When it's hot outside, there's no better snack (or even breakfast) than a healthy fruit smoothie. Those yummy drinks are full of fruit and thus vitamins and they are a great way to cool down. Let's learn more about making these delicious frozen drinks. Smoothies can be made with just about any fruit. Give a few variations a try; I'm sure you will find one that's perfect for you and your tastebuds.

Smoothies are also a great way to get your kids to eat their fruit and get a serving of milk at the same time. After all, who doesn't love a milkshake like drink to sip on after a hot afternoon spent playing outside.

How To Make A Smoothie

Most smoothies contain plenty of fruit along with some milk, juice or yogurt and possibly some ice cubes. That's about it. Just put everything into a blender and blend until smooth. You can add more or less liquid (that's the juice or milk) to get the consistency you like best.

Frozen Or Just Cold?

I like my smoothies frozen and make them with frozen fruit most of the time. Frozen fruit can be found in your grocer's freezer aisle year around and you can also freeze your own when you find yourself with more fresh fruit than you can eat. Berries are usually best frozen whole, while bananas can be peeled and sliced before freezing. If you are using fresh fruit, you can add some ice to turn your smoothie into a frozen drink.

Using a combination of fresh and frozen fruit, or adding plenty of ice cold milk or juice will result in a cold instead of frozen smoothie. Just give both methods a try and see which one you like the best.

By the way, just about any smoothie made with fresh fruit can also be made with frozen fruit. You may just want to add a little more liquid if the smoothie is getting too thick for your blender to process.

Milk Or Juice? And What About Some Yogurt

We already established that we need plenty of fruit for a good smoothie. The other main ingredient is usually yogurt, juice or milk. Personally I like non-fat yogurt a lot in my smoothies. I use either vanilla or Greek yogurt along with a splash of juice. If you are not a big yogurt fan, try using some milk instead or use your favorite fruit juice. Even if you are using yogurt you will need a splash of milk or juice to get the smoothie to a drinkable consistency.

Dairy-Free Options

Of course you don't have to have dairy in your smoothies. You can blend just about any fresh or frozen fruit with your favorite juice. For that creamy smoothie consistency try adding some frozen banana slices to any smoothie.

Other great options are soy, rice or almond milk. Just blend your favorite fruit with one of those dairy free "milk" products. If you are trying to up the protein content of your smoothie and make it a little more filling, add some soft tofu to your smoothie. Just be sure to add a little splash of soy milk or juice to think it out to a drinkable consistency.

Should You Sweeten Your Smoothie?

Last but not least, let's talk about sweeteners. They are of course completely optional and whether or not you need them depends on how sweet the fruit you are using is. I also find that if I add vanilla yogurt or orange juice I don't usually need any added sweetener.

When I do add a sweetener it is usually stevia, a natural no-calorie sweetener. Other options are sugar, simple syrup or honey. I recommend you taste your smoothie before adding any sweetener. If you feel it does need that little extra sweetness, add a little and blend it in for a few seconds.