I wuv smoothies. They're cool, yummy, and cool. Hej, Drew™, I found not one, but three good smoothie books with pictures... the hunt is officially off, as I have, like, 150 new recipes to try...

Here's one I tried tonight... it was... a B+/A-... kind of a dessert-y, yet not über-sweet, smoothie...

.....BLUEBERRY NEWYORKER
.....says it makes 2 servings... ha! more like one 12 oz serving
.....Add and blend the following:
.....3/4 cup blueberries (fresh or if frozen, thaw first and include the juice)
.....1/4 cup cream cheese
.....1 tbsp maple syrup
.....splash of vanilla extract
.....1/2 cup milk (or substitute)

The recipe I used was Neufchâtel cheese (a lower fat cream cheese alternative - Philadelphia® has an easily accessible version) and soy milk (instead of milk). 12 oz. serving yield: 320 calories, 14g fat, 35g carbs.

The cream cheese flavor was a bit overpowering for my love of blueberries tastes... hence the B+/A- range. Overall, it was very good, and thick without being overly cold. It's a trade off, I suppose.

Expect more "approved" smoothie recipes as time progresses... 'specially when it gets warmer... which should be... um... a long time from now...

~fff

Personally, I like Mango smoothies...

Maybe with a little Banana, but not too much because it will overpower the Mango. A few strawberries are nice as well.

Keep those recipes coming!

Or any other recipes that include mango!

Skoegahom...

Ick, frozen blueberries. as a native Oregonian, that is like saying satan can be substituted for God. Just sayin'

When possible God could be considered best, but alas, Satan can be substituted.

And a point of clarification... they are frozen to help with the smoothie's consistency while retaining the taste. If not frozen, you'd need some other frozen ingredient, like ice... which would, by its nature, water down the flavor.

~fff

Keep those approved smoothie recipes coming, Posty! I like 'em when it's warm outside AND when it's cold!

: )

Here's one I tried this afternoon... it was... a solid A...

.....PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE (adapted from the book's recipe since I didn't have tofu on hand)*
.....makes 2-12 oz servings

.....Add and blend the following:
.....1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter (recommendation: natural, no salt or sugar added)
.....2 frozen bananas, sliced
.....1.5 to 2 cups silk (or milk) -- there is a range here due to smoothie consistency preferences
..........*- the book recipe calls for 1/2 cup silken tofu and .5 to 1 cup rice dream milk
.....6 ice cubes
.....2 tbsp chocolate syrup (optional)

one 12 oz. serving yield: 490 calories, 26g fat, 52g carbs. Hmmm... yeah... not health food, per se, but other than the chocolate syrup, there aren't any refined sugars or salts.

Peanuty and delightful! This definitely goes on the "make a dozen times next year" list...

~fff

Here's one I tried this afternoon... it was... a solid A+... it's more of a dessert-y smoothie... I modified it from the book's recipe, as yogurt doesn't come in "cup" size anymore... it's all 6oz or 4oz crap...

.....I call this one...
.....BLUEBERRY COBBLER
.....makes 2-14 oz servings

.....Add and blend the following:
.....3/4 cup milk (or milk substitute)
.....1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
.....1 tbsp maple syrup (I used "light")
.....12 oz. blueberry yogurt (2-6oz. Dannon Fruit-on-Bottom is my recommendation)
.....2 cups blueberries, frozen

one 14 oz. serving yield: 290 calories, 3g fat, 56g carbs, 14g dietary fiber. So, fairly low calorie and low fat. The carbs are mainly from the blueberries and sugars in the yogurt (the syrup is minimal in calories and carbs). I'd call this a healthy snack or meal substitute.

This definitely goes on the "make many times next year" list...

~fff

I tried this one this evening. Did you get a slight tobacco taste when you made yours? I'm thinking about trying it again with about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of 1/2. Great consistency and fairly tasty as well. Thanks for sharing and keep those recipes coming.

Skoegahom...

Did you last use your blender at a cigar shop?

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon is small (especially when compared with 28oz of chunky-blueberry liquid)... sure you didn't use a tablespoon?

~fff

No, I just checked the dish washer. There's still cinnamon residue in the 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon. However, I used Yoplait yogurt with the fruit mixed in instead of Dannon like you suggested because it is what we had in the house. The rest of the ingredients were exactly the same even down to the light maple syrup. I used frozen Best Choice blueberries as that's what I found in our feezer. The berries were purchased around Christmas time for making pies. So they were fairly fresh as a frozen foods go.

