apparently i suck at making smoothies. i tried to make one last night that i basically ate not drank, same thing this morning. also, my ice never gets blended in nicely. is there some kind of magical order to this that i'm missing? my blender has an ice crush setting

anyway, my "smoothie" this morning goes like this:

2 scoops frozen yogurt
1 scoop chocolate protein mix
4-5 frozen strawberries
little bit of juice to make it blend
attempt at some ice

i put the ice in last, but it was so thick i practically ate it on the way to work. any help is appreciated!

signed,
can't make smoothies

later

Hi Richie,

I think your smoothie does not have enough liquid to blend smooth. What works well for me is to add the liquid first, using enough to completely cover the blender blades before adding the other items. I also add the ice last and slowly as it thickens the whole shake. Juice carries more calories and sugar than I want on my down days so I use a mix-your-own low cal drink called Crystal Light that tastes GREAT as a liquid in shakes and smoothies.

thanks, i'll try that tomorrow - or tonight!

later

If you're adding ice you should also be adding this first using the Ice Crush setting on your blender. And maybe instead of frozen yogurt you could use regular yogurt. That's what i use with a bit of juice and it blends quite smooth.

I add just about the same stuff but use just regular yogurt and works well for me.

I always use non-fat soy or skim milk as the liquid in my smoothies. That might be a good option for you as well, and you don't have to worry about adding more sugar by adding more liquid with those options. Also, ditto on the recomendation for regular yogurt rather than frozen.

Maybe the other frozen stuff is enough and you don't have to add ice at all.
My every morning smoothie has frozen peaches, 4 oz nonfat milk, protein powder, a banana, and some flax meal. No additional ice.

well im not to sure able that put target sells a killer smoothie mix its low calorie and fat too, you just add juice or water.....

but i would put bagged ice it might break up easier then regular ice....

ok, so i tried again this morning with more success. i made a very simple smoothie of just:

1/2 cup of milk
1 cup of frozen blueberries

it wasn't very thick, so i probably need to get some yogurt. also wasn't very sweet, so i need to find some way to sweeten it up. i'm sure that could also be due to the fact that the blueberries are pretty old, and maybe a tad frost bitten. think that could be a factor?

later

Where is your protein powder? What about peanut butter? You need some more protein in there! The powder does wonders for thickening the smoothie and making the consistency better. I use vanilla whey.

I use frozen peaches, not blueberries, so I can't say about yours. You're getting better at this.

yeah, i dumped the protien powder for now, while i learn how to make a basic smoothie (makes me sound inept in the kitchen, which i am not). i'd like to get some unflavored whey so i can use it in anything.

a peach smoothie does sound good.

thanks!

later

the health store by my house sells frozen Acai that i put in my smoothies

Here's the standard smoothie in my house:

frozen strawberries
frozen blueberries
frozen mango or peaches
1 scoop protein powder
1 banana
plain, non fat yogurt
100% cranberry juice (or cran-raz, cran-peach, cran-apple)

I don't measure anything except the protein powder.

I use a Braun Hand Blender similar to this one:
http://tinyurl.com/22ug5r

Works great, easy to clean.

Morning smoothy:

1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen berries
2 scoops hemp/flax/green stuff/maca/cocoa nibs mix*
1/2 tsp vitamin C crystals
1/2 cup green juice stuff
1/2 cup pomegranite/acai juice
about 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

Blend in a strong blender (VitaMix or Bosch) until the cocoa nibs are mostly pulverized. Drink through a straw.

*Hemp protein powder, Flax seed meal, "Emerald Power" spirulina/chorella and other green things powder, maca root, and raw cocoa nibs, all blended together.

Get a good blender... I swear... I could blend rocks into powder with my vitamix... ok.. it's a commercial one... and I wouldn't put rocks in there... but the regular vitamix... is AWESOME....

don't stop with smoothies... you can make your own soups and everything...

I always make my smoothies with frozen fruit and milk or yogurt (Greek-style). I never use ice.

i never use ice or yogurt... some fresh fruit, some frozen, a little liquid (either soymilk or oj), a tbsp or two of ground flaxseed, and--if you want to pack a killer punch in your smoothies, add a handful of fresh spinach. i promise you won't notice the taste, and with blueberries or some other dark berry it won't even look green. it's a GREAT way to get a healthy serving of greens, some extra nutrients, and reduce the glycemic index of your smoothie.

and ditto on the vitamix--don't own one, but i've used one before and they are AWESOME. expensive, but awesome, and long-lasting!

and one more thing--my favorite frozen fruit right now is frozen pineapple. yum.

