Here are 2 more tips to make a smoothie that tastes great without tons of added sugar:
3. Add a super-ripe banana to your smoothie.
Bananas are another whole fruit that add natural sweetness to smoothies, as well as a great, creamy texture. The key to using bananas in place of (not in addition to) added sweeteners is to make sure that it’s super-ripe. Remember: When making smoothies, brown spots are your friend.
I know it’s hard to keep very ripe bananas on hand because they go bad quickly. (And then there are fruit flies—ugh!) So whenever my bananas are about to go bad, I peel, chop and freeze them to have on hand for smoothies. Doing this also helps cut down on food waste, so you can feed doubly good.
4. Blend in dried dates, figs, or prunes.
Dried fruit has a lot of sugar relative to fresh, but you need less of it to get a sweet hit since the sugars are concentrated. In other words, a little dried fruit goes a long way. Just a couple of dried dates or figs will sweeten a smoothie plenty and you’ll end up with way fewer grams of sugar overall compared to a smoothie sweetened with juice or flavored yogurt. You’ll also get a good dose of fiber and some added vitamins and minerals.
Quick tip: Soak dried dates, figs, or prunes in hot tap water for a few minutes before blending. This will soften them, making them easier to blend. Or not. Either way, it’s delicious.
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