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Go for Green® Guidelines:
Smoothie Bar
Overview
Specialty bars are an excellent way to increase variety beyond what’s oered on the Main/Hotline. When
creating a Smoothie Bar, consider the following performance-minded guidelines to help you meet the Go
for Green
®
(G4G) Menu Coding Goals.
Smoothies are an increasingly popular menu item at commercial restaurants and cafes. You can also nd
smoothie packets or concentrates at the grocery store, and many recipes are available to create smoothies
at home.
Blend Whole Foods to Optimize Nutrition
A Smoothie Bar is a great way to serve more nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, plant- or dairy-based
protein, and healthy fats by oering a variety of fresh or frozen produce, nut butters, and seeds, combined
with milk, juice, or yogurt.
Smoothies can be high in calories and sugar, and not all smoothies code “Green.” Sta should follow
recipes as written to maintain G4G color-code accuracy. Be mindful of portion sizes too: Smaller sizes
(8–12 ounces) might be more appropriate with a meal, while larger sizes (16 ounces) can be meal
replacements. Premade sweetened smoothie concentrates, avored yogurt, juice, honey, and other forms
of sweeteners can contribute to high amounts of added sugar in the nal product. Minimize added sugar
in smoothies by letting the natural sweetness of whole fruits shine as the primary sweetener.
Some traditional smoothie ingredients can be expensive (for example, berries), so consider your budget
when designing a smoothie bar. Use frozen or leover produce, oer fewer choices, or serve smaller sizes
to decrease costs.
A Flavorful Addition to your Menu
Oering a Smoothie Bar provides a way to expand your breakfast menu as a meal replacement or
addition to traditional options. is type of bar could serve ingredients to create a variety of smoothie
combinations, 1–2 preset smoothie recipes, or as a “made-to-order” menu item. You can start by
oering a Smoothie Bar once a week to test diner interest and make sure the setup works well for your
sta and facility. Oering it only occasionally can make it a more special for diners. Both premade
and customized smoothies can be a great addition for diners looking for on-the-go options. Specic
combinations of ingredients can also meet nutrition guidelines for recovery snacks, making it a quick
and easy refueling option.
Dierent types of food service venues (dining facility/galley, snack bar, micro market, etc.) can serve
smoothies. Customize your facility’s oerings, ingredients, and serving station style (premade, pick-up, or
made-to-order) based on your available space, equipment, and stang. Consider your diner headcount
and ow: It’s probably more realistic to oer “made-to-order” smoothies if you’re serving less diners. For
a higher head count, premade or fewer smoothie options might be more practical.
Your dining-facility sta inuences what Service Members choose to eat through what your facility serves
as well as where your sta places menu items. Featuring Green-coded menu items in prominent places
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and educating diners on how to create healthy meals encourages them to choose Green- and Yellow-coded
options over Red-coded ones. Your sta can also encourage diners to be creative and design their own
meals with dierent Green-coded items throughout the dining facility. For example, Service Members can
pair a Green-coded protein, such as an egg-white omelet (from a specialty bar), with Green-coded items,
such as a smoothie (from the Smoothie Bar), for a balanced, delicious, complete meal.
G4G Menu Coding Goals for Dining Facilities
e G4G Menu Coding Goals can be found at https://www.hprc-online.org/nutrition/go-green/food/
menus-specialty-bars/master-recipe-list/program-requirements-appendix-g-g4g.
▶ At least 50% of smoothies must be Green-coded.
1 FOOD PLACEMENT/SETUP
▶ Commercial-grade blenders are best for a smoothie bar as they can likely handle all ingredients
at once. Otherwise, add ingredients in the following steps so the blender doesn’t jam or get stuck.
Total prep time is about 2 minutes.
• Step 1: Add your liquid, yogurt, or tofu with ½ of your fruits and vegetables to a clean blender
pitcher. Don’t thaw frozen fruit or vegetables.
> Blend for 15–30 seconds to make a mixture that will prevent the blender from binding up
as you add ingredients.
• Step 2: Add the rest of the fruit, veggies, nut butter, ice, and any other ingredients.
> Blend for 30–60 seconds until smooth.
• Step 3: If using egg white powder, add it last to prevent the smoothie from becoming too
frothy.
> Blend for 15 seconds.
▶ For high-volume smoothie bars, use multiple pitchers for the same blender bottom. Clean the
used pitcher between smoothie preparations.