Well, since were sharing recipies, this is what I do when I'm craving ice cream, or a milkshake:

3 ice cubes
2 scoops cookies n' cream flavored protein
1 tablespoon peanut butter
8 oz. or so of non-fat soy milk (I adjust this as I blend, to get the level of thickness I want)

Blend, and then be amazed at how much it tastes like a Resse's Peanut Butter Cup milkshake. I usually split it with my boyfriend.

This is my smoothie recipe...

1 scoop choc protein powder (I like Designer Protein Whey)
1 cup frozen strawberries (makes it taste like a choc covered strawberry!)
1 TBSP flaxseed oil (good omega 3's and the fat helps make the smoothie "smooth")
5-6 medium sized ice cubes
cover ingredients with water.
Blend.

I must say that a good blender makes all the difference. I just bought an Oster and my quality of life (or at least breakfast) has improved 10 fold.

I've never made a smoothie before or have even heard of smoothies before reading this. But all this sounds so incredible delicious I just have to try it

Thanks for the great ideas!

Hi everyone I was just wondering...

Whats the go with protein addatives?

Everyone seems to be adding them to smoothies, does extra protein help with weight loss or are people that use them not getting enough in normal foods?


What is a good daily protein intake and where do you get the addiatives?

Thanks.

Hi, Jessica,

Your protein requirements depend a lot on your activities, how hard you go at them, and of course, your diet.

You can find protein powders at sports stores or at some pharmacies, and of course online as well.

Lots come flavored and thusly with aspartame, (which I try to avoid), so it's good that they also come natural.

Do a lil Googling if you're keen to know more.

the reason i've always believed to be the benefit of protein supplements is that protein rebuilds muscle after it has been broken down (workout), it helps rebuild it faster than with out and rebuilds it stronger. when relating this to fat loss, muscle mass burns fat (as i understand it). so as you get stronger, the muscle you are building continues to burn fat after your workout has ended. of course cardio still plays a huge part in all this, but as far as i understand protein will help on the muscle building side.

having said that, i don't use protein in my smoothies. number 1, because i have all but given up trying to make smoothies (i suck at it, and i'm low carb dieting). and number 2, the protein powder i bought is just not good, but i choke it down anyway

later

When I use ice i tend to add 1/4th as much as I think, crush it up, and put it in a container until i crush the amount i want to the level i want it, then i add the rest of the ingredients.

Personally I rarely use ice. If you like 1 -2 fruits and have time to cube/ freeze them beforehand it works just as well and adds the nutrients, antioxidants, and extra taste. For thinner shakes I use more liquid in the form of nut milks (hazzlenut and walnut). For sweetner Stevia works well if you can find it without carbohydrate addatives.

For an excelent shake mix try

1 portion cantelope
1 red pear (ripe)
1 portion blueberries
hazlenut milk to taste and desired consistency
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2-1 tablespoon turmeric (also to taste)
and sometimes a piece of fresh ginger for snap.


In the above blueberries have the highest orac rating (antioxidant measure) you have good carbs and fat (hazelnut), and a ton of benefits from the spices. (many are still being investigated such as cholesterol, blood sugar, cognitive, blood flow increases, etc.). In addition to the taste ginger actually aids in increasing blood flow to the extremities.

as a side note watch the possible blood thinning effects of turmeric if your on anticoagulants.. (heparin, coumadin, etc)

12 oz skim milk or soymilk
8-10 medium strawberries (frozen)
approx. 1 banana (frozen)
honey or agave for sweetening to taste
protein powder if desired

Makes a 24 oz (relatively large and satisfying) smoothie.

This is my standby, mostly because it's low on added sugar since it doesn't have fruit juice and relatively high in protein and fiber. (Most places that sell smoothies will have a similar recipe, which is usually called the "soy smoothie.")

It probably comes out to around 425 calories with protein powder or 300 without.

If you use fresh strawberries and yogurt, just those two items by themselves makes a fairly liquid smoothie.

Its just how much water is in the strawberries

I bought some soy protein powder, vanilla... any thoughts? Its the only one I saw at the grocery (not a health food store) with no cholesterol...

Your blueberry / milk smoothie sounded so awful I laughed my fool head off..
A toast to moldy old frostbitten blueberries! here here.

Thanks for the laugh. =)

moldy?!?!?!?!?!?!

When making smoothies, I usually go with vanilla powder too. I don't like the flavor of most powders, so the subtler the better.

I usually stick to whey protein powder. I'm not convinced that the science is correct, but there are some studies that suggest that soy protein has estrogenic effects, which, as men, we should be keen to avoid. And there are other studies that show whey protein leads to stronger sensations of fullness than soy protein. I'm sure you'd be fine with either one, but if it's an arbitrary choice, I side with whey.

Just look for the powder with the simplest nutritional profile. Most whey protein powders include BCAAs (branched chain amino acids), which are fine. But I check the fat and carb levels and try to minimize those. I've been happy with powders from EAS, Twinlab, and others I can't remember now...