How do I make a smoothie?

Pour the liquid in first, then the protein, the frozen fruit, and any seeds, oats or greens, and blend until smooth. A cup of milk, 7 oz of plain Greek yogurt, a cup of frozen strawberries and a frozen banana makes a 396-calorie glass with 30 g of protein and no added sugar. That’s breakfast.

Most smoothie recipes start with whatever looks good in a photo: fruit, juice, a handful of ice, maybe a drizzle of honey. What comes out is a fruit drink, and it’s gone by ten. A smoothie that lasts until lunch is a meal you drink, and it needs the parts of a meal.

Liquid goes in first for the same reason water goes in the pot before the pasta. The blade needs something to move in, or the frozen fruit just jams around it.

The easiest meal glass

A

Strawberry banana yogurt A

What’s in it

• 1 banana118 g
• 1 cup frozen strawberries150 g
• 7 oz Greek yogurt198 g
• 1 cup milk244 g

396 calories, 30 g protein, 6 g fiber, no added sugar. About $2.73 at US average prices.

The five parts

The protein line is about 0.4 g per kg of your weight, and the Gyroscope app personalizes yours. A portion of fruit is a medium banana or about a cup of other fruit. Two portions is the most we’d put in one glass, which keeps room for the protein. The four-ingredient glass above skips part four, since its banana and strawberries already bring 6 g of fiber.

Step by step

1. Pour a cup of milk into the blender jar.
2. Add 7 oz of plain Greek yogurt. For a powder, add it now so it sits in the liquid and doesn’t stick to the lid.
3. Add the frozen fruit: a cup of frozen strawberries and a banana you peeled, sliced and froze.
4. Add seeds or oats if you’re using them, and greens on top.
5. Blend on low, then high, until it’s smooth. If it stalls, add a splash more milk.

Frozen fruit does the job ice does without watering the glass down, and a frozen banana is the creamiest thing you can put in a blender.

What are the common mistakes?

• Juice as the liquid. It adds sugar and takes away the protein milk would have brought. More on juice.
• Honey or syrup. The US guidelines count both as added sugar, and a tablespoon of honey is 17 g, past the 10 g line for a whole meal.
• No protein. Fruit and juice alone has 2 to 4 g, which is why you’re hungry by mid-morning.
• Three or four kinds of fruit. It tastes great and adds up to a lot of sugar fast.

Where do I go from here?

The top ten recipes are each the best glass in one flavor, from chocolate peanut butter to tropical. The builder grades anything you put together, and the five parts chapter explains what each part does.