Smoothies

[NewYorkTexan]

This weekend I finally broke down and bought a blender with the intention of mastering smoothies.

I started with the basic recipes like strawberry & banana. They came out fine, but I want to start venturing out and become more creative while improving the consistency and taste.

Used low-fat milk and orange juice as a base liquid (not at the same time) and assume that almost any liquid could work. I was thinking of unsweetened apple juice or mango juice. Any other suggestions?

Is it better to freeze the fruits before using them? If I substitute frozen fruit for ice, would that affect the texture?

Yogurt is a wild card. Frozen yogurt would add a creamy element, but would also add calories and fat------partially defeating the purpose of going the smoothie route in the first place. Do most people add frozen yogurt or regular yogurt to their smoothies?

Any thoughts would be great.

[coolranch]

Mr. coolranch had a stint as a barista several years ago...smoothies were part of the repertoire.

He used apple juice as the base and frozen fruits--usually peach, strawberry, or blueberry, then always added a peeled, sliced, frozen banana--no ice--it would water it down.

Good stuff. Very good with a pull from the frozen yogurt machine, too.

At one point he was adding all sorts of stuff from bee pollen to protein powder--but I found that some of those powders gave the smoothie a grainy texture.

[Fat Guy]

Frozen yogurt would add a creamy element, but would also add calories and fat------partially defeating the purpose of going the smoothie route in the first place.

Are smoothies low in calories? Certainly, if made with fruit only, they're low in fat. But almost anything you do with fruit is going to yield a calorically dense product on account of all the sugar in fruit. I wonder how an average fruit smoothie compares to, say, a can of Coke.

[ErinB]

My favorite smoothie cookbook is "Super Smoothies." I always try to use a mixture of fresh and frozen fruit. I always freeze my bananas. My favorite combination of the moment is peaches and blackberries.

In terms of calories, fruits like cantaloupe and hondeydew are low calorie, use low-fat yogurt. This book also uses soymilk and silken tofu in some of the recipes.

Edited August 1, 2003 by ErinB (log)

[StephenT]

I don't make smoothies very often but recently made one with banana (of course), kiwi and celery with a dash of lychee juice. The celery was an experiment and I really enjoyed it, but when I told other people about it they thought I was weird.

[guajolote]

I like to use lemonade or limeade as a base, preferably homemade.

In Mexico they have shops where you can get all different kinds of juices and smoothies. My favorite is orange juice with papaya, mango, and pineapple.

Edited August 1, 2003 by guajolote (log)

[KAPDADDY]

Orange juice and pineapple juice are my two favorite liquids to use. To me, yogurt and powdered milk are essentials in a smoothie for the texture.

I use peach nectar as my sweetner in fruit smoothies and honey in the non-fruit ones. No ice in my smoothies.

[tryska]

hey! i make smoothies for a living on certain days of the week.

my preferred bases are orange juice, apple juice, and soy milk soemtimes (usually with either apple or orange to add a little more tang)

i prefer my banana to be room temperature, and i always use frozen fruits. i sometimes add yogurts or various sorbet flavors, but if soemone is concerned about the sugar grams i can usually whipe up something using soy milk for creamy instead.

also don't underestimate a good protein powder for adding some creaminess and texture, altho certain brands also add volume.

[tryska]

Frozen yogurt would add a creamy element, but would also add calories and fat------partially defeating the purpose of going the smoothie route in the first place.

Are smoothies low in calories? Certainly, if made with fruit only, they're low in fat. But almost anything you do with fruit is going to yield a calorically dense product on account of all the sugar in fruit. I wonder how an average fruit smoothie compares to, say, a can of Coke.

they can be quite high in sugar, but also remember fruits are going to be a mix of fructose and sucrose, plus fiber - all which help to blunt the insulin effects.

coke would be straight high-fructose corn syrup - which is a horse or another color.

also if you use berries, which are very low ont he glycemic index, yet very high in vitamins and anti-oxidants there is no comparison to a can of coke. pineapples provide fiber, plus digestive enzymes - peaches are low ont he GI as well, and msot other fruits that are frozen and work well are alos fairly low. the exception is a banana which is admittedly rather high in sugar, but since banana actually liquefies a smoothie recipe one would want to use it sparingly. and even then it gives a potassium boost.

of course the places you do get into trouble are adding extra sweeteners and yogurts and sorbets, since they are jsut adding additional sucrose/corn sweetener type sugars.

Edited August 5, 2003 by tryska (log)

[pogophiles]

If I recall correctly, the favored juice utilized in the Cook's Illustrated smoothie analysis was white cranberry...

