I’ve had a nice blender for a few years now but I haven’t used it all that much, mostly just made a lot of frozen strawberries + juice drinks during summer. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried (1.5% fat) milk + frozen strawberries + sugar - it was almost like a proper milkshake, even without the ice cream that the recipes I’ve seen usually call for. Now I’m curious what other stuff I could add to that base and what other easy to store and cheap-ish ingredients would make good milkshakes. Can I use chocolate, for example?
I’m sure there’s tons of recipes online for these, but I’m more interested in single ingredients than ready-made complete recipes. Experimenting can be fun, but avoiding waste would be nice too. I already found out adding yoghurt isn’t that good idea, the sourness gets more pronounced in the mix.
Try using frozen bananas. I make an “ice cream” just by blending up frozen banana slices. Add in just a touch of vanilla, and it’s almost indistinguishable from the real ice cream.
I’ve tried banana + honey and it was indeed awesome but honey is kind of messy, some of it tends to stick to the blender walls. Haven’t tried frozen bananas though, have to give that a try.
Half a frozen banana will definitely add thickness and creaminess. I will peel bananas and wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then just break one in half to add to a blender drink for thickness.
Chocolate’s a difficult addition. I don’t remember the whole spiel, but when refrigerated, the different cocoa fats in it congeal at different set points resulting in separation and a pebbly texture.
Might be able to overcome that by melting the chocolate with heavy cream first (ganache) and cooling, or do like the commercial producers and just use cocoa powder.
The problem with bananas, as I’ve found out from making smoothies, is that once the banana goes in, what you have is a banana milkshake/smoothie, no matter what else you may have added.
Malt powder is supposed to be good, but I haven’t found any place that sells it in reasonable quantities.
Well, got finally around to trying the frozen bananas thing and this is pretty good. Also bought chocolate sauce (or syrup or whatever, I’m not sure what the exact translation is) and tried it with strawberries and that worked fairly well.
I had used bananas before with ice cream but somehow freezing them didn’t cross my mind back then. Frozen they should last a lot longer and they cool down the drink, especially if I skip the ice cream.
I’ll add that my cheapo blender came with a “milkshake” blade which is wholly different from the standard four-pronged job you usually see. Instead of “blades”, there’s a couple of undulating discs, for lack of a better description.
Makes a big diff when it comes to your standard/generic shake. The blades aerate the mixture (you get lots of bubbles) whereas the “shake blade” creates a smooth consistency.
Can’t say it works to grind fruit additives though. My basic recipe: two scoops of vanilla ice cream, milk and an insane dose of Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
A couple/few raw eggs added in makes it a protein bomb.
Adding five or six ounces of fresh-brewed but chilled espresso to all of the above creates a “go-juice” that’ll make you decide to hand-dig a ditch or push your car up a hill… Not because you have to, but just because you WANT to.
I make a smoothie every morning for breakfast and sometimes in the evening, and am often up for experimentation.
Frozen bananas are my go-to. I check the Manager’s Special bin every time I’m at the store for discount fruit, then prep it into chunks and freeze in big mixed bags. Thursday later in the day seems to be the best time in my area. Bananas that are almost over the edge are sweetest, so that’s what I go for. Avocados’ high fat content makes them great for blending. All berries do well. Apples and pears add a bit of grainy texture, which I don’t mind. For a shot of healthy, a lot of people like to add spinach or kale. I think the taste is fine, but it can make for some seriously weird colors.
For liquids (which make for a much easier-sipping thing, I find straight bananas to be too thick to sip), soy milk is my go-to (Vanilla flavor usually, although I’ve done chocolate when it’s on sale, and that works fine). Egg nog is great, although not healthy. Regular cow’s milk is good. I often add some juice if I have some on hand, and there’s a Fruit+Protein drink that works really well (I think it’s made by Silk, and it’s half fruit juice and half soy milk, but it’s kind of expensive). When I’m feeling lower-cal, I’ll use diet lemon-lime soda as half my liquid. I’ve also been known to use whatever pop is on hand. Not surprisingly, fruity ones works ok, while cola-type ones don’t.
For additions, homogeneous things work best. Chocolate chips work ok, but will have a grainy mouth feel. Marshmallows don’t seem to work very well, at least with my experience, although marshmallow dessert topping works. Nuts and lime peel have a tendency to sink to the bottom and clog up a straw. Peanut butter can thicken things up really fast, so add a little more liquid than you think you need. Chunky peanut butter does not work out so well.
Cold tends to deaden the flavor of things, so if you’re using, say, liquor or wine, don’t bother using anything good. Anything delicate will be killed, while harsh flavors are softened.
I do smoothies with yogurt, egg yolk, frozen berries (especially raspberries and blueberries) and cocoa powder (dutch process is best). They’re delish.
Also excellent is yogurt, frozen mango and pineapple chunks, and lime juice.
