I’ve lost my smoothie mojo. I used to make good smoothies but my last few have been dullsville. I’ve decided to reject protein powder and instead get my protein from natural sources like yogurt and silken tofu. I guess my main problem is that I rely primarily on bananas for flavor, and the other fruits I tend to eat aren’t really smoothie friendly (oranges, plums, etc). This afternoon, in a lame attempt to add flavor to my smoothie, I put in a couple spoonfuls of blackberry jam. This worked, but I’d really like to avoid putting straight up sugar in my smoothie, and instead harness sweetness from fruit and honey.
I’m thinking of trying an avocado/banana/honey/yogurt smoothie next. And I’d also like to give these green smoothies a try.
Any smoothie suggestions from you guys?
Diary for Tuesday, June 3, 2009
Calories in: 1,633
Calories out: 1,997
Deficit: -364
I managed to burn about 400 calories today just by commuting around London. It’s a great way to get “exercise” – I don’t even notice that I’m doing it.
Breakfast
Bircher Muesli with Yogurt, Bananas and Blueberries
Calories: 417
Protein: 13g
Fat: 10g
Carbs: 74g
Snack
Banana and blackberry yogurt smoothie, with a cuppa tea
Calories: 255
Protein: 12g
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 40g
Cycle
Calories burned: ~100
Lunch
Leftover butter beans with avocado on toast and salad
Calories: 405
Protein: 13g
Fat: 16g
Carbs: 56g
Snack
Toast with peanut butter and honey
Calories: 200
Protein: 7g
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 31g
Walk
A short mile to the coffee shop to get myself off the internet and into my books.
Calories burned: ~100
Dinner
Black bean veggie burger with asparagus
Calories: 357
Protein: 16g
Fat: 9g
Carbs: 58g
Walk
A couple miles there and back to the tube station and to Haymarket to see Waiting for Godot (starring Patrick Stewart!). The play would have been better if we weren’t sitting way up high in the most uncomfortable bench seats imaginable. Instead we were hard-pressed to hear the cast and our butts hurt. Oh well.
Calories burned: ~200
Hey, I sometimes have green smoothies for breakfast or lunch. I tend to use:
banana (sometimes frozen)
spinach and/or kale (or whatever green leafy veg we have – it’s a great way to use stuff up)
a little milk and some water
Sometimes some protein powder (vanilla is nice) but often not
I tried adding nut butter but I wouldn’t advise it -you can’t taste it, so you’re just adding cals with no benefit (although if that’s what you need at the moment, maybe you should try it!)
Mmm, those photos looks yummy. I use tinned fruit in juice (not syrup) or frozen fruit to give flavour to my smoothies – mango, peach, apricot, strawberry, raspberry. Not as ideal as fresh fruit but they have intense flavour and it’s very quick (no peeling!) to make.
Thanks for your ideas, Nic and Yang-May. Tinned fruit – genius! I don’t keep juice around because it always goes off but tins are a good idea. And I can always freeze when I don’t use for future smoothies.
Nic, I’m going to try your green smoothie. It sounds interesting. My only reservation is that I actually like the taste of greens, so covering them up in a smoothie seems like a waste. =)
Try throwing in a handful of the blueberries you usually use on your muesli, or strawberries since they’re in season. I like my smoothies with as many berries as possible to cover the banana flavor.
Berries – of course! I love berries in their natural state – I might have a hard time sacrificing them to my smoothie. But I’ll try it for sure. Maybe buy some frozen ones at the supermarket.
I’m not much of a smoothie person but I usually use yogurt, banana, berries, and sometimes a little bit of 100% juice. Peanut butter could be nice!
Peanut butter could be VERY nice, or almond butter. Yum.
My favourite smoothie at the moment is the smoothie of my dreams (literally – I dreamt about drinking it and worked out the recipe, LOL!).
1/2 cup pineapple juice (or fresh/canned pineapple if you don’t mind some smoothie chunks/extra thickness!)
1 Cup Soy Milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (or you can use vanilla soy milk)
1 tsp matcha green tea powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
agave nectar, wheat germ & flax meal if desired (I add flax to most of my smoothies to keep up my omega 3)
That makes about two small serves or one jumbo serve. It’s pale green and very cinnamon-y.
BD/Monica – I use frozen berries in smoothies as well. Normally I’ll only use half a banana for thickness/texture, 1/4-1/2 cup of berries, 1 cup soy milk and some wheat germ & flax meal. I put honey or agave nectar in my partner’s smoothies as well because he likes that little bit of extra sweetness.
Err, oops. I also put banana in that green tea/cinnamon smoothie. You only need half of one or a small one for it otherwise it gets a bit too thick!
Hey darling! Glad I was able to catch up with my reader… finally!
I love smoothies, but I eat them out of a bowl. I call them fruit soups. Makes it funner for me.
That burger looks awesome. I can’t wait to try it out. Just have to get to the store first. 😛
Happy June BTW!
With Love,
Emily
love your smoothies and all your eats. bircher muesli=love 🙂
some of my favorite smoothies are ones using peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter 1tbsp in it.
also love using sorbet like 1/4 cup in thats really good. once i made a smoothie with a 3/4 fage pot, a whole banana and peanut butter and it was more like a mousse than a smoothie, but very yummy and thick. 🙂
i am adding u to my bloggroll too, yes so cool how flickr and blogs collide. happy i found your blog.
maya
Easy peasy – no I don’t put in peas! but this is what I use when I make mine…. rework of an old classic:
Freeze overnight:
1 banana
4 or 5 strawberries
1/3 of a mango
handful of oats
spoon of honey
half a pint apple juice
some natural yoghurt
grated ginger
(occasionally a kiwi fruit, or raspberries. Carrie loves blueberries, so always adds those).
Then pulverise (avoiding splashing yourself and the kitchen!). Come over before you move to Oxford to try and see if you like it. I’m going to photograph mine tomorrow AM and post it on dampcad for you to see! This was my staple for the marathon. And I advocate it to my clients!
Nachos – good call on the flax meal. I’ve added that to my smoothies in the past and I actually like the texture and nutty flavor it adds. Never tried agave nectar but I’ve been meaning to. Trouble is I love honey, I struggle to branch out and try something new. =)
maya, i bet adding some cocoa to your yogurt and peanut butter smoothie would be even extra mousse-tastic. I have to try this whole PB smoothie thing.
damp cad, that is a serious smoothie. maybe too serious for someone NOT training for a marathon. but i’m intrigued by the oats and ginger. i’m looking forward to the photo.
Hey Monica,
I just came across your blog searching for photos of muesli…(as you do). I was wondering whether it would be ok for me to use your photo of your rather lovely muesli/banana/blueberry combination in an article for the Lifestyle section of my student newspaper? I’m the editor of this section and our photographer has bailed on me for the Sept issue so I’m searching for pics myself. If I put the Copyright logo underneath the photo would that be sufficient? It will be the first issue and a print run of 3000 distributed to the student community and local people in Falmouth (Cornish seaside town).
Best,
Rachel