The Frugal Guide to Smoothie Making

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Making smoothies can get really pricey, especially if you’re following smoothie trends and keeping up with all the latest ingredients. Unfortunately most of us aren’t instagram stars with the kind of budget that enables such things.

However that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy smoothies on the daily. Like most things a little bit of legwork and research goes a long way.

So how can we keep costs down while enjoying great smoothies?

Tips

1. Use Seasonal Ingredients And Ingredients On Sale

I love avocados and strawberries, unfortunately they only grow naturally in a limited period of the year. This means that during the months when they’re not in season they’re either unavailable or quadruple the price.

So don’t get stuck on any one ingredient and instead try out whatever is in season, you might discover a new flavor that you’ll love and look forward to next year.

Seasonal fruit is always cheaper, speaking of cheaper. Check out which ingredients are on sale, and save by using them.

2. Replace fresh fruit or fruit juice with jams/concentrates.

A jug of pure orange juice can be prohibitively expensive, but a jar of orange concentrate? A mere fraction of the price, mix a nice scoop into your smoothie and it’ll provide the same flavor without hurting your wallet.

Jams also have a ridiculous shelf life and are available year round.

So you don’t have to sacrifice your strawberry or apricot craving when they’re not in season. This applies for any fruit flavor you’re craving and it’s a lot easier to blend for an economical blender.

3. Compare Frozen and Fresh Prices

In most places, frozen fruits and vegetables cost significantly less than their fresh counterparts. Your blender and smoothie don’t care, they’re happy to blend frozen ingredients all the same and you’ll be enjoying the flavors you love.

However, there are some places (like where I live) where there is an abundance of fresh produce and the frozen variety are significantly more expensive their fresh counterparts.

So be sure to compare prices and get the best option, the difference when on a budget isn’t significant enough to warrant the price hike.

4.Stick to 3-4 Ingredients in a Smoothie

Keep your smoothie simple, stick with 1 fruit, 1 green, 1 liquid and optional of 1 seed/nut/powder.

I like to go with banana, spinach, coconut milk and pistachios for a high protein smoothie when I’m on a tight budget.

You can make plenty of interesting mixes and you’ll go through the ingredients pretty quickly, so there’s no serious commitment here to any particular flavor.

Conclusion

With these four simple changes you can still have affordable smoothies on the daily and they can remain healthy, tasty and ultimately easier to make. 

More Tips

Recipes

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