A smoothie is so much more than blended fruit. It’s an art with all of it’s different elements blending perfectly together.

Here is a guide to making the perfect smoothie.

1. Pick your fruit.

We chose strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and bananas to be our base, but any combo of fruit is great. Make a tropical smoothie of pineapple, mango, and banana or add blueberry and peach to switch it up a bit. Aim for about 3 cups of fruit.

2. Fresh or frozen fruit?

For smoothies, frozen fruit is best. It blends up thicker than fresh and gives you a really cold smoothie to enjoy when done. If you don’t have frozen fruit, freeze your fresh fruit for 30 minutes before blending or add about 1 cup of ice and blend until smooth!

3. Add a thickener.

We use unsweetened greek yogurt in our smoothie, but peanut butter, almond butter, or vanilla yogurt are all great options. Traditionally about 1/2 cup is ideal. If you prefer thinner smoothies, you can either lessen the amount of thickener or skip it all together.

4. Choose a liquid.

Almond milk is great for the added nutty flavor, but coconut milk pairs well with a tropical smoothie. Whole milk or fruit juice also work well. 1 1/4 cup of liquid makes the perfect consistency. If you skipped the thickener, use less liquid as well.

5. Throw some add-ins in.

Add some spinach or kale for additional nutrition or flax seeds for omega-3s. Flavors like fresh mint, vanilla extract, cinnamon, or honey will take any smoothie to the next level.