Smoothies..Healthy? Recipe Ideas?

I love smoothies! I do my grocery shopping on Sunday, come straight home and make my smoothies for the week. I only work 4 days a week so I make 4 smoothies. I put them in the freezer. The night before I plan on having one for breakfast I set it in the fridge. They normally thaw by the next morning. Some times I put them in a water bath to help them along while I am getting ready in the morning. This may sound weird but I don't let me smoothies get completely thawed, I normally eat them with a spoon when I get to work. I love making strawberry banana and blueberry banana! Sometimes just a plain banana smoothie! I use 1 banana, 1 cup of the other fruit and some greek yogurt (plain). I just search on the internet for other recipes, there are a lot! Just find one that sounds like something you would like and go for it! Green smoothies are becoming popular right now, too. I have tried my coworker's and it wasn't bad. Those usually have spinach, tomatoes and the like in them but can be changed around. As long as she put a banana in it I didn't taste much else. I hope this helps and good luck on your smoothie journey

Glad I could help

Unsweetened almond milk is about 29 calories per 200ml serving with only 0.2g sugar and around 3g of fat, whereas skimmed milk per 200ml is 100 calories, 10g sugar and 4g of fat.

The amount of milk you use depends on how much yoghurt you put in, if any and how thick you want your shake. Because almond milk is much healthier I dont feel guilty if I use too much milk, but I would say a cup should be enough. If you add a few ice cubes too then it thins out the shake a bit and makes it nice and cold. You should really only be using half a banana, 1 full one max.

Jason Vale has some good recipies: http://www.juicemaster.com/recipes/smoothies

I especially like his breakfast one: http://www.juicemaster.com/recipes/smoothies/breakfast-on-the-go

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With regards to logging, Ive found that difficult too. I tired looking up homemade smoothies but nothing is exactly like mine. I tend to just enter a general quick add calories, because you cant really classify the amount of fat, sugar, carbs etc. But as long as your making a healthy smoothie you know its good for you and better than having a fry up!!

I think Im starting to sound like a smoothie expert lol. I had all the same queries as you when I started and it took hours of online research and trial and error to finally get it right, so Im glad I can share my knowledge with someone!!

Almond milk is quite thin, but then once you add the fruit it thickens up again. Give it a go and if its not what you like then try adding some natural yoghurt. The main reason I dont always use yoghurt is that it goes out of date really quickly and you can only really get big tubs of it.

You can buy a banana case (crazy as it sounds) which you can store the banana in to use the next day. My advise is to not completely peel the banana when you use half, just so the skin still protects it too. I try to steer away from bananas in general just because they are so high in sugar, and you dont need them for energy because the supplements provide this instead.

Ive also been told that after a workout chocolate milk is the best thing to get the nutrients your body is craving, so Ive found a special healthy version:
Almond milk
Ice cubes
1 teaspoon of pure coco powder
1 tablespoon of manuka honey
1 tablespoon of cacao nibs
1 tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter
Its pretty tasty, good for you, and curbs that post workout sugar craving! You can add 1/2 banana if you like too.

I make smoothie packets for the freezer and make one just about every day. I throw a couple handfuls of greens (spinach and/or kale), a cup and a 1/2 or so of berries, and half a banana in a freezer bag. Then I take a packet out in the morning add almond milk and blend. It comes out like a shake, and you can't even taste the greens.

Sometimes I use other fruit depending on what I may have purchased at the grocery store. If it looks like it might get to ripe, I throw it in a bag for a smoothie so I don't waste anything. Nothing worse than throwing away groceries I bought with my hard-earned money! But I always throw in some banana. It brings the sweetness.

I use 200ml to 240ml of almond milk/coconut water in my smoothies.

here's a recipe

1/2 avocado

1 frozen banana

2 tablespoon of raw cacao

200 ml almond milk

stevia or a pitted date for sweetness

it's about 300 cals if you use the date.

Skinnytaste.com has several smoothies. My current favorite is this one

Just Peachy Green Smoothie
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 2 • Size: 16-oz smoothie • Old Points: 4 • Weight Watcher Points+: 7 pt
Calories: 205 • Fat: 8 g • Carb: 31 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 7 g • Sugar: 20 g
Sodium: 170 mg • Cholest: 0 mg

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana
1 packed cup baby spinach
2 large or 4 small fresh ripe sweet peaches, pitted (2/3 cup)
2 tbsp raw hemp seeds, shelled
1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup ice
sweetener, to taste (I used a few drops of Nu-Naturals liquid stevia)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, adjust sweetener to your taste.

Great ideas..thanks everybody!!!

dashingdish.com has lots of protein shake/smoothie recipes. Some may require a membership to access, but the membership is only $5 a month and worth it.