I've bought a blender, now I need ideas.

canafishdrown
canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
edited November 21 in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone know any recipes for weight loss and especially feeling full to avoid snacking!!!???

I know smoothies are unhealthy but I've heard blending is healthier.

Replies

  • canafishdrown
    canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
    edited September 2017
    I'm looking for recipes to put in the blender. @JeromeBarry1
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    The "health" of a smoothie depends on what you put in it. I'm assuming by health you mean nutritional values. What is good for you in a smoothie depends on the rest of your diet. If you are low on protein, you may wish to make smoothies that are heavy on dairy products or protein powder. If you are low on veggies and fruit, put a lot of these in your smoothie. Determine what to put in your smoothie by what fits in your overall eating and by what you like.

    My usual smoothie is half a frozen banana, a 140g serving of frozen cherries, a cup of unsweetened soy milk and 1/8th teaspoon almond extract for flavor. I'd rather eat veggies than drink them but I enjoy drinking fruit. I like the taste of almond extract and cherries. The banana provides sweetness. I usually only have smoothies in the evening and then only when I can fit it in my calories.
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
    smoothies ARE made in a blender. . at least mine are.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Just in time for Halloween.

    http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/batomatic/3004185?snl=1

    Sorry, couldn't resist.... :D
  • canafishdrown
    canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    The "health" of a smoothie depends on what you put in it. I'm assuming by health you mean nutritional values. What is good for you in a smoothie depends on the rest of your diet. If you are low on protein, you may wish to make smoothies that are heavy on dairy products or protein powder. If you are low on veggies and fruit, put a lot of these in your smoothie. Determine what to put in your smoothie by what fits in your overall eating and by what you like.

    My usual smoothie is half a frozen banana, a 140g serving of frozen cherries, a cup of unsweetened soy milk and 1/8th teaspoon almond extract for flavor. I'd rather eat veggies than drink them but I enjoy drinking fruit. I like the taste of almond extract and cherries. The banana provides sweetness. I usually only have smoothies in the evening and then only when I can fit it in my calories.

    Oh, thanks for clarifying that. The person telling me did it in long detail and I got confused.
  • canafishdrown
    canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
    ktekc wrote: »
    smoothies ARE made in a blender. . at least mine are.

    D'oh!!!
  • canafishdrown
    canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
    I'm scared to ask know, are there any veg SMOOTHIES as I hate eating the stuff and hope I can handle it???
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,795 Member
    We have a nutribullit. We got it when hubby had to have all his upper teeth pulled. He waited 6 months before getting upper dentures. He experimented & researched how to get all the nutrients from mostly a liquid diet. He uses (still) almond milk as base, carrots,celery,flaxmeal,fruit & nuts in the morning smoothie. In the eventing (before he could chew) He put what ever I made for dinner with some almond milk & whizzed it up for a "soup"
    He lost all his extra weight, got off insulin & other meds.
    About me...I have my regular smoothie because I like it & don't like to EAT breakfast. For me I use 1 cup of frozen(or fresh) fruit, spinach, yogurt, either flavored protein powder or a "meal replacement" powder, almond milk and sometimes I add xanthan gum to make it super thick & filling. You can make it however you want it. I put more fruit than veggies in mine for the taste
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    edited September 2017
    canafishdrown wrote: »
    I'm scared to ask know, are there any veg SMOOTHIES as I hate eating the stuff and hope I can handle it???

    Lots of folks in MFP drink veggie smoothies every day. If you click search in on the boards page and search "vegetable smoothie" you'll find a g'zillion suggestions.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,272 Member
    with the coming of the cooler seasons, don't forget homemade pureed soups (i made a tomato-barley bisque the other day - no dairy, the barley added the silkiness). i used my immersion blender, but you could easily do it with your countertop blender. quite filling and satisfying as a main meal with good macro counts.

    then there's various herb-based "sauces," such as gremolata, chimichurri, salsa verde (both italian and mexican versions) and more as healthy accompaniments to various entrees to fill in the chinks and make you fuller. there are also great blender-based homemade salad dressings (classic green goddess for instance). while a lot of folks do blender salads of various sorts, i usually do that job with my food processor.

