equiraptor
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,951
- Location
- Houston, Texas, USA
- Car(s)
- Many cars, mostly very vroomy
Smoothies - delicious, yummy fruit combined with whatever-else to make a relatively healthy slurry of yumminess. I've always loved smoothies, but have been too lazy to make them regularly. Cleaning the blender, keeping fruit on hand, figuring out just what to mix, where, and how... I tended to get my smoothies from Jamba Juice. I tended to go for Strawberries Wild (Apple Strawberry Juice Blend, nonfat frozen yogurt (Contains Milk), Strawberries, Bananas, Ice) or, once they introduced their "all fruit" line, Strawberry Whirl (Apple-Strawberry Juice Blend, Strawberries, Bananas). But pre-made smoothies are expensive, so these were just occasional things.
I recently re-watched the episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown talks about his weight loss. In it, he mentions he has a smoothie every day for breakfast, and provides a basic recipe for them. This inspired me. Frozen fruit... We have space in the freezer. That's easy to keep on hand, won't go bad if I forget it, I won't be wasting lots of fruit and I can have a variety.
What neither the recipe nor the video clip include, but is included in the show, is that the recipe is not so firm as that would have you believe. The juice should be a "purple" (blue/red/whatever) fruit juice. The banana stays banana (want the creaminess from it), but if the bananas happen to be aging, they can be frozen as well. Then it's a "red" fruit, a "blue/purple/black" fruit, and a "yellow/orange" fruit. As I quite like blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, and all three were available frozen at my local store, these were my chosen fruits for my first few smoothies. I also used a red grape juice rather than acai (expensive) or pomegranate (I seem to not be so fond of pomegranate).
I used my entire batch of initial fruit in 4 days, so last night I went to the store and picked up more. I had been using the standard 2% cow's milk that we have for the smoothies, and I realized after getting to the store, I had no idea how much milk we had. I didn't want to run out and have to come back, but I didn't want to be without milk... so instead I picked up some almond milk (unsweetened vanilla). This'll hold in the fridge until we're low on milk, so having "too much" isn't a big deal. An added benefit of the almond milk is calories - the 2% cow's milk is ~60 calories per smoothie, soy milk is also ~60 calories per smoothie, but the almond milk is 20 calories per smoothie. My second set of fruit includes some pineapple, some mango, and blackberries, as well as blueberries and strawberries. I'm sticking with strawberries as my red fruit as they're my favorite fruit. I bought a 5 pound bag.
Yes, I bought a FIVE POUND bag of frozen strawberries. Over 2kg. The other fruits were in weights ranging from 10oz (~283g) to one pound (~454g).I also got a "tropical mix" bag - banana, pineapple, mango, and peach. This morning's smoothie was grape juice, cow milk, fresh banana, and frozen pineapple, blueberry, and strawberry. I do taste a difference, switching the peach for pineapple. I don't really taste pineapple (nor did I taste peach), but there's just a hit less sweet and a very slightly different texture. Of course, that could also be because I didn't actually weigh the ingredients this time. The batteries in our kitchen scale have died!
I also only drank only one glass of smoothie this morning. The full 24oz (by weight) will fill this particular glass twice, so I only had about half the smoothie. That's fine - the rest is waiting for tomorrow morning - but it's a change from previous days. I'd drink down the first glass nearly immediately, then refill and sip the second glass as my morning drifted away.
At some point, I'll have to take some pictures of these smoothies. They end up quite purple.
I haven't started adding any additives to the smoothies, though Nugget has suggested brewer's yeast. He tells me it has a strong flavor, which is why I've been timid about adding it (oh, and I keep forgetting in my excitement over the fruit). I've also had recommendations to add baby spinach and boiled beets. What else would be worth adding?
What smoothies do yall make? Buy? Drink regularly? What leads you to the smoothies? What do you like about them? What would you change, if you could?
I recently re-watched the episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown talks about his weight loss. In it, he mentions he has a smoothie every day for breakfast, and provides a basic recipe for them. This inspired me. Frozen fruit... We have space in the freezer. That's easy to keep on hand, won't go bad if I forget it, I won't be wasting lots of fruit and I can have a variety.
What neither the recipe nor the video clip include, but is included in the show, is that the recipe is not so firm as that would have you believe. The juice should be a "purple" (blue/red/whatever) fruit juice. The banana stays banana (want the creaminess from it), but if the bananas happen to be aging, they can be frozen as well. Then it's a "red" fruit, a "blue/purple/black" fruit, and a "yellow/orange" fruit. As I quite like blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, and all three were available frozen at my local store, these were my chosen fruits for my first few smoothies. I also used a red grape juice rather than acai (expensive) or pomegranate (I seem to not be so fond of pomegranate).
I used my entire batch of initial fruit in 4 days, so last night I went to the store and picked up more. I had been using the standard 2% cow's milk that we have for the smoothies, and I realized after getting to the store, I had no idea how much milk we had. I didn't want to run out and have to come back, but I didn't want to be without milk... so instead I picked up some almond milk (unsweetened vanilla). This'll hold in the fridge until we're low on milk, so having "too much" isn't a big deal. An added benefit of the almond milk is calories - the 2% cow's milk is ~60 calories per smoothie, soy milk is also ~60 calories per smoothie, but the almond milk is 20 calories per smoothie. My second set of fruit includes some pineapple, some mango, and blackberries, as well as blueberries and strawberries. I'm sticking with strawberries as my red fruit as they're my favorite fruit. I bought a 5 pound bag.
Yes, I bought a FIVE POUND bag of frozen strawberries. Over 2kg. The other fruits were in weights ranging from 10oz (~283g) to one pound (~454g).I also got a "tropical mix" bag - banana, pineapple, mango, and peach. This morning's smoothie was grape juice, cow milk, fresh banana, and frozen pineapple, blueberry, and strawberry. I do taste a difference, switching the peach for pineapple. I don't really taste pineapple (nor did I taste peach), but there's just a hit less sweet and a very slightly different texture. Of course, that could also be because I didn't actually weigh the ingredients this time. The batteries in our kitchen scale have died!
I also only drank only one glass of smoothie this morning. The full 24oz (by weight) will fill this particular glass twice, so I only had about half the smoothie. That's fine - the rest is waiting for tomorrow morning - but it's a change from previous days. I'd drink down the first glass nearly immediately, then refill and sip the second glass as my morning drifted away.
At some point, I'll have to take some pictures of these smoothies. They end up quite purple.
I haven't started adding any additives to the smoothies, though Nugget has suggested brewer's yeast. He tells me it has a strong flavor, which is why I've been timid about adding it (oh, and I keep forgetting in my excitement over the fruit). I've also had recommendations to add baby spinach and boiled beets. What else would be worth adding?
What smoothies do yall make? Buy? Drink regularly? What leads you to the smoothies? What do you like about them? What would you change, if you could?
