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If smoothies are a regular part of your day, you’re probably used to breaking out your blender. Of course, that’s also followed by the dreaded yet inevitable task of cleaning said blender after using it. But what if your routine didn’t have to involve a blender? If you have a jar with a lid, the right ingredients, and something to crush your fruits or veggies with, you can shake and sip your smoothie instead.
Without machine-powered blades in your blender, you’ll be better off sticking with soft fruits and vegetables that you can easily mash with a fork or whisk prior to shaking. Ripe avocados or bananas are a good place to start, paired with a scoop of Greek yogurt for extra protein and creaminess. From there, you can look for any pre-blended fruits or vegetables you might have around. You can easily find ingredients such as mango or peach purée at the store, or use an unfrozen pre-made smoothie mix.
Once you’ve achieved a nice combination of flavors, you can add a scoop of your protein powder or a bit of dry spirulina — because you really should be eating more of it — to your mashed fruits and top it all off with your choice of milk or water. Shaken vigorously with the lid secured, you’ll have a smoothie in minutes — no blender necessary.
Blenderless smoothies, meet the blender ball
You can lean on tools like a handheld milk frother or fine mesh strainer to make a smoother blender-less smoothie at home. Strainers will come in handy when you’re using particularly seedy ingredients such as berries or nut butter. Handheld milk fritters will also help to combine your more creamy ingredients, like your Greek yogurt and milk. But, while not quite as powerful as a machine blender, blender balls are your next best thing if all you want to do is shake.
Purchased on Amazon for as little as $5.99 for a six-pack, blender balls work similarly to a whisk. Simply drop one into your lidded cup along with the rest of your smoothie ingredients, secure the top, and shake. You’ll still want to stick with primarily soft, pre-mashed fruits, powders, and pre-blended ingredients when working with one.
Since most of your ingredients are going to be fresh or refrigerated at best, your hand-shaken smoothies aren’t going to come out as cold as you might be used to. But, making your blenderless drink colder can be as easy as shaking it with ice cubes like you would if you were making a cocktail.
