Kaylee Heartman / Daily Nexus

It’s sweltering outside and you’re in need of something that will cool you, not only from the outside but the inside as well. There is one solution that remains not only manageable but actually improves the situation: smoothies.

As a resident of Santa Barbara, you are likely no stranger to Blenders In The Grass. As much as I’d love to be going to Blenders every time there’s a day with warmer weather, I have to acknowledge that such actions would put a serious dent in my bank account. Luckily, with a blender at home and the frozen food aisle of your grocery store, the goal of having a smoothie at any given time is completely attainable. 

“But it won’t taste the same!” you might say. Trust me, I’ve fallen into that mindset much too often myself. How do they get that perfect creamy texture? And why do my smoothies always taste less flavorful? What if I’m on the run and don’t have time? All very valid questions with very actionable answers. After multiple attempts and Google searches, I have found the best strategies for creating the near-perfect smoothies.

First, let’s address the texture issue. Oftentimes, I add too much liquid, turning my smoothie into the melted version of a store-bought drink. But after much trial and error, I found that with the right blender and enough patience, a smooth, creamy texture is achievable! 

My favorite blender so far has been the Nutribullet, which comes in various sizes, including ones small enough to blend all your added ingredients without requiring too much liquid. I also discovered that if you simply wait long enough, the ingredients that seem like they aren’t blending well and typically gather at the top will eventually make it down to the blades and will be successfully incorporated into your smoothie. So patience is key — you have to trust the process! 

Now perhaps the most important issue: taste. If you take the time to read the ingredients used in most of Blenders’ smoothies, you’ll find that they use various fruit sorbets and juices in their smoothies. I wouldn’t typically go out of my way to buy sorbet or fruit juice to add into my smoothies — it already has enough fruit in it, shouldn’t that create the flavor I desire? 

Often, I’d simply use water as my liquid, relying on the taste of the fruits I was adding to the flavor of my smoothies. Unfortunately, this actually brings down the flavor intensity significantly. While it is true that the fruits and vegetables you add to your smoothies are the main characters, their sidekicks (the liquids and extra additions) are just as important when it comes to taste. When you switch out water for juice or various types of milk, the taste game goes up to a whole new level. If, on top of that you add sorbets, ice cream, yogurt or nut butters, you achieve the professional chef level of smoothie taste. 

Finally, there is the problem of time. Coming up with recipes, shopping for ingredients and taking the time to actually measure everything out and wait for it to blend can all feel like too much effort when you’re already feeling sluggish from the summer heat. However, there are solutions! 

First, you can pre-package Ziploc bags with measured out ingredients for any smoothie you might desire. This is not only time-efficient but can also help you effectively manage buying those huge bags of frozen fruit that seem never ending once you’ve opened them. 

Buying in bulk also allows you to try various different combinations and recipes utilizing the same ingredients. For example, with mango, you can make a tropical smoothie with pineapple, banana, coconut milk, orange juice and Greek yogurt. You could also make a green smoothie including spinach, almond milk, avocado, chia seeds and honey. A third option could be a mango-berry smoothie with strawberries, blueberries, Greek yogurt, apple juice and flax seeds. By the time you’ve made a couple packs of each, that huge bag of frozen mangoes is gone! 

Now that you know the secrets, it’s time to stop making excuses for why you can’t be whipping up top-notch delicious smoothies on your own. So next time you see the weather app warning you of rising temperatures, make a store run for some frozen fruit and prepare to take matters into your own hands!