▶ If smoothies are made ahead in large batches, double or triple the amount of ingredients based on
blender size.
• Some prepared smoothies can stay blended for 4 hours if chilled in the refrigerator or an ice
bath at a temperature of 35–41°F.
▶ e diagrams below shows 3 ways to present the Smoothie Bar according to G4G guidance. Use
the equipment you have on hand to mimic these ideas. Consider low-cost changes and moving
equipment within the dining facility or galley when you can.
Option #1: Preset Smoothie Menu
▶ Diners choose from a menu of preset smoothies. Depending on the recipe, they can customize the
smoothie with the milk of their choice (or other liquids) for sta to blend. For example:
▶ To start, you can oer a few simple recipes then expand as able.
• Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
• Blue Banana Smoothie (choice or milk or nondairy alternative)
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▶ Freeze preportioned solid ingredients (berries, bananas, vegetables) in cups for ecient smoothie
preparation; store near blender.
▶ Keep liquids (juice, milk, water) in a refrigerator close to the blender.
Counter
Vanilla
(G)
Honey
(Y )
Fridge
Milk
(G)
Milk (soy)
(G)
Plain
Greek
yogurt
(G)
Orange juice
(Y)
Freezer
Blueberries
(G)
Strawberries
(G)
Bananas
(G)
Mango
(G)
Signage
Smoothies
#1 – Blue Banana (choice of milk)
#2 – Strawberry-Banana
Option #2: Make-your-own
▶ Diners choose from a variety of ingredients to make their own combination; sta blends.
▶ Set up a cold line with fruit, vegetables, yogurt, nut butters, tofu, cooked lentils or beans.
▶ Place liquids in a refrigerator or in bottles over ice.
▶ Place nonperishable avorings and fresh avocados and bananas on the counter for diners to see.
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Make-your-own options layout
Cold Counter
Spinach
(G)
Mango
(G)
Peanut
butter
(Y)
Cooked
lentils
(G)
100% juice
(Y)
Vanilla,
cocoa powder,
cinnamon,
nutmeg,
turmeric
Carrots
(G)
Pineapple
(G)
Almond
butter
(G)
Tofu
(G)
Milk
(G)
Banana
(G)
Cucumbers
(G)
Strawberries
(G)
Blueberries
(G)
Plain
yogurt
(G)
Milk (soy)
(G)
Avocado
(G)
Diner ow of trac
Option #3: Grab ‘n go
▶ Fully premade smoothies for diners to quickly grab and go.
▶ Best if there’s a lot of turnover, since smoothies don’t hold well for long periods of time.
Grab ‘n go options layout
C-310-00
Tropical Twist Protein
Smoothie
C-310-00
Tropical Twist Protein
Smoothie
C-306-00
e Green Machine
C-305-00
e Elvis Smoothie
C-305-00
e Elvis Smoothie
C-313-00
Tart Raspberry Lime
Protein Smoothie
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2 FOOD ITEMS
▶ Use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables based on what’s available at your facility.
• Smoothies are a great way to use leover produce from previous meals (avoid browned or
spoiled fruit).
▶ Using frozen fruits and vegetables in place of fresh fruits and vegetables adds thickness, so you
might not need to add ice.
▶ Fruit is nutrient-dense and adds natural sweetness.
• Try berries, mango, banana, pineapple, peaches, apples, kiwi, cantaloupe, and watermelon.
▶ Vegetables improve nutritional value by adding vitamins and minerals.
• Spinach, kale, avocado, carrot, cucumber, and summer squash work well.
▶ Use water, milk, or unsweetened nondairy milk instead of juice to adjust the smoothie’s thickness
without adding sugar.
▶ Include protein for a more lling smoothie; you can use both plant- and dairy-based options.
• Options include yogurt, milk, tofu, cooked legumes (lentils and beans), nut butters (almond
butter and peanut butter), and powdered egg whites.
▶ Add 2–4 Tbsp of cooked beans per smoothie for a plant-based protein boost.
• Chickpeas, navy beans, and black beans are all good options; drain and rinse. For example,
Tart Raspberry Lime Protein Smoothie (C-313-03) contains chickpeas.
• To avoid creating a gray hue, use light-colored beans in light-colored smoothies and black
beans for smoothies with chocolate, blueberries, or other dark ingredients.
▶ Oer avor boosters to add variety and help diners customize smoothies to their preference.
• Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, and unsweetened cocoa powder add spice.
