Making Smoothies: Easy Tips from Alton Brown

It may be frigid outside and prime season for oatmeal, but we're in the middle of a smoothie kick. We don't have the best blender – just your average model – but a couple of tips from Alton Brown have saved us from struggling and shaking it every morning as we make our breakfast. They're so obvious, too!

Earlier this month, Sarah Rae highlighted Alton Brown's tips for eating light and his food lists that helped him lose 50 pounds. He talked about starting his day with a fruit smoothie – usually a combination of "purple" liquid (pomegranate, acai or concord grape juice), soy milk and a variety of fruits.

We were interested in what he put in his smoothies, but what really got our attention was how he made them. Alton gave us a couple of simple blender tricks that are a huge help and make the process much more, well, smooth. Here they are:

Put the liquid in in first. This may seem totally obvious, but we never thought to do this. As Alton says, it's easier on the blender and gets things moving faster.
Start at the lowest speed and slowly work your way up to high. Turn the speed up about one-third of the way and wait until the big pieces of fruit begin to break up and you see a vortex begin to form in the center. Then slowly add more speed. If you increase the speed too quickly, an air bubble will form and the blades will just spin around inside it. This seemed to make a big difference in our blender. No more shaking!

Do you have any good smoothie-making tips?

(Image: Flickr user realSMILEY, licensed under Creative Commons, Good Eats via YouTube)

Comments (28)

i think the best tip Alton Brown gave in that episode was something you didn't even mention - put everything together the night before and blend it in the morning. Frozen fruits will have thawed, making it much easier to blend and get a smooth (drinkable with a straw!) consistency.
I have been drinking his purple smoothies all week for breakfast (along with eating 2 eggs) and they are SO delicious. And I stay satisfied all morning. I posted the combination I use and my review on my website:
http://www.seejencook.blogspot.com

I don't think it matters if you put the liquid in first or not. The liquid will always make its way to the bottom as there are always cracks between the items.

Other than that, blend on!

One trick I've learned is to replace soy milk in smoothies with unsweetened vanilla or chocolate almond milk. Only 45 cal per serving, and it provides the same vaguely sweet creaminess that soy milk gives in smoothies. It's not so great on its own though...

I love smoothies and make them every week. The whole point though is to have it thicker than juice and I do that by using frozen fruit. I don't use any ice so it is never watered down. If you use small frozen berries and then mix with some larger room temp fruit like a banana or jarred peaches it turns out perfect. I do however agree with Alton that putting in the liquid is much easier on the blender.

my perfect recipe: 1/2 cup juice, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries, 1/2 cup of whatever fresh or canned fruit I have on hand.

Nogard13, if I’m using say, frozen fruit, a liquid and greens very little liquid will get to the bottom if I pour in frozen berries, topped with kale and then my ½ C of milk or juice, it will coat and freeze on the berries or get hung up on the leaves, if that makes sense.

Another substitute for dairy is coconut milk, not the regular kind used in Asian cooking, but the kind at Whole Foods that is sold in a carton. It has no taste of its own and works great in smoothies, with much less calories.

I recently got a new blender and the instructions said to pour in the liquids first and then add the frozen ingredients while blending. It actually did make a difference and blended better than dumping everything in and turning it on.

sambazon RULES!!! also try the frozen acai packs in the freezer section of whole foods. bombay.

A couple tips I use all the time.

Freeze the bananas (if you use them). They negate the need to add ice. I buy them from the clearance section at the market whenever I can and pop them in the freezer as soon as I get home. They are ripe and stay that way whenever I need them there is one handy.

I also will buy yogurt in large tubs and freeze in an ice cube tray. Again, negating the need for ice cubes.

Most blenders will take a Mason/Bell jar because the threads are the same. Its like a magic bullet. Mix and drink from the same container. Less to clean up

Ok let's keep it simple people. Pour 1 cup milk (preferably Lactaid) and 1 cup of each of frozen fruit of choice. Bananas don't have to be frozen if you mix with another frozen fruit. I like to add a sugar substitute to sweeten it up a big. Who needs sugary desserts when you have a filling smoothie!

