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Adding fruit would have solved the flavour problem, but that can turn a veggie smoothie into a high-sugar beverage, notes Campbell, the medical director of the T. Colin Campbell Centre for Nutrition Studies. A typical smoothie with spinach, strawberries, blueberries, a banana and orange juice might include 32 grams of sugar, he calculates.

Many sugar-conscious consumers want smoothies with no fruit at all. What’s the secret to offering healthy, fruit-free smoothies that don’t taste like a cow’s breakfast? We’ll tell you.

Magical ingredients for delicious no-fruit smoothies 

Smoothie creators have perfected the art of surreptitiously slipping vegetables into the mix. Add a little cauliflower in with your strawberries, and no one will know. A handful of raspberries will hide the earthiness of spinach or kale. And a single ripe banana adds the sweetness and creamy texture that make a smoothie satisfying.

This alchemy gets a lot tougher when no fruit is involved. But it’s not impossible! Here are some key ingredients for making satisfying, delicious and fruit-free smoothies. All you need is a high-performance blender.

How to add creaminess to fruit-free smoothies 

• Cauliflower is an innocuous vegetable that adds substance and fibre, but almost no taste, to a veggie smoothie. Some chefs recommend steaming it first; others prefer to keep it raw and freeze it. 

• Almond butter or sunflower butter are healthful additions that thicken a smoothie’s consistency. 

• Technically, avocado is a fruit — a berry, to be exact. But with virtually no sugar and lots of unsaturated fat, we think it’s fair to make an exception for avocados and add them to any fruit-free smoothie. Avocados can replace the creamy mouthfeel contributed by dairy. 

• Non-dairy milk, like almond or cashew milk, is a good choice for the liquid base.

How to add sweetness to fruit-free smoothies 

• Cooked sweet potato is a luscious smoothie ingredient that adds abundant vitamin A, fibre and potassium. Whole Foods Market has a fruit-free smoothie recipe with sweet potato, coconut milk, honey and nutmeg. 

• Another sweet and satisfying veggie is roasted butternut squash, which pairs beautifully with flavours like cinnamon and vanilla. 

• Coconut is a powerful ingredient in no-fruit smoothies because it adds creaminess and a hint of sweetness. It’s on-trend, too; check out the one-ingredient smoothie at Atla in New York City, which blends fresh coconut meat and water.

How to add flavour to fruit-free smoothies 

Serious Eats has some good advice for creating successful all-veggie smoothies: “embrace the greenness and balance the flavours as you would with a juice.” Come up with a list of ingredients that would make a good salad or soup, then blend them together with a little salt and flavour boosters like these: 

• The zing of lemon juice counteracts the earthiness of raw greens. Lime juice, too, can be delicious. 

• Ginger’s refreshing, piquant taste hits a high note in any fruit-free smoothie. 

• Tahini, the ground sesame paste that’s most often associated with hummus, is a surprisingly satisfying addition to smoothies. It has a strong taste on its own, “but when placed alongside other smoothie ingredients, tahini acts like the perfect party guest: it mixes well without drawing any undue attention to itself,” Epicurious says. 

• Fresh mint overpowers all kinds of flavours (in a perfectly polite way). We’re fascinated by MindBodyGreen’s Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie, which combines cacao powder, almond milk and mint leaves with greens. It’s not quite a milkshake, but it sounds pretty good
  
  

Reward Hospitality have an array of tools and equipment for creating your Fruit Free Smoothie Business

Browse our catalogue where you’ll find an array of Fruit Free Smoothie-making machines and accessories. We have a team of equipment experts on standby to offer advice and answer your questions. Reward Hospitality can help you select the right equipment for your needs.

This guest resource was kindly provided by International Catering Equipment, a world leading manufacturer.