How to make a delicious green smoothie without a vitamix

Proportions of Ingredients


The key to being able to making green smoothies without a super power blender is to use the right proportions of ingredients to make them taste good. I've been fascinated with reading books about green smoothies but I've noticed that all the books assume that you have a Vitamix or Blendtec blender.  This discourages the majority of the population that doesn't own one.  I fall into this category.  I decided to make it work with the equipment I've got.  I have a regular Cuisinart Blender that I bought at Costco for $50. I use it everyday making a green drink.  It took me awhile to get the right consistency and sweetness so that my kids and husband would drink it.  Here's some tips about the right proportions of ingredients.


There must be the right sweetness to complement the greens and the right texture to disguise the pieces of greens that can’t be blended completely. Every recipe I make follows the same proportion of ingredients.

A good rule of thumb is the 2-2-2 rule.

2 cups of juice----2 cups of greens---2 cups of frozen fruit

Without the juice the greens might taste too bitter depending on what greens you choose. The right sweetness is important especially if you are introducing these drinks to your children for the first time. Through time you can make your drinks less sweet by adding water instead of juice, but I don't recommended this for awhile.

Without the frozen fruit the drink will have chunky green pieces and is very hard to get down. My kids can always tell if I stray from the proportions of frozen fruit. They simply won’t drink it without lots of coaxing. The frozen fruit provides the drink with the right consistency and texture.

It doesn’t matter what time of day, my children are always in the mood for a smoothie.

If you only have juice from concentrate, remember the 2-2-2-2 rule.

2 T juice concentrate---2 cups water---2 cups greens---2 cups frozen fruit