At the moment, I have watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, strawberries, bananas and sweet plantains, and pineapple, all in separate little containers in my freezer. Each morning I pick two or 3 random containers and throw about a cup worth of fruit in the blender with about 1/2 cup of 100% pure orange or apple juice.

My favorite combination is bananas and mango - it comes out so smooth and creamy.

Thanks for this post and all the hints it provided.

We make smoothies every-other morning. We try to make enough for two days, cuz we're lazy. We leave the left-overs in the blender carafe and refrigerate. Next morning, just pop it on the blender base and wallah! Instant smoothie! 1/2 the work, 1/2 the clean up.

Forgot to mention…

It takes me a while to drink a whole smoothie, so I actually feel fuller longer after a smoothie, than if I eat a bowl of cereal or even scrambled eggs. Makes me happy cuz then I'm not as starving come lunchtime.

One more thing… haha

We add spinach or kale to our smoothies sometimes to add some more calcium. I swear, you cannot taste the greens at all. It's amazing!

Great tips everyone. I am going to get to some smoothies next week myself. I love them and have just gotten out of the habit.

I think having an immersion blender helps with the "too lazy" factor. I used to cringe at the idea of having clean out my blender, too many pieces and parts. But my immersion blender comes apartment into 2 pieces - the blade end, which gets cleaned each time, and the handle that I clean as needed. It's so easy to clean up, I make a smoothie every morning without the slightest bite of hesitation.

I eat a smoothie almost every work day for breakfast too! I like that's it's so fast and I can drink it while I'm getting ready if I'm short on time or even take it to go if I'm really running late. So much better than the sad packet of instant oatmeal I used to eat at work. My usual is 1/2 cup frozen berries or fruit of some kind, 1/4 cup plain 2% yogurt, 1/2 cup water, a couple handfuls of spinach, a green super food powder and a smidge of honey.

I love to add granola to my fruit smoothies. I'm very simple using strawberries and bananas, Greek yogurt, soy milk, agave nectar and at the very end I add some Back to Nature whole grain granola. It adds such a nice flavor and a bit of crunch.

love alton brown! thanks for sharing the video.

i'm a fan of yogurt in my smoothies. never thought of putting acai juice in, will have to try that!

I find that a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon (or both!) adds a savory taste and depth to creamy smoothies, especially those containing yogurt or bananas.

Can't wait to try some of these tips—I never thought to add greens!

I have to admit, I'd never liked messing with smoothies much, because I'd always had crappy little $20 blenders that I'd spend more time fighting with than it takes to just grab one on the way into work. I got a Ninja blender, and zomg LOVE my smoothies now! XD Frozen fruit Soy milk (chocolate with the frozen cherries is wonderful!!), plus a bit of whatever else is running around that might be good (frozen juice instead of soy milk, sometimes, leftover fruit salad at others )

My recipe is 2 scoops of EAS vanilla protein powder, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, a banana or 100 grams of frozen blueberries, 150 grams of frozen strawberries, and a cup of water. Tastes great, cleans up easily. Luckily, I'm a boring enough person that I don't need a lot of variety, so that's usually breakfast 5 days a week (with the occasional substitution of a South Beach Meal Replacement bar or a trip through Chick-Fil-A).

I like 1/2 cup of water, a few leaves of kale, 1/4 cup pineapple and lemon juice to finish it off..so beautiful and really delicious!

Great ideas & tips – I personally love ‘thickies’ containing yoghurts & oats :-) We're running a competition til March 31st to find the best smoothie recipe, and our favourite will win a Kenwood Smoothie Maker! (UK only)

I have a delicious sugar-free, dairy-free smoothie that's loaded with vitamins, is easy to make in the winter, and keeps me satisfied until lunch:

Quarter block of tofu (for protein and creaminess), 1 cup frozen berries or fruit, 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed (for Omega-3s), water or unsweetened almond milk as necessary to thin.

I make smoothies ahead of time and freeze them individually in ziplocks. I take them out of the freezer and put them in the fridge the night before. In the morning you can just massage the bag a little before pouring it in a glass and it has a perfect consistency.

I love making smoothies all the time. My kids love it. Much more healthy.

Jim