# Anyone do smoothies?



## nermal71 (May 23, 2011)

I'm on a lifestyle change and trying to lose weight as a part of it. My days are very very hectic so I am trying to do smoothies during lunch as I can take them with me if I have to go out. Today I had one with strawberries, banana, orange, vanilla whey powder, yogurt, fat free milk and ice.....does anyone have any other good ones? I do NOT wanna get bored LOL

Oh and I tend to add extra ice to make it a larger quantity to feel full without adding anymore calories.


----------



## Luv Buns (May 23, 2011)

Dunno if you will care for this one but I get it from Walmart. It comes in a powder packet for like .88âµ. They have a couple flavors but I like Choc. banana. All that is in it is the choc powder mix, banana and ice. Its low fat and yummmmie! If you wanted to make it thicker or more flavor you could add a low fat ice cream or frozen yogurt. Yummie.

Hope you find a bunch of smoothies so you never get bored!


----------



## nermal71 (May 23, 2011)

I would have to see if they have high fructose corn syrup in them... I am having issues with it and many of the artificial sweeteners and preservatives that are in sooo many of our foods. I have even gone to making my own bread. I'm finding this is ALOT of work.


----------



## Luv Buns (May 23, 2011)

I made my own bread Once. lol. I lived in PA where they pass around the amish bread called Friendship Bread. It was only made by the amish and then you add something everyday to the bread and kneed it for about a week!! By the end of the week your supposed to keep what you want, seperate the rest and pass it to a friend. The friend does the same thing and so on. Its A LOT of work, but the bread was yummie.


----------



## Marrie (May 23, 2011)

If you have to make your own bread, get a bread maker! You choose the ingredients, but it does all the work after you add them. I used to make my own with one and would NOT have done it if I had to actually do all that lol

Smoothies... there are a lot of recipes. Just depends on what you like! Kiwi and cucumber is good if you want a "green smoothie". Also, you could try a berry smoothie - throw in whatever berries you like (strawberries, rasperberries and cherries make a yummy mix), add a little yoghurt and milk and blend. 

If you want a little bit of a nutty flavor added to it, you can use almond milk instead of regular milk.


----------



## nermal71 (May 23, 2011)

I have a bread maker....I hate it LOL....I only use it in summer...I prefer to use my bread pans.


----------



## Myia09 (May 23, 2011)

I do Vegan vegetable shakes. They have made an amazing difference in my life. All you taste is the fruit, but it has a bunch of veggies packed into it. I have a blog with recipes: 

http://myiasgreenblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=14


----------



## Marrie (May 23, 2011)

Ahh, I loved my bread maker lol it was too much of a pain to make it manually! 

Those vegan shakes look good, Myia


----------



## gmas rabbit (May 23, 2011)

Can also use frozen banana and buttermilk. Getting to the season that there is alot of fruit around. Beware of all the hidden calories in fruit. Berries are your best bet, full of antioxidents. Can always go on line, I have basically retired my cookbooks as I can find any recipe I need online. one of the sites www.smoothie-handbook.com/ had a big selection of all sorts of recipes. Maybe check it out as it says that it is free online smoothie recipes


----------



## nermal71 (May 24, 2011)

I use them as a replacement for breakfast mainly. I drive a school bus right now, but will soon be mom's taxi service for the summer. And I just do not have time to make breakfast most days. I noticed in one of your recipes you said about almonds...have you tried using almond milk? I don't know pricey it is by you but I know we can get here pretty inexpensively. Thank you for all of the ideas. I am definitely going to be buying alot of those ingredients to start trying this. My hubby and I both are trying to go as completely organic and natural as we can in our diets...just so that we feel better.


----------



## nermal71 (May 24, 2011)

Ok here's one I made this morning (got the ideas from Myia). 

