to me, but its definitely something that grows on you. I’ve tried a number of different soy milks and found that they vary quite a bit. My favorite for blending is the Silk Vanilla, in the blue bottle.

Berry and banana-berry smoothies work well with soy milk. Jen’s overall favorite smoothie is just pineapple, yogurt, and soy milk — so simple and yet so good.

Protein mixes work okay, but the taste of your smoothie definitely suffers. If you really need the protein then I’d recommend adding whey powder to your smoothie instead. The taste will still suffer, but not as much.

This isn’t a complete list. Try whatever suits your fancy and see how it works. Leave a comment below if you find something that you really like.