Stick to the basics

When it comes to making the ultimate fruit smoothie, sometimes it's better to stick to the basics. Marketing for super fruits has reached all new heights, and lets face it - it's really good marketing. With the new acai craze, the berry that supposedly packs more of an antioxidant punch than any of its soft fruit competitors, sales hit $104 million - more than double the 2007 figure according to the market analysis firm Spins. People have gone crazy for Naked Juices and similar products, but in the end these commercial mixes can contain way more sugar and even fat than your own homemade smoothie.

In the September 2009 Men's Health magazine featured an article Pulp Fiction that exposed exotic juices and the craze over the acai berry. In studies, sites claimed that the acai berry packed more than 8 times more antioxidants than blueberries. However, the comparison was between an acai powder and real blueberries.

Here's a couple of the biggest fakers out there. POM Wonderful says that pomegranate may help thwart cancer and improve heart health, but P.K. Shah, M.D., director of the division of cardiology at Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in LA, says the lab data is inconsistent. Goji juice, claimed to be the world's most powerful antiaging food, also isn't telling you whole truth. Goji contains polysaccharides, which may protect cells from free radicals that cause aging, a study of mice suggests. But research in people hasn't shown anything conclusive.

Check out Men's Health top 3 smoothie recipes here at the Blender Bender.

For a more specific purpose from brain boosting to muscle building, check out these smoothie recipes to cater to your every need.