A couple of months ago, I attended a wellness seminar. I have always considered myself someone who really cares about eating properly, but this seminar was an excellent reminder of the importance of raw fruits and vegetables in our diet. I determined to find ways to integrate those phytonutrient-rich foods into my diet. One of my favorite ways is the smoothie. No matter how you make it, they almost always turn out yummy! (except for the time I decided to throw in some bell pepper that I had lying around. That smoothie went down the drain! Yuck! What was I thinking.)
Smoothies are better than juicing because juicing does not include the fiber from the fruit or vegetable. Therefore, you are missing out on the fiber and having a higher concentration of sugar.
Typically, I just put in the blender whatever fruit I have around at the time. Basically, anything goes. Sometimes, I put in some vegetables, like carrots. (but beware the bell pepper!) Usually I can't taste the vegetables at all. I put the fruit, some milk (soy milk would be great too) sometimes some juice, sometimes some honey if I have put in cranberries or lemon, and sometimes some cinnamon or something like that. Mmm!However, keeping a ton of fresh fruit around is not always very convenient. So, what works for me is to make Smoothie Cubes. When I have a really good smoothie being made with a lot of different ingredients, I make it as highly-concentrated as possible (just enough liquid to make the blender work) and pour it into the ice cube trays. When it is frozen, I put the new smoothie cubes into a Ziploc bag. Then, when I want a smoothie but do not have a large variety of fruit in the fruit basket, I pop as many of these into the smoothie instead.
When I want to make more smoothie cubes, I put some of the previously-made cubes into the mix again. That way, when I have a smoothie, I am getting a large variety of stuff in there.
There are many other possible uses for these cubes, too. Just now, I had a bowl of yogurt with some thawed smoothie cubes mixed in. I also love putting them in when I am making hot oatmeal. It makes the oatmeal a pretty color and gives it a delicious richness of flavor, not to mention added nutrition and sweetness without sugar. It works for me!
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16 comments:
Wow! This is a fantastic idea! I love it. I might have to post a link. Definitely a great way to keep fruit around. My kids would like to munch on the cubes themselves. :) I need to be more faithful about making smoothies. It's such a wonderful way to increase the children's fruit intake. I find it hard to keep enough produce in the house to feed a large family. Ha!
Thanks for the great tip.
Duckabush Blog
Oh, my kids love smoothies. Great tip.
Great idea! Thanks!
Jeanne
What an interesting idea! Such a good way to use up the giving-up-the-ghost blueberries in the fridge.
I'm glad you like it, and I hope you enjoy making some!
Jendeis,
Yes, it is a great way to use up fruit that is a little too ripe to eat. Or, if I accidentally get fruit that is too tart or for some reason I just don't want to eat it, it's still perfect for a smoothie.
Yum-Mee! That sounds so good...there are times I don't know what sounds good as a snack for the kids and this just might be it! (and the oatmeal addition sounds positively delicious.) Thanks for the tip!
Karen,
You can say it's "gourmet oatmeal" because that's what it seems like to me! Very delicious.
Whenever cranberries are available, I stock up and make sure to include them in the smoothies, along with cinnamon and other spices. They make it taste really festive, and the presence of the other fruit sweetens it up. Those ones are really good in oatmeal around Christmas time. Yum!
What a fabulous idea!! And it looks delicous, too!
I'm glad that you are back!
His,
Mrs. U
That'll work for me too!
What a wonderful idea.
Thank you so very much!
Great idea. I have a question about putting veggies in your smoothie. I would love to include carrots in ours, but how do you get the carrots to puree enough? Do you steam them first to make them softer? Or do you just put them in the blender raw and they puree?
Jill,
That's a good question. Here's what I do:
Anything hard to puree, such as carrots, goes in first. Cut up the carrots as small as you can on the cutting board, and then put them in the blender with a minimal amount of liquid: just enough to lubricate everything.
Turn on the blender and pulverize the carrots until they are pureed, constantly turning off the blender to scrape the sides. Once the carrots are pureed, then add the other ingredients.
No, I don't steam the carrots, because they are more nutritious raw.
My biggest tip is to do the carrots first so that the blender can "concentrate" on getting them done. Otherwise, they'll just be a bunch of chunks lost in the big smoothies. If anyone else has any tips, please share!
Neat Idea! Bell peppers? Yeah....what were you thinking? haha!
I've missed you, I'm glad you're back safely!
Melissa :D
So you're back! The smoothies look delish!
Welcome back!! :)
And, what a great idea! *Taking notes*
Hi Leannot!!!!
Just thinking about you and praying all is well!!!
His,
Mrs. U
Great idea! I am going to try it. My husband and I love to make smoothies and agree that they are a very healthy way to get nutrition our bodies need.
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