I recently tried a berry smoothie at my local coffee bar near work. It was “berry puree” (and a long list of berries) and ice. One of the reasons I opted for it was because it did NOT contain yogurt or a dozen other ingredients. (I confess I opted for the dollop of whipped cream on top).
It was yummy. As opposed to a lot of smoothies I’ve which look/smell like blenderized lawn clippings (or worse). So… I guess it is possible for me to like smoothies. Yay! New thing to try!
Unfortunately, I can’t afford a coffee shop smoothie every day. And I don’t really want/need a lot of extra sugar (or whipped cream).
What do you folks think about, say, a 1/4-1/2 cup of frozen berries and a 1/4 cup of milk run through a blender? In addition to being healthy stuff, if I use the whole berries I’ll get all the fiber and stuff of real fruit with the addition of milk making for something less sludgy than, well, sludge. I have a Black and Decker blender my husband bought and used to make dips like hummus with 12 (12!) different speeds/actions and an additional “ice crush” feature I’m assuming can handle frozen berries (or other fruit). I’m not planning to make great quantities of stuff, single-servings are fine (and probably best).
What other stuff (other than yoghurt and sweeteners, which I’m trying to avoid) can I add? Whey protein? Unflavored gelatin? Nut milks? (Almond, soy, whatever) Nut butters? Cottage cheese? Mashed potato flakes? What and how?
I’m not looking for a cure-all health food here, but more like something like a halfway healthy dessert/snack type thing a couple times a week.
To me, all smoothies must have a base. I like bananas or papaya as a base. Without it, it will not have the right texture. Also, I use mocha mix and usually peanut butter powder. Its available in most ‘bulk’ aisles.
Eh, see, that’s one of the reason I have avoided smoothies - I have food allergies and common additions like “peanut butter powder” make them off limits. (Seriously - even though the coffee shop offered me the first berry smoothie free I waited a week to collect because I have to contact the mix maker to double check it wouldn’t kill me. Or at least put me in the hospital). Another reason making them at home appeals to me.
Wondering what I can safely use as a “texturizer” Do they sell almond powder or cashew powder? Although bananas are definitely workable - cheap, I usually have them on hand, go well with a lot of other stuff…
Yep, frozen bananamas are a staple at our place. Also, you can just grab bags of mixed fruit at the grocery freezer–it’s nearly impossible to get a bad combo, but I would advise against apples because they don’t really emulsify well. Once you get the hang of it (after, like 3 smoothies) you just keep your eyes open at the grocery store and buy stacks of whatever fruit is on sale and toss it in the freezer. Today was a mix of pineapple, mango, banana, and strawberry. Yesterday it was banana & strawberry. But I’ve also got in the freezer tangerines, cherries, grapes, raspberries, and blackberries. The berries are a little seedy but I don’t mind. The missus prefers liquefying the fruit in apple juice, but I think that gets a bit too tart and overpowers the fruit. I prefer milk. Also toss in a scoop of protein powder and/or instant breakfast for sweetness and extra smoothiness. Or a packet or two of stevia.
You gotta trust me on this, but you can chuck a fistful of raw spinach in there as well. The fruit sweetness totally overpowers the spinach, you’ll never know it’s there. And I use a Ninja. Because I like saying I have a Ninja in my kitchen.
It was berries and ice? That sounds more like frozen juice.
I call them protein shakes, because it sounds more legit (and because getting protein is tough for me, and that’s their purpose). For me, it must have a base, to avoid the ‘icy fruit’ juice label. I use unsweetened whey powder and plain or vanilla kefir, a banana, frozen fruit, a handful of spinach if I have it, and ice.
I also have food allergies, but have found several plain, unsweetened whey powders that fit the bill. That’s the only ingredient for me that has potential cross-contamination issues. Your mileage may vary.
You know, I think I just figured out why we sell so damn many bananas at the store where I work. All the packed lunches for school and work, all the juicers, and all the smoothies…!
There also some thickeners/gums/etc. in the mix. Anyhow - nothing wrong with iced juice in my book. I’ve made ice cubes out of juice to plunk in water in the summer, and I have also frozen chunks of melon in the freezer and sucked on them like ice cubes in the summer to help cool off. So for me, at least, that’s not a problem. No doubt this is an area where YMMV. As you noted.