Again, I enjoyed it, but my son turned his nose up to it and he loves blueberries, syrup, cinnamon and yogurt.

Skoegahom...

hmm... eh.. oh well...

~fff - np: u2 - zooropa

This one from the current issue of Vegetarian Times...

Supereasy Green Tea Smoothie

Ingredients
1 green tea bag (or 1 tsp green tea powder)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 small, ripe, mashed banana (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 tbs orange juice concentrate (I'll probably use 1/4 cup OJ instead)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
honey or sugar to taste

Steps
1. Brew green tea. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until cool.
2. Blend the ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Makes 1 serving... 126 calories, 0.5g fat, 32g carb.

~fff

Mom just made me a really good smoothie!! I dont know whats in it or the recipe or anything, (Considering i will never be able to make it. Last time i used the blender i forgot about the lid....ooops!) but i do know its good. It's like one of those health protien ones. but don't worry, it doesnt tast like it!

Best thread ever. I just emailed myself all these recipes, and shopping this week for ingredients.

:: drool ::

I am a HUGE smoothie and juicing guy...esp. since my move to the more veggie lifestyle (still eat fish...my friend calls it vege-quarian)

I bought a really nice juicer, and do mostly vegetable juice blends now, but definitely still make a smoothie a few times/week.

If you guys really want to boost the health value and antioxidant quality of your smoothies, go by your local health food store and see if they sell frozen Acai concentrate. In terms of antioxidants, Acai is like pomegranates on crack. Also, Dan, I really like your green tea smoothie. Have you ever just added a sachet of green tea leaves to the smoothie? It's not as "smooth", but it cuts the step of having to brew the tea, and you still get all the antioxidants.

For those of you out there who have problems getting those 5-6 servings of vegetables/day, try making smoothies that contain 2 or 3 servings of veggies by themselves. I know you're thinking "gross," but if you make it mostly fruit with some veggies, you can add enough sweetness to make it more that palatable. Here's one that I like to do:

-- strawberries
-- cherry tomatoes
-- fresh, raw spinach
-- brewed green tea

i didn't give measurements b/c i ususally just eyeball it, with all the fruits/veggies getting about equal portions. the strawberries are rich in vitamin C, the tomatoes (and strawberries, actually) are rich in lutein and lycopene, and spinach is just god's gift to man. it has everything. Vitamin A, K, Iron, Protein...seriously...look it up...spinach is an amazing super-food. the strawberries provide more than enough sweetness to make this drinkable (even gulpable), and I just add the green tea as I blend, bascially just to get the consistency i want. if you want a thick, milkshake-like quality, then add less. if you want a thinner, slurpier smoothie, then add more. if you don't feel like brewing you own green tea, then Arizona makes pre-brewed diet Green Tea with Splenda, so there's no calories. I know, I know...artificial sweetners, but I've actually read the studies, and Splenda's totally safe. Really. No cancer or anything. Bacially, they took sugar and removed the part of it that your body metabolizes.

I'm glad there's a smoothie-recipe thread. Good job Dan.

This one sounds great. I outta try it. Hmmm... need both green tea, and ginger, and ouch, banana too...

Seriously, all who love smoothies, need to try Keva Juice.
Look it up online.
See if you're lucky enough to have it in your area.

I had some while in New Mexico, and we don't have them in Michigan.
I'm going through withdrawl.
They are the best smoothies I think I've EVER had.

http://kevajuice.com/

i've taken to making some seriously simple smoothies.

i almost always have overripe frozen banana on hand. i like allowing my bananas to go bad so that i can do other things with them (than eat them for lunch).

take frozen banana, soy milk, a little sweetener (either honey or brown sugar), and a sprinkle of cinnamon. blend up into something delicious.
i don't have any right now, but i used to keep frozen berries on hand for the purpose of smoothie-making too.

What kind of juicer did you get? I want to buy one but don't know anything about them.

Thanks for the Script!
s

Any recommendations on juicers--I had an old Juice Man unit--gave that to my sis when I bought a Le Equip machine but disliked it more than the old Juice Man--I do like the new Juice Man unit they feature now---

A VitaMix is great but way more than I want to spend---

Any suggestions anyone has on this would be appreciated.