[tryska]

hmmm..i never tried white cranberry - either in a smoothie or on it's own to be honest.

is it close to regular cranberry? if so one thing that would concern me is the added sugar, and also that funky aftertaste that sets your teeth on edge - like bacon grease.

[tissue]

Try papayas.

So good.

[KNorthrup]

In the early 70s if not sooner, my father would make us what he called a banana milkshake. Toss into blender - milk, banana, one raw egg, honey, vanilla, nutmeg. My brother liked a shot or two of Hershey's syrup added to his. In later years, I added peanut butter. I still make them sometimes, for nostalgia as much as taste. With smoothies now so common, it occurs to me I never see versions with egg. Commercially, there's the salmonella thing. But are there really no common home recipe versions?

[trillium]

Instead of the raw egg we had brewer's yeast. 1 banana, yogurt, a dollop of frozen orange juice concentrate and brewer's yeast. It was um, interesting. I'll take a jackfruit or avacado smoothie any day.

regards,

trillium

[tryska]

brewers yeast is your friend.

love that stuff. (not the way it tastes tho)

[Sweet Willie]

At one point he was adding all sorts of stuff from bee pollen to protein powder--but I found that some of those powders gave the smoothie a grainy texture.

I actually like the bee pollen grain texture/taste.

My wife has been smoothie person this whole summer, never any dairy, frozen fruits, ice, maybe some water if the mixture is too thick.

[KNorthrup]

brewers yeast is your friend.

love that stuff.  (not the way it tastes tho)

Some movie theatres here offer brewers yeast in shakers for popcorn. And it's tasty. Also a secret ingredient in home fries. But I can't imagine it in a smoothie.

[tryska]

where is "here"?

brewers yeast on popcorn? what an intriguing idea....i know nothing of it - altho it is an acquired taste - i usually just mix it with some juice or water and gulp it down. i have ruined a smoothie or two by addign it in, so i don't anymore. i can definitely melding better with savory then sweet.

[kel]

I used to make smoothies all the time. I love to use orange and pineapple juice, a banana, and some assortment of frozen berries. If you use the frozen fruit, there's no need at all to add ice. Also, sometimes I would add vanilla or plain yogurt, and sometimes applesauce. They make a great light meal or snack. Plus, I'm hypoglycemic, so fruits like bananas are really good for me because they release their sugars slowly, over a period of time, so my blood sugar stays stable. Nice.

[hollywood]

But almost anything you do with fruit is going to yield a calorically dense product on account of all the sugar in fruit. I wonder how an average fruit smoothie compares to, say, a can of Coke.

I wonder as well in that I'm rapidly becoming addicted to Robeks.

[hollywood]

So I searched around Robeks' site and finally found the nutritional info. Note that it's based on a 12 0z. size. generally, people get the 24 oz. Looks like you mostly get vitamin A & C, sometimes iron and calcium and lots of sugar. http://www.robeks.com/InsideRobeks/InsideR...asp?PT=I&PID=23

[KAPDADDY]

That yeast that's used on popcorn and in smoothies isn't brewer's yeast, it's nutritional yeast. Two Totally different things.

[Christopher Haatuft]

I need help!

Im holding a course for a friend who had to cancel and the topic is smoothies with and without alchohol. Im thinking Ill make a Pina Colada smoothie, mayby a bloody mary one, and a fennel/granny smith variety. I was also thinking about a jackfruit or durian smoothie. Any carzy mixes or taste-ombinations would be appreciated. Its in three hours, so Im sorta sweating...hehe

[foodie52]

Lots of good ideas here.http://www.bhg.com/home/Smoothie-Recipes.html.

Basically, I like to use any kind of frozen fruit available. Availability is VERY important when teaching a class. You don't want people to have to hunt down ingredients!

I use frozen peaches and blueberries the most. Fresh bananas. Yogurt for the protein. Orange juice. It's pretty simple.

[lia]

This is one I made over 20 years ago when I was in high school and I recently made it for my husband and he loved it:

milk (skim or soy is fine), orange juice, frozen banana, cornflakes and maple syrup.

years ago I'd add a raw egg to follow the recipe but the thought of that nauseates me now.

But i do love the typical fruit, juice, yogurt, soymilk blends. We just got a juicer too so that adds a new dimension. Naked used to sell a delicious OrangeCarrotBanana combo but I haven't seen it in ages. Now with the juicer we can juice up some carrots then blend that with some OJ and the frozen banana. Perfect.

I just had a nice fresh Papaya batido with Verrry ripe papaya, ice, skim milk, a little bit of sugar and a drop or two of vanilla extract.