Review: Sensational Smoothies

Smoothies. Those healthily delicious drinks are steadily becoming more and more popular. This is even truer today, when a lot of magazines praise the health benefits of a well-made smoothie. There are many shops out there that sell smoothies. But for something this simple, wouldn't it be better to make one ourselves?

How to make smoothies seems simple but mixing the different fruits and vegetables are not. How do I make a smoothie so the taste of the spinach doesn't overwhelm the taste of the fruits? Which blender should I choose? Which ingredients can I possibly mix in a smoothie?

The answers to these questions and more can be found in Olivia Parker's Sensational Smoothies. There are many smoothie books in the market but few are as easy to understand. It goes into the nitty-gritty basics of smoothies before it branches out. More than 180 smoothie recipes are laid out in an easily read manner. At first, these recipes are organized through their main ingredients, fruits, vegetables or chocolates. Afterwards, the book starts to recommend smoothies depending on a particular event, like breakfast or a party. It's a quick read because the real meat (or smoothie) of a book like this lies in preparing and mixing the recipes. Have I already told you that there are over 180 of them?

The basics of smoothie making are explained very well by this book. It doesn't overlook any questions and it doesn't think that anything is obvious. It takes you through choosing the right equipment for you, through choosing and storing your ingredients and a lot more. Smoothie Sensation takes care to show the individuality of each ingredient. It lists down each ingredient's health benefits, how to select the freshest one (if applicable) and how to store them according to their needs. It's a very caring book.

The recipes are short, succinct and to the point, just like the recipes themselves. The easy preparation and mixing of the smoothies are reflected in the instructions. I continuously thought, "Is that all? That's easy!" It's a nice thought to have. The world can be so complex nowadays that it's nice to see that the healthiest things in life are simple.

My favorite part of the book, naturally, is the chapter on chocolates. I have a sweet tooth and chocolates are my favorite. I was pleasantly pleased that it listed down the many benefits of chocolate to a person's body. I've had enough of people denigrating chocolates. Chocolates shouldn't be said in the same breath together with junk food. I am satisfied that this book did right to chocolates. I am also satisfied that the chocolate smoothie recipes are delicious. They were the first things I tried.

The only real downside is that there should be more smoothie recipes! However, it strongly encourages experimentation. New recipes can easily be made by the reader, especially after such a thorough grounding in the basics. It would be nice for readers to add more recipes to this ebook. I also liked the bonus audio book a lot. It was very soothing to hear such a nice voice. I listened to the book a lot on the drive home. It made me really hungry for another smoothie, a chocolate one!