Smoothies...

[Garband]

I can't make a smooth smoothie. lol

I think I'm adding way too much liquid for the amount of solids I'm using... This is what I used a few minutes ago... Well, it's close. I just sort of glanced at the readings on the side of the blender.

1 to 1 1/2 cups of cream soda
1/2 to 1 cup orange juice
1 1/2 apples
3 handfuls of ice
16 ounces of yogurt (I started off with just 8, but it didn't do anything to thicken it)
About 3 to 4 tablespoons of honey

Looking at it written down I'm fairly sure it's too much liquid. What do you all say?

 

[GotGarlic]

I agree - too much liquid, and not enough fruit.

My favorite smoothie is strawberry/banana. I cut a banana into one-inch pieces and put them and 2 cups whole or halved (depending on size) strawberries on a cookie sheet and freeze. If you do this, you don't have to add ice, which is just water and dilutes the flavor.

When frozen, put in blender with 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt and 1 cup juice (orange would be too strong - apple juice would be good). Whiz till smooth. Makes two 1-1/2 cup servings. HTH.

 

[CharlieD]

Besides the point, but there was this place in Miami, just for smoothies, they guy only used fruits and berries, and plain water, no yougurt, nothing else. They were the best smoothies I ever had. Too bad he closed down ...

 

[Garband]

I agree - too much liquid, and not enough fruit.

My favorite smoothie is strawberry/banana. I cut a banana into one-inch pieces and put them and 2 cups whole or halved (depending on size) strawberries on a cookie sheet and freeze. If you do this, you don't have to add ice, which is just water and dilutes the flavor.

When frozen, put in blender with 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt and 1 cup juice (orange would be too strong - apple juice would be good). Whiz till smooth. Makes two 1-1/2 cup servings. HTH.

Lol, well, the apple isn't the only fruit. =P The yogurt was black cherry, and the honey is lime flavored, and I had some pineapple juice in it too. It's pretty fruit strong. lol

And that's actually what I thought about the ice.. I was putting it in and
I was thinking to myself "This is going to melt and it's going to be watered down." I was also wary of putting orange juice in it, but I was basing my recipe off of the "Sunrise Smoothie" thread. The orange is very overpowering at half a blender, so I dropped it off to this amount, and it's still strong.

And I'll have to try that Charlie. That'll require me buying a lot of fruit though. =P

 

[GB]

Way too much liquid. Also, I have never seen a smoothie with soda in it. If it were me i would leave that out. A smoothie can be a healthy drink with a great way to get some fruits (and even veggies) into your diet, but adding soda to it adds all sorts of unnecessary sugar and other junk that diminishes the healthy aspect.

 

[gadzooks]

I freeze vanilla soymilk in icecube trays. Also buy spotty bananas and cut up and freeze. Freeze strawberries, too, when I buy a flat. Blueberries always get used fresh. I also often incorporate some hemp protein powder. When I use that, pineapple juice or papaya juice is a must. If you're feeling heretical, try banana, frozen soymilk, cold coffee and chocolate syrup. Or, use frozen vanilla soymilk with boxed liquid chai, both Burning Man faves.

 

[GotGarlic]

Lol, well, the apple isn't the only fruit. =P The yogurt was black cherry, and the honey is lime flavored, and I had some pineapple juice in it too. It's pretty fruit strong. lol

And that's actually what I thought about the ice.. I was putting it in and
I was thinking to myself "This is going to melt and it's going to be watered down." I was also wary of putting orange juice in it, but I was basing my recipe off of the "Sunrise Smoothie" thread. The orange is very overpowering at half a blender, so I dropped it off to this amount, and it's still strong.

And I'll have to try that Charlie. That'll require me buying a lot of fruit though. =P

Fruit and fruit juice and flavoring are not the same things. The juice doesn't include the fiber and some water-soluble nutrients, so it doesn't have the same health benefit: WHFoods: Is fruit juice as good as whole fruit?

And, I primarily said "not enough fruit" because less liquid and more whole fruit, including the fiber, would make the whole preparation thicker, as well as healthier.

 

[babetoo]

lately i have been making this for breakfast. 8 oz. 2% milk, one scoop slimfast choco powder, a whole banana, and hand full frozen strawberries. just a splash of vanilla. (take away the off taste of pwd. ).

it takes very good, is thick and fills me up. will branch out more the next time i order groceries.

babe

 

[stassie]

I'm wierd - I don't like banana in my smoothies. My favourite has a decent handful or two of frozen berries, a scoop of frozen yogurt, a couple of spoonfuls of normal yogurt, and a tiny bit of honey. I wiz all that together (sometimes with an ice cube or two) and then add a little milk until it's a consistancy I like.

 

[Garband]

Fruit and fruit juice and flavoring are not the same things. The juice doesn't include the fiber and some water-soluble nutrients, so it doesn't have the same health benefit: WHFoods: Is fruit juice as good as whole fruit?

And, I primarily said "not enough fruit" because less liquid and more whole fruit, including the fiber, would make the whole preparation thicker, as well as healthier.

Yeah, I figured that's what you meant. I was in a hurry, frustrated, and getting pretty mad at some people when I typed that, so I didn't catch that it would thicken it better until I came back and reread. Sorry. lol

I'm wierd - I don't like banana in my smoothies. My favourite has a decent handful or two of frozen berries, a scoop of frozen yogurt, a couple of spoonfuls of normal yogurt, and a tiny bit of honey. I wiz all that together (sometimes with an ice cube or two) and then add a little milk until it's a consistancy I like.

What type of berries do you usually use? A lot of berries here are too expensive to buy enough for smoothies. lol

 

[fireweaver]

hmmm, smoothies at my house generally involve a handful of ice, a big dump of plain yogurt, a dash of vanilla, some spices (i'm a nutmeg superfan, my bf hates the stuff...all the "pie" spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, ginger really bring out fruit flavors), a squirt of honey/honey powder/demerara sugar, and the fruit. no juice, definitely no soda. to get it really thick, use frozen fruit - waiting for bags of the stuff go on sale at the grocery store is a great plan. buying spotty bananas, like gadzooks said, or grabbing any past it's prime fruit on the sale rack to freeze is another great idea. when the blender is going and all things are blended, if it looks too liquidy, toss in ice cubes one at a time. the cube that makes the vortex vanish for just a sec means stop, it's perfect. yes, ice cubes melt and they'll make it watery later, but if you're only making a few glasses worth, or you don't have your fruit frozen, the texture is lovely anyway.

 

[Goat Stew]

I agree - too much liquid, and not enough fruit.

My favorite smoothie is strawberry/banana. I cut a banana into one-inch pieces and put them and 2 cups whole or halved (depending on size) strawberries on a cookie sheet and freeze. If you do this, you don't have to add ice, which is just water and dilutes the flavor.

When frozen, put in blender with 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt and 1 cup juice (orange would be too strong - apple juice would be good). Whiz till smooth. Makes two 1-1/2 cup servings. HTH.

I would put the whole banana in there and blend it.

 

[larry_stewart]

My usual smoothies contain
Frozen banana
Frozen strawberries
canned pineapple + juice
That coco goya sweet coconut stuff
Whatever fruit juice i have laying around
ice cubes ( if the frozen fruit isnt enough to give it a good consistency
Blend until smooth

 

[gogoguy]

A cherry smoothie with canned cherries and a few table spoons of vanilla yogurt is worth a try.