Every time I make smoothies they come out different. I never measure my ingredients. I just eyeball something. Hopefully by reading this, you will have the basics to make your own yummy smoothies

Here's a few basics about what I put in every smoothie:

must haves:	reason to add:	try:
Something flavorful	Duhh. Cuz flavor is good. If you had no taste buds you probably wouldn't be going to the work of making a smoothie	Blackberries Nectarines Other Berries
Sommething sweet	To eliminate bitter tastes.	Ice Cream Syrup Sugar Fresh Fruit
Something liquidy	So everything sirs well in the blender and for consistancy.	Milk Orange Juice Half and Half Water
Something frozen	To make the smoothie cold. Consistancy again.	Ice Cream Frozen Berries Ice Cubes

Keep in mind that if your blender isn't top of the line, you are going to want to partially defrost anything that wont' chop up well, like frozen strawberries, beforehand.

#1: Oranges make a good base.
I try to put oranges in every smoothie i make. I tend to use whatever is on hand though. If i don't have fresh oranges I will either add orange juice or orange juice concentrate.

#2: Add some berries.
These can be either frozen or fresh. I usually use frozen berries because they are available even when fruit is not "in season". If I have any, I always make sure to addBlackberries because they seem to add the most flavor. Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries and Boysenberries taste good too.

#3: Add some filler (Apples).
Usually I add a fresh apple. Watch what kind of apple you use though. Some apples taste bitter, others are more sweet. Usually the type of apples in the smoothie is what determines how much sweetener needs to be added. Applesauce can be substituted and works well. If you have other in season fruit such as peaches, nectarines, or bananas you can add those too.

#4: Make it creamy.
Add half and half, vanilla ice cream, or milk.

#5 Give it a little flavor boost.
Add vanilla and cinnamon. If it needs more sweetening, syrup tastes best, but you can use sugar or more ice cream too.

Q. But how do I know if it needs more sweetening?
A. If you aren't sure, wait and add it after the other ingredients are blended. You can always taste test the smoothie and add sweetening later if it doesn't taste sweet enough. Whether you need additional sweetening depends on what original ingredients you use. If you added apples and orange juice as most of the smoothie, you will probably need more sugar. If it's mostly peaches and fresh strawberries, you probably won't. So it depends.

#6 Blend & Adjust
Once you've filled up the blender with stuff, blend until it looks fairly even. If it doesnt' stir well, add more liquidy ingredients. Taste test the smoothie. Then comes the hard part, deciding what it needs more of. This is why they make recipies in the first place; some people have a really hard time tasting something and figuring out what's missing. So to help you out, here are some suggestions for common flavor problems you might encounter
 

if the smoothie is...	try adding...
too sweet	apples, orange juice, water, unsweetened applesauce
too thick	orange juice, apple sauce, milk
not sweet enough	syrup, sugar (add SLOWLY... it's easy to get too much), more flavorful fruit
bitter	strawberries, blackberries, ice cream
too runny	Frozen berries, Ice cream
too bland	vanilla, cinnamon, blackberries, fresh oranges
grainy (too much apple)	sweetener and oranges

And now you should have "the best smoothie ever". Keep trying different combos of ingredients till you find one you like.

Here's a few different smoothie ideas to get you started...but keep in mind the amounts estimates since I don't measure when I cook. You might need to adjust the amounts to your taste.

Winter-fruit Smoothie:
1 apple
1 orange
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 cup milk

Berry-Julius Smoothie:
orange juice concentrate
frozen blackberries, raspberries, and/or blueberries
sugar
ice
milk

"whatever's in the fridge" smoothie:
1 apple
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup apple cider juice
syrup
sweet vanilla ice cream
frozen blackberries, blueberrries, strawberries, raspberries