3 FEATURED ITEM
▶ Create a Green-coded “Featured Smoothie” to encourage diners to try a new way to enjoy their
fruit and veggies. Diners will take your advice!
▶ e display for your “Featured Smoothie” should include a sign with:
• Smoothie name
• Ingredients list
• Nutritional benets (for example, “great recovery snack”)—if you’re able to work with a local dietitian.
▶ Within 6 months of launching G4G (or Smoothie Bar), work toward displaying a photo of the
“Featured Smoothie.”
▶ “Featured Smoothie” recipe ideas:
• Pineapple Avocado Smoothie: Pineapple juice (¾ cup) + frozen pineapple chunks (1¼ cup) +
spinach (2 cup) + avocado (¼ avocado) + banana (½ small banana) + vanilla extract (1 tsp) +
ice cubes (⅓ cup) + egg white powder (3 Tbsp + 1 tsp)
• Banana Java Protein Smoothie: Brewed coee (1 cup), frozen banana (1¼ cup), almond milk
(¼ cup), almond butter (1 Tbsp) + cocoa powder (1 tsp) + egg white powder (3 Tbsp)
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• e Elvis (Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie): Banana (1 medium- to large-sized banana) +
plain Greek yogurt (½ cup) + peanut butter (⅓ cup) + honey (2 Tbsp) + ice cubes (1 cup)
• Tropical Green Protein Smoothie: Frozen mango (¾ cup) + frozen pineapple (¾ cup) + milk
(½ cup) + pineapple juice (½ cup) + spinach (1½ cup) + egg white powder (3 Tbsp)
4 BEST PRACTICES & INNOVATIONS
Use these best practices from commercial and military establishments as inspiration for building your
Smoothie Bar.
Suggested Smoothie Bar Recipes to Meet G4G Menu Coding Goals
Use the following recipes and ingredients to build your Smoothie Bar, increase the number of Green-
coded options, and keep diners interested. Smoothies can be premade using the AFRS recipes below or
made-to-order. ere are many more ways to create an endless variety of smoothies!
Note: Smoothies are not coded for sodium.
Recipe G4G Color Code AFRS Recipe Number
Cherry-Berry Smoothie Green C-304-00
e Green Machine (Kiwi Avocado Smoothie) Green C-306-00
Strawberry-Banana Smoothie Green C-307-00
Tropi-Kale Smoothie Green C-308-00
Tropical Twist Protein Smoothie Green C-310-00
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Recipe G4G Color Code AFRS Recipe Number
Blue Banana Smoothie Green C-312-00
Tropical Green Protein Smoothie Green C-314-00
Tropical Green Protein Smoothie (Almond Milk) Green C-314-01
Tropical Green Protein Smoothie (Soy Milk) Green C-314-02
Banana Java Protein Smoothie Green C-315-00
Banana Java Protein Smoothie (Almond Milk) Green C-315-01
Banana Java Protein Smoothie (Soy Milk) Green C-315-02
Mixed Berry Smoothie Green C-316-00
Pineapple Avocado Smoothie Green C-316-01
e Elvis (Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie) Yel low C-305-00
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie (Tofu) Yel low C-311-00
Tart Raspberry Lime Protein Smoothie Yel low C-313-00
Tart Raspberry Lime Protein Smoothie (Almond Milk) Yel low C-313-01
Tart Raspberry Lime Protein Smoothie (Soy Milk) Yel low C-313-02
Build-your-Own Smoothie Examples
Category Examples
Liquids
Milk (whole, soy, almond, oat, coconut), apple, orange, or pineapple juice (best
with tropical fruits), cranberry or grape juice (best with dark berries), chilled
coee or tea
Fruits
Berries, cherries, peaches, cantaloupe, tropical fruits (pineapple, mango,
papaya), ripe bananas, kiwi, watermelon
Vegetables
Spinach, baby kale, frozen (or fresh, steamed and chilled) carrot slices, frozen
cauliower, peeled cucumber, avocado
Proteins
Yogurt (Greek or traditional, plain or vanilla), silken tofu, nut butters (almond,
cashew, or peanut), walnuts, almonds, cashews, chia seeds, ground axseed, egg
white powder
Sweeteners Banana, natural sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, agave)
Flavor enhancers Vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground ginger, cocoa powder, fresh ginger
* AFRS recipes can be found on the G4G web page: https://www.hprc-online.org/nutrition/go-green/
food/recipes
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