Healthy Strawberry Smoothie (no banana)

A healthy strawberry smoothie that is sweet and frosty, and ready in 5 minutes. This creamy fruity drink is high in protein and fiber, using milk or yogurt and even some fresh zucchini but no banana. It's a nutritious thick and frosty strawberry milkshake.
This healthy strawberry smoothie is creamy thanks to yogurt or milk in ice cubes and zucchini. Adding the vegetable raw (or cooked) does not interfere with the strawberry flavor. Adding milk and yogurt makes it even creamier. Or make the strawberry smoothie without yogurt and use all milk instead. I made mine dairy free.

As with my other healthy smoothie recipes, my chocolate smoothie and my green smoothie sweetened with green grapes, the nutrients add up! This healthy berry smoothie is delicious with any milk but especially my homemade oat milk which amps the cream factor.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This
• Ingredients
• Step by Step Instructions
• Variations & Substitutions
• Recipe Tips
• How to Store
• FAQS
• More Healthy Smoothies
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This

Frosty strawberry milkshake. Using frozen strawberries creates a frosty texture. You can use fresh strawberries and freeze them or buy frozen. Boost the frosty texture by freezing some or all of your milk first in ice cube trays.

No refined sugar: I let the strawberry flavor shine in this healthy strawberry shake and depend on the kiwi for sweet flavor. And fresh lemon juice brightens the flavor and actually brings out the sweet flavor of strawberry. That said, you are welcome to add sweeteners, preferably refined-sugar-free choices.

Tops in Nutrition: The strawberries in this simple strawberry smoothie provide a ton of nutrition, including vitamin C and vitamin A, both immunity boosters. The zucchini offers fiber and essential minerals, and the chia seeds bring fiber, protein and omegas. The smoothie is awesome for all diets as well as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar-free and plant-based.

Ingredients

• Strawberries: I suggest you use frozen, so your smoothie is chilled after blending. Either wash, chop and freeze fresh or buy frozen. Either way, buy organic strawberries since they more easily absorb pesticides.
• Kiwi: Mango is also an option. Both boosts immunity, balances blood sugar, support even blood flow.
• Zucchini: Use raw, not peeled, and organic if possible. It also provides fiber and a slew of vitamins.
• Milk and Yogurt: A mix of the two helps create a frosty texture. Or use all milk and freeze it in ice cube trays.
• Lemon Juice: Optional, but does brighten the flavor. Fresh or organic bottled. 
• Chia seeds: Optional but they add fiber, antioxidants, minerals, and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. 

See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.

Step 1: Preparations: Measure out your ingredients. Either use frozen strawberries or fresh. Prepare your fruit and zucchini like this:

• If using fresh strawberries, rinse and then slice.
• Rinse and chop the zucchini. Do not peel provided you bought organic zucchini.
• Peel the skin off the kiwi and chop into chunks.

Variations & Substitutions

Swap Zucchini for Banana. Swap out the zucchini for a frozen small banana, and turn this smoothie into a Strawberry Banana Smoothie. Bananas thicken smoothies and add their own sweet flavor so you won't need to add a sweetener.

Swap Zucchini for Cauliflower. Cauliflower when steamed (cooled) or even riced raw, makes the best high-fiber smoothie ingredient. It thickens and adds so much fiber and nutrition. But it does not contribute to the sweet flavor, so add a date or two to cover that.

Instead of yogurt, freeze more milk in ice cube trays, and use that in place of yogurt in this recipe. The frosty texture provides a thickening that yogurt would have added.

Recipe Tips

1. Use ripe strawberries to ensure a sweet flavor and freeze them if possible. Frozen strawberries will give you a frosty texture, but they don't always have a strong strawberry flavor, it will depend on the brand. I like Whole Food's 365 brand for flavor.
2. Make sure the milk and yogurt are cold to support the frosty texture. You can freeze milk in ice cube trays and use that instead of yogurt.
3. Taste the smoothie and add a tablespoon or two of refined-sugar-free sweeteners such as maple syrup or coconut sugar, or even a date or two.
4. For added zing, add some chopped fresh ginger and or a tablespoon of lemon juice.
5. If you want a thicker smoothie, add more chia seeds, yogurt, or add ¼ cup rolled oats.

How to Store

Refrigerate. It is always best to drink a fruit smoothie right away, but if you want to store it, put it into a sealed container in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The color may fade overnight, but you can "pink" it back up by blending again with a strawberry or two.

Freezer. If you want to keep it longer, pour it into ice cube trays, and once those are frozen, store the cubes in freezer bags for up to three months. When you are ready to make your smoothie, add the cubes to a blender, allow ten minutes to thaw, and add some milk to help the blender blend. Enjoy!

FAQS

More Healthy Smoothies

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