    blenders are useful for more than just smoothies, although until recently, that's one use i put my counter blender to use for every day. it is one of several must-have gadgets i keep within reach at all times.

    good luck!
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
    Eat solid food bin the blender
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    http://www.willitblend.com
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    If you get an electric ice cream maker (we found one for $20-$30 a couple years back at a walmart or something), it is a perfect combination with a blender for healthy, easy snacks/desserts. You just take ripe, soft fruit and blend it up, then put it in the ice cream maker to make a sorbet (except it has all the fiber of the fruit since it's not just juice). Don't need to add sweetener, just the fruit, maybe seasonings. For harder fruit, cook it and put it in the blender, let cool, and use the same way. It's nice, healthy, and easy.

    Sauces are a great use for a blender. If you get pretty much any veggie and roast it, it'll be a little sweeter, a little richer of a taste. Then blend it up in the blender with a little liquid (broth works well) and you've got a sauce you can add to meats or veggie dishes.

    You can use it to make pureed soups of veggies. A super simple one is to roast one large white onion and one eggplant (don't peel off skin of either of them). When soft, let cool, peel off the outer skin, blend up in blender, and then add to chicken broth or veggie broth, heat up, and add a little lemon juice and salt to taste after taking it off of heat. Great, rich tasting soup.

  • Riskay123
    Riskay123 Posts: 159 Member
    What sort of blender did you get? If you have a high-powered one you can put just about anything it and it will obliterate it. When I started I started with a lot of fruit and the milder veggies like baby spinach and as I got used to it I put lesser fruit in and increased the veg content.
  • canafishdrown
    canafishdrown Posts: 25 Member
    Do you have to cook the vegetables before blending???
  • SeptemberFeyre
    SeptemberFeyre Posts: 178 Member
    edited September 2017
    1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut or almond milk, about 5 frozen strawberries, 1/4 c frozen blueberries and a banana. A tablespoon of protein powder or collagen powder helps you stay full longer. Blend all together on high or smoothie setting. The sweetness depends on how sweet your fruit is. If it needs more sweetness, you can add some Stevia or a little honey, but add honey then blend quickly because honey is bad about sinking to the bottom of the blender.
  • melton_andrea
    melton_andrea Posts: 5 Member
    canafishdrown wrote: »
    I'm scared to ask know, are there any veg SMOOTHIES as I hate eating the stuff and hope I can handle it???

    You can add veggies to a fruit smoothie to help work around pure veg taste...i put spinach in my strawberry smoothies and it doesn't mess up the taste.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited October 2017
    canafishdrown wrote: »
    Do you have to cook the vegetables before blending???

    If you're making soup I would ...
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    OP, I feel like you have the idea that healthy food has to include foods you hate. You can lose weight and have a healthy diet eating many different kinds of foods. If you hate vegetable smoothies, you don't have to try them. I think "green smoothies" sound like they were invented by someone as a joke to see what he could get health nuts to eat, so I don't eat them. I get my vegetables in other ways.

    It sounds like you may have read some of the articles circulating around the internet recently which say that smoothies are unhealthy. That's simply wrong. Smoothies are food, in a blender. If you blend nutritious foods, you end up with a nutritious smoothie. If you blend a bunch of juice and sugar, you end up with a less nutritious smoothie. For some people, it's easier to accidentally drink too many calories than to eat too many calories, but as long as you measure what goes into your smoothie, and log it, that is not a problem.

    I like mine with cherries, Greek yogurt, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, strawberries, blueberries, and dark chocolate.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    canafishdrown wrote: »
    Do you have to cook the vegetables before blending???

    There are some plants which must be cooked and rinsed before eating. The cooking and rinsing removes harmful alkaloid compounds in the plant. These must have the same cooking and rinsing treatment before blending. I'm not going to try to cite a partial list of such plants, but if you you already do such cooking and rinsing of any plant before eating it, continue that treatment before blending it.

    Otherwise, if it's best consumed fresh, blend it fresh.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Sounds like you’re ready to become a Certified Personal Trainer.
  • marathon_44
    marathon_44 Posts: 62 Member
    Chimichurri! It's a great dip for raw veggies, topper for cooked meats, etc. Parsley, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, sriracha for some heat...yum!
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