Smoothies

dogberry3

I use 3 cups cold water, 2 ice cubes, half package of pure trim milk chocolate Mediterranean wellness shake, 200 g frozen bananas, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 handful frozen spinach, and lately 2 tbsp Chocolate PB2 powder! Amazing!! I also use their Rich N creamy vanilla shake, 1/2 package, with all the same stuff, minus the PB2 powder, and then I add vanilla extract to it too (:

The big problem I have with things like Protein powders and the like is that I'm trying to live naturally. All those diet "shakes" and powders don't occur in nature and I'm not sure how good they are for us in the long run. I want to eat real food in proper quantities for long term weight loss and health. I am grossly overweight but my goal is only 3 lbs a week because I want to stick with this for a long time. If I stick to this then in a year I will have lost 150 lbs and be at a much more manageable weight. Once I'm down to a "normal" weight I plan to just allow more calories for maintenance but still eat the same foods and the same way I do now.

dogberry3

Carrots are another good one (make sure your blender is glass tho-especially if it's taking on ice cubes)
Carrots are naturally sweet and if you like texture, you can blend your smoothie a little less and get something that fruits usually don't always have the structure of. My favorite carrot combo would be carrots, raspberries, strawberries and black berries with a fresh sprig of Mint , fresh Basal OR lemon. (not all three)

I have a cuisinart that is plastic that you can blend ice in but it tells you the max amount of ice in a blender cup so I think I'm ok. I couldn't eat carrots in a smoothie if I tried they are probably my least favorite vegetable due to the fact that in the 80's my mum was in to juicing and she made us drink carrot juice almost every day for about a year. BLECH! now I only like cooked carrots with a roast and I can taste them no matter what other stuff is put around them!

dogberry3

i know you said you dont want flaxseed in yours but walgreens carries a flaxseed oil that you dont taste at all

Explain why I would want to put flaxseed or flaxseed oil in a smoothie? wouldn't an oil have quite a few calories per tsp/Tbsp? My reasoning for not putting it in is because it isn't really a common food and I eat lots of veggies (I have a salad every day that is an entire head of red or green leaf lettuce and tomatoes, plus my veggies at dinner and fruits at breakfast and snack) What is the obsession with flaxseed?

Christina_3192

1 cup of milk
1 cup of fruit, any would work, i used the mixed bag of fruit from walmart lol
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 tablespoons of peanut butter

391 calories of deliciousness.

Also sometimes i give a little squirt of the mio energy stuff if I need a caffeine buzz.

jaded_rose

I have smoothies every morning for breakfast before work. I freeze the fruit so I don't have to use ice. i use 1/4 cup oats or flax meal for fiber so it will stay with me longer. I also use 1/2 scoop of whey protian. I usually use 1/2 a banana and switch out between strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. I also use a cup of almond milk, 1/2 tsp ground ginger & 1 tsp of cinnamon for taste.

dogberry3

Well one reason I use ice is because for me this is about cutting calories and if I made a 16 oz shake with just fruit the calories would be around 400 and I try to keep my smoothies to around 250. This morning I made another one and I'm loving it.

Ice, 1/2 cup 2% milk, a medium banana, a Tbsp of instant coffee (I thinki'm going to use about 1/2 a Tbsp next time the coffee flavour is stronger than I wanted) and 4 Tbsp of Wal-marts Fat free chocolate flavoured syrup. Even with the stronger coffee flavour I'm still LOVING it. (P.S. the instant coffee is imported from England where they know how to make instant coffee taste delicious)

babycook

I put coconut oil in mine. You need healthy fats in your diet.
I use berries. I buy them and freeze them myself if I can't use them all up before they go bad.
I also put spinach in them. You can't taste it. But it does change the colour of the smoothie.

chris1816

If you insist on being some sort of naturalist or whatever that is as you process foods down into an easily consumable liquid form:

Hemp protein powder (or if this is too unnatural)
Hemp hearts

One is just the ground up form of the other; rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, fiber, vitamin a, and a bunch of other nutrients. Goji berries (usually dried) are a good fruit to add to smoothies as they have a high protein content for fruit (a complete one at that), rich in zinc, vitamin a, c etc.

The reason why people are on the d*ck of flax seed so much is that it is a decent additive to most baked goods, smoothies etc as a form of protein, fiber, and good fats without adding a ton of calories. Flax seed oil isn't the ideal form but is pretty good, your aversion to it seems odd as most healthy foods require some sort of fat along with it for you to actually absorb all of their nutrients.

Now back to prime protein sources; greek yogurt is another and of course; whey protein powder. Sure it cannot be found in nature but neither can 2% milk, instant coffee or fat free chocolate flavored syrup (which you should replace with raw cacao powder anyway). Whey is nothing more than part of what is left over from making many cheeses (I bet you've eaten ricotta), and really is not very processed at all; it doesn't need to be. It is like adding powdered, unsweetened skim milk to something. You will get a concentrated amount of quality protein without a bunch of other crap. I recommend the six pound bag of vanilla Crytosport whey costco sells.

Hey it worked for Little Miss Muppet.


PS Spinach in smoothies is awesome, especially with strawberries (and yes it will be green as all hell and you won't be able to taste it generally, Kale on the other hand tastes like you are drinking liquid plant no matter what)

ZiezieO

Carrots are another good one (make sure your blender is glass tho-especially if it's taking on ice cubes)
Carrots are naturally sweet and if you like texture, you can blend your smoothie a little less and get something that fruits usually don't always have the structure of. My favorite carrot combo would be carrots, raspberries, strawberries and black berries with a fresh sprig of Mint , fresh Basal OR lemon. (not all three)

I have a cuisinart that is plastic that you can blend ice in but it tells you the max amount of ice in a blender cup so I think I'm ok. I couldn't eat carrots in a smoothie if I tried they are probably my least favorite vegetable due to the fact that in the 80's my mum was in to juicing and she made us drink carrot juice almost every day for about a year. BLECH! now I only like cooked carrots with a roast and I can taste them no matter what other stuff is put around them!

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND haha, my friends try to get me to drink asparagus infused drinks and they make me gag... I'm sure other people love them, but not this girl

ZiezieO

I know you said you like spinach as spinach. I LOVE it too, it's great... but really, how many salads are you going to consume before you can't pick up the fork anymore? That's where I found myself when I just couldn't eat another leaf.... and I fell in love with secret spinach smoothies! It's just an option for when you get bored

Don't be scared about colors, be in love with the FLAVORS
I really like this Topic, so many people have so many new recipes to try!

dogberry3

I know you said you like spinach as spinach. I LOVE it too, it's great... but really, how many salads are you going to consume before you can't pick up the fork anymore?

Actually I have always loved salads and I now eat one every day. My lunch consists of a whole head of red leaf lettuce and 3 oz of grape tomatoes and a small amount of natual salad dressing. I also discovered Pretzel Crisps from Snack factory are a great way to add crunch to my salad while still getting my salt and carb craving out of the way. I LOVE veggies so eating veggies isn't a problem for me!

robot_potato

I put a banana, whatever fruit i have and plain greek yogurt. Usually i have berries, i freeze them and that with the greek yogurt thickens the smoothie rather than adding ice. I love banana/peach combo, and banana/orange/pineapple.

emily_fox

Strawberry/Banana Vanilla Smoothie

1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
1/2 Banana
1 Cup 2% Milk
1/4 Cup of Vanilla Nonfat Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Honey

YUM!