IMHO you can do a smoothie however you want. If you put in whatever you want and it’s not sweet enough, put in some sweetener (sugar, splenda, honey, juice). If it’s not thick enough, put in some thickener (nut butter, powder, banana, avocado, nut milk). It doesn’t have to be exactly X ounces or have any particular ratios of stuff.
All of the stuff you mentioned are great additives!
I just got a green tea smoothie from my local smoothie place. It was almond milk and green tea powder and whatever else they add. Pretty basic. But tea powder is another idea.
You’ve got to have a blender with at least 1000 watts or you’ll have a chunky instead of a smoothie. Especially if you add anything green. My standard smoothie is 1 c spinach, 1 banana, 1 small orange or tangelo, and 1 c unsweetened almond milk. No added sweetener at all. I freeze my bananas and fresh spinach weekly and peel the orange the night before.
My husband used to use this blender to whack a pound of garbanzo beans into hummus. I think it can handle frozen fruit in smaller quantities. Just sayin’…
But yeah, this is a case where more power is better than less.
First, I neglected to consider, or simply did not realize, that a certain amount of the mix was going to stay on the sides of the blender. I was aiming for about 9 ounces of smoothie and wound up with about 6 or 7 in my glass. Noted for future reference.
I guessimated about a half cup to 3/4 cup mixed frozen berries (they’re all lumpy and stuff!) and a half cup of whole milk. No further additives (largely because I didn’t have any to hand) Hit “chop” first then “liquefy”.
There was a teeny bit of chunkiness/seeds but nothing I minded. The milk was whipped to a bit of a froth, which I sort of liked and complimented the slight “grittiness”. The natural sweetness of the berries was enough - I actually find a lot of prepared food either too salty or too sweet these days, I don’t feel a need to add sugar to fruit, it’s already full of various sugars.
It was pretty good, actually, even if not exactly what I was aiming for (I expect that will come with time and experimentation). Got some fruit, got some dairy, and it was pleasantly cool as well. It was the right amount, instead of feeling like I have a quart of stuff I now have to somehow store until I’m ready for more, or that I should suck down more food than I really want to on the spot.
I’m thinking frozen peaches and milk might be a good combo, too.
My main smoothie advice is, buy frozen fruit (it’s usually cheaper and better quality than fresh, especially stuff like stone fruit, mango, berries, which are soft and hard/expensive to transport) and to whizz it in the blender for longer than you think necessary. I like adding Greek yoghurt.
Yeah, I’m sort of trying to avoid paying an arm and a leg for powders… maybe next time they go on sale. Or maybe I’ll just throw in an actual banana. That, and a lot of those protein powders have added sugar, which I’m trying to avoid.
Although, as someone who has been known to peel and eat a lemon like most people do oranges I’m not sure a “citrus bite” is really a problem.
That’s great if you like yogurt, although frankly it was the ubiquity of people adding yoghurt to smoothies that put me off trying them for so long. I really do not like yogurt. Or keffir. Or sour cream. I get that a lot of people like that “tangy” note or whatever but to me it’s really off-putting. I like the dairy+fruit combo, but only with fresh dairy.
I dunno, maybe I’m just weird and like gritty fruit juice/puree?
But definitely there are advantages to using frozen fruit for this.
My home smoothie recipe is pretty simple. Approximately one cup each of juice (usually some OJ blend like orange-pineapple), vanilla ice cream, and frozen fruit (bananas, blueberries, strawberries, whatever). Just the right combination of frozen, fruity, and creamy. The grandkids love 'em.
Just curious - why no yogurt? When I used to make smoothies, I always included some. Made it creamy - something other than just smashed fruit. And I thought it had some dietary benefit.
And I almost always used a banana. I like bananas - but only if they are JUST RIGHT. If too hard or too ripe, they hairtrigger my gag reflex. But a smoothie can take the greenest or brownest nanner.
I stopped making smoothies after someone convinced me that the blending broke down much of the desirable fiber. Also, I got tired of cleaning the blender. But I had a friend who swore blenders cleaned themselves by simply adding some water and dish soap and turning it on.
As I understand it - fight my ignorance here - smoothies are actually bad for you because digestion occurs at the wrong part of your intestine as the sugars are released too early. In particular this means that they are bad for your teeth.
(and because getting protein is tough for me, and that’s their purpose). For me, it must have a base, to avoid the ‘icy fruit’ juice label. I use unsweetened whey powder and plain or vanilla kefir, a banana, frozen fruit, a handful of spinach if I have it, and ice.