any thoughts on home made fruit smoothies?

TropicalFlowerz
TropicalFlowerz Posts: 1,990 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I wanna go by a blender and incorp. more fruits to my diet,will use skim milk,or almond or soy,any good recipes?? ,...or is this not a good idea?
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Replies

  • Brent_J
    Brent_J Posts: 54
    It's a great idea. I bought a Blendtec blender and I have a green smoothie about once per day.

    Usually, spinich, banana, and some other fruit. Milk if I'm hungry and need calories, water if I'm trying to be healthy. I'm going to buy almond milk this week and try it out as well.

    Lots of fruit will mess up your sugar numbers, but it is healthy fruit and healthy sugars, so I ignore it.
  • bizorra
    bizorra Posts: 151 Member
    I make fruit smoothies with frozen spinach mixed in! I use almond milk and rice protein powder. I don't know if its a good idea or not, but I find them tasty and easy to drink on the bus.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    I love home made smoothies. Here's my favourite recipe:

    1 scoop vanilla flavoured protein powder (get a good brand some vanilla flavours are better than others)
    50g frozen mango
    50g frozen strawberry
    50g frozen guava
    100g milk/yoghurt/laban - use low fat varieties if you prefer (whatever fits in with your goals/macros)

    blend

    I have this as my post workout meal, and it tastes like ice cream. (i eat it out of a bowl with a spoon rather than drinking it) It's high in sugar (albeit natural sugar from fruits) so if you have a reason to avoid sugar then you might prefer to use a different recipe that has less fruit in it, you can get various "green" smoothies that are more veggie based.
  • michelle_mareshfuehrer
    michelle_mareshfuehrer Posts: 312 Member
    I've been doing this as ameal replacement every day with some vanilla protein powder I bought from GNC. Good recipes:

    5 raspberries
    10 blueberries
    2 large strawberries
    1 cup unsweetened almond milk
    1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional of course)
    1 cup ice

    Blend.


    Doing just strawberries and bananas with the protein and almond is good too.
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 810 Member
    Fruit smoothie recipe:

    10 medium-large frozen strawberries
    4 ounces unsweetened cranberry juice
    1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
    stevia to taste

    Put cranberry juice in blender, add protein powder. Mix well. Add berries one at a time. Blend after each one. (Usually on a low speed and then up it.) If you add them all at once they will stick together and clump. Add stevia to taste.

    I also throw in frozen blueberries with the strawberries. YUM!

    By using frozen strawberries it makes it like a milkshake. I tried fresh and wasn't impressed. No milk so lower calories!
  • LovePBandJ
    LovePBandJ Posts: 288 Member
    Smoothies are great. Sometime within the last week someone posted seeking advice for the best blender. You may want to search for that post.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    Awesome idea! I use 1 cup almond milk, a scoop of protein powder, 1/4 cup of instant oats (adds a little bit of bulk and you can't taste it), and whatever fruit I have in the fridge - fresh or frozen. If I'm using fresh, I add ice cubes to make it cold. Awesome.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Great idea!

    I love my smoothies!

    But, go for Almond milk over soy and if you decide to add any whey style protein. Look for versions that do not include soy.

    I like bananas, strawberries, greek yogurt, almond milk as a recovery smoothie.
  • shierrarobin
    shierrarobin Posts: 181
    Omg! I just found an old smoothie blender in the back of my cabinet that I didn't even know I had, and I've made 3 kinds of smoothies so far. I'd be more than happy to tell you how I made them. Now before I tell you, just keep in mind that I am obsessed with Strawberry Banana smoothies of any kind. :laugh:

    Okay, my first smoothie I call the Strawberry-Banana Gogurt smoothie:

    1 cup of 0% fat free milk
    1 medium sized Banana
    4 strawberries
    1 stick of low fat strawberry-banana gogurt

    All together 228 calories, 50 carbs, 1 gram of fat, and 7 grams of protein

    And that's it. Just blend those together to get your smoothie. You can also throw some ice in there if you want a frozen smoothie.

    My second smoothie I call the Strawberry-Banana Cream Smoothie:

    1 cup 0% milk
    1 medium sized banana
    3 strawberries
    1 container of Yoplait Light Banana cream pie flavored yogurt

    The third I call the Strawberry-Banana Lemon Cream Smoothie

    It has all the same ingredients as the Banana Cream smoothie except you use Yoplait Light Lemon Cream Pie flavored yogurt.