2 strawberries
1 banana
1 small piece mango (I love the flavor)
1 cup acai juice (mona vie kind)
2 handfuls of spinach (sounds gross I know)
1 scoop whey protein powder
enough ice to make it really thick


I have to admit...I tasted it very tentatively...but wow did it come out yummy. Now I just need a to go container so that I don't keep taking one of my good glasses out.



Oh and as to why I don't like the bread machine....no matter what I do with mine the crust is so hard that you pretty much have to cut it off. Making it old fashioned way is no big deal as I have an industrial mixer and it does the kneading for me LOL


----------



## Marrie (May 24, 2011)

Oooh, nice! I hate kneading bread lol and aha, my bread maker didn't do that to the crust, though it wasn't as soft and fluffy as making it manually.


----------



## degrassi (May 24, 2011)

When I make smoothies I like to use frozen fruits instead of ice cubes. I don't like ice cubes as I find it waters the smoothie down and I like a thicker smoothie. Also frozen fruits are cheaper and you can get all sorts(mangoes, peaches, berries, pineapple etc)

I also use the Mona vie Acai juice in them.


----------



## Myia09 (May 24, 2011)

I am so happy you tried it!! They are good huh  the difference you will feel in your body is amazing. One a day and your life will vastly improve! I haven't tried almond milk but I would be hesitant because I can't imagine what fruit would taste good with it!

You do have to try to keep it complimentary. Remember to change up the vegetables too..I switch it between kale and spinach, some of the healthiest greens. Or sometimes I put broccoli. I also highly suggest you buy some Superfood....you get so much you can't get normally. 

Take the whey out though. It made me gain weight...the dark leafy greens will give you enough protein (via amino acids which are proteins). Plus it isn't vegan...I know your not trying to go vegan but the shakes work better vegan. I find yogurt weighs it down, adds calories, and doesn't nutritionally add that much. 

That's why you add a banana in the shake it is what makes it thick


----------



## Boz (May 24, 2011)

I LOVE smoothies! Personally, I like a blueberry and banana smoothie. Sounds different, but it's SO good! I usually mix in yogurt or ice cream to make it creamy.


----------



## kirst3buns (May 25, 2011)

Ditto on the frozen fruit idea. I've even bought frozen fruit blends and used them. I often skip the ice completely. OftenI add plain greek lowfat yogurt which is has a higher protein content and less sugar than regular yogurt. 

We have a Tropical Smoothie Cafe near us and I've recreated some of my favorite combos from their menu with good results. My kids love the banana, chocolate, peanut butter one but that is not on my diet plan. Since I won't buy them a $5 smoothie very often they created their own. The fun thing is, we've never created anything inedible.


----------



## nermal71 (May 25, 2011)

Thank you for all of the ideas....I had to skip my smoothie this morning (weather was bad here and I didn't have time to make it). I LOVE greek yogurt and using frozen fruit....I do add ice even then because it tends to make me feel fuller. I can make an even bigger smoothie without having all of the extra calories.


----------



## Marrie (May 25, 2011)

Myia - almond milk goes well with berries, bananas... pretty much anything you'd put in cereals usually. It tastes VERY nutty, rather than like milk. Basically a watered down almond flavor. You can buy the "vanilla" type if you prefer something a little sweeter, then it goes good with a lot of things!


----------



## nermal71 (May 25, 2011)

Todays combo....banana, blueberry, strawberry, spinach, whey protein, and acai juice and ice LOL


----------



## dragynflye (May 26, 2011)

i actually just made blueberry smoothies for my daughter and i. organic frozen blueberries, local bee pollen, low fat organic vanilla yogurt, organic apple juice, and ice. yum!

another good one is pineapple (i usually used the kind canned in its own juice, nothing extra added), frozen banana, organic coconut oil, and ice. yummy tropical smoothie! 

big spoonful of natural peanut butter, a packet of chocolate carnation instant breakfast, low fat milk, ice. sometimes i add a banana, too. 


the naked juice products are really good in smoothies, too. all kinds of healthy stuff in them. just toss in whatever fruit you want, add some ice, and voila!


----------