    The Banana cream and Lemon cream smoothies both have 288 calories, 59 carbs, no fat, and 14 grams of protein.

    I haven't been able to afford it yet, but I've been wanting to buy some powdered protein to add to these. I would suggest doing that and make you a protein smoothie. :drinker:
  • anastasiaBH
    anastasiaBH Posts: 268 Member
    I use 1/2 cup each of frozen strawberries, frozen raspberries, and frozen blueberries (makes a thicker smoothie)
    1 - 1 1/4 cup light vanilla soy milk
    1 scoop vanilla protein powder, or cookies & cream protein powder
    2 tbsp ground flaxseed meal

    I let the fruit defrost a bit before mixing, combine all ingredients & blend.
    (I use an immersion blender)
  • YouAreTheShit
    YouAreTheShit Posts: 510 Member
    Lot's of good advice and recipes. Watch the sugar in your fruits!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    My personal recipe:

    1 banana
    1/2 cup raspberries
    1/2 cup blackberries
    1 cup blueberries
    1 T Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
    Ice

    I don't use milk, juice or yogurt, but there really is no wrong way to make a smoothie. It's all in what you like.
    Watch the sugar in your fruits!

    Stop.It.
  • bradp1979
    bradp1979 Posts: 154 Member
    I LOVE homemade smoothies!
    Here's my recipe:

    Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
    1 serving of light vanilla yogurt
    1 banana
    1 cup of mixed berries
    Ice

    Put the ice in the bottom of the blender, squeeze the 1/2 lemon over it, add the fruit and yogurt, and blend.

    It's delicious, and low calorie.
  • Bug207
    Bug207 Posts: 58 Member
    Well everyone else's sound a lot healthier than mine, but I'll share my recipe anyway:

    1 cup Minute Maid Light 15 Lemonade
    1 6oz cup of Chobani non fat plain yogurt
    50-60g fresh pineapple
    50-60g fresh strawberries

    I toss that all in the blender, let it go for a little bit, and then add in a handful of ice cubes and select the ice crush setting on my blender. It ends up being pretty huge with around 155 calories, 16g sugar, and 18g of protein depending of course on how much fruit you choose to put in.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    It's an awesome idea! The recipes are endless and are as healthy as you make them. We make smoothies with frozen berries, bananas, plain greek yogurt and skim milk. One of my faves is adding the 25 calorie diet swiss miss cocoa mix to it.. it tastes just like a banana split. :) Sometimes we add protein powder, cocoa and flax seed. Buy fruit in bulk and freeze it on cookie sheets then toss it in ziploc bags. Even bananas, if they get overripe, they are awesome as they add sweetness and flavor. I just peel them, wrap in plastic wrap and toss in the freezer. It's easier to make the smoothies tho if you cut them in chunks first. We also use mango, peaches nectarines, black sweet cherries, blueberries, raspberries and pineapple. Just about any fruit will do. Some people even put spinach in them but I prefer to just eat that in a salad. :)
  • klewlis
    klewlis Posts: 79 Member
    I keep frozen berries on hand for this very purpose! :)

    For more protein and thickness, you can add yogurt.

    Today I made one with yogurt, fresh blueberries and strawberries, and a bit of happy planet juice that I had left over.

    You can also add ice. If I have bananas on hand, those go in too.

    And I have been known to add some All Bran Buds once in awhile if I want more fibre.
  • TropicalFlowerz
    TropicalFlowerz Posts: 1,990 Member
    thank you all so much,will def be buying a blender today,fruit,prtien powder,flaxseed,..and yogurt!! or almond milk,..heck any 'ol crazy thing i come up with THANX!:laugh:
  • dsimpson112
    dsimpson112 Posts: 6
    If you are looking for something really yummy and DIFFERENT! Try this for late night chocolate cravings...I use it when I'm about to drive to the store for peppermint patties

    1 cup Skim milk (or whatever milk you drink...almond, rice etc.)
    1 cup ice
    1 scoop CHOCOLATE protein powder
    1 tsp MINT extract
    1 packet of splenda or whatever sugar substitute you choose

    Baking extracts open up a whole new world with the blender and protein powder! LOVE IT!
  • kreuzen
    kreuzen Posts: 188 Member
    That's a great idea. I am very excited because I have broken 3 of my parents blenders when I was younger from making SO MANY SMOOTHIES! and should have a brand new at my house waiting for me (Thanks to the BF). Soy, milk, water, yogurt, almond, coconut. Anything is good. You may need to try a few different recipes.
    *have you heard of the Green Monster Smoothie? http://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/04/my-top-secret-diet-weapon/ It's good (I like to try different flavors of yogurt or adding berries as well. :smile:

    I also found this: 7 detox smoothies - also explains what each of them does for your body. http://girlgetstrong.com/2011/10/10/7-detox-smoothies-with-added-health-detox-benefits/

    Smoothies are AWESOME! :drinker:

    I also drink Shakeology, so when it comes to chocolate protein powder, I might be able to incorporate some of the Chocolate recipes. http://www.decidetostayfit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/shakeology-recipes.pdf

    Enjoy and drink up! :drinker:
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
    I love just mixing frozen fruit and milk. So good.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
    great idea, even maybe add some good vitamin enriched protien powder for a complete benefit!
  • huskergramma
    huskergramma Posts: 2
    I have made banana smoothies using one banana, 1c. skim milk, 1 packet splenda and about 6 ice cubes. Great treat and I am sure you can experiment with different fruit and other additions.
  • TMF1123
    TMF1123 Posts: 71 Member
    these all sound great, i if i have bananas that turn brown i peel them, slice in half and put them in the freezer for smooties.

    my current favorite is:
    1/2 banana
    1/2 cup frozen mango
    1/2 cup frozen dark cherries
    1/2 cup greek yogurt
    tablespoon hershey's cocoa powder
    dash of vanilla
    sweetner of choice
    ice..

    blend... Yum E.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    be careful of all the sugar in the fruit. the carbs add up fast.
    add some veggies to bulk it up too =]
  • MidgeN27
    MidgeN27 Posts: 152 Member
    I love my fruit smoothie in the mornings. 1-2 cups of your favorite berries 1 scoop whey protein 1 cup of water blend well. You can blend a few ice cubes into it to get it frothy.
  • HeatherAngel444
    HeatherAngel444 Posts: 1 Member
    Favorite 104 calorie Smoothie - FILLS UP THE WHOLE BLENDER!
    I save it for before bed when I'm still hungry and want to cheat.
    It's so HUGE it will kill all hunger for such LOW CALORIES.


    6 frozen strawberries - 24 calories
    1/3 C. dry non-fat milk - 80 calories (suppose you could just use 1 C. milk with no water).
    1 1/2 C. water
    1 tray of ice cubes (I put them in a plastic bag and smash with hammer first - easier on the blender).
    1/2 eye droper of stevia (or artificial sweetner of choice)

    Blend.
  • scowil03xx
    scowil03xx Posts: 45 Member
    My wife bought one of those "Ninja" blenders and it works great. My smoothies are relatively straight forward. I use one serving of any "premium" (read "not cheap, unknown) vanilla flavored whey protein, one cup frozen fruit, and water to desired thickness. Tastes great, very low cal and great for running right out the door for a busy day.
  • llpleslie
    llpleslie Posts: 53
    My smoothie is very simple.
    1 frozen banana cut up
    1 cup skim milk
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)
    186 calories
    Very filling!
  • chunkiedunker
    chunkiedunker Posts: 144 Member
    Go with the ninja blender. It is by far the best blender ive ever used. Easy to clean. You will not be disappointed with this blender. Specially if u are pressed for time. Blends in about 5 seconds and no more shaking the blender or scraping the sides down to the blades.
  • bodybyjoe
    bodybyjoe Posts: 1
    Green smoothies are fantastic and I love to make them with Spinach, Chard or Kale.

    A word of warning: don't use the same green day after day, especially not Spinach. Why? There are substances in greens which are toxic when they build up (although they are very good for you in moderate quantities), presumably they are in the plants to keep a creature from eating all of a given plant. If you use a different green each day, your body can eliminate it.

    Spinach has a chemical in it which binds with calcium, so women, especially, should not have it for days in a row. It is a great source of iron. Combine spinach with calcium so it has something to bind with.

    If I want my drink sweeter, I add dates or frozen banana. Bananas also make them thicker.

    I freeze bananas by peeling them (very important) and breaking them in half and placing them on a flat surface so they freeze. Once frozen, they can be stacked up.

    Flax seed is good (Omega 3) and also thickens drinks.

    Amazing Grass wheat grass is also convenient if you don't have time to wash your greens and want to make a quick drink.

    I also confess to making coffee drinks :happy:

    Green of the day
    frozen banana
    almond milk
    coffee
    lots of ice

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