Treeling
04-25-2005, 11:21 PM
Since I've had to give up my beloved Smoothie King smoothies since going on WW, I've been doing some extensive smoothie experimentation over the past 5 weeks and I've made a couple discoveries that I thought people might be interested in... Granted, this isn't like... discovering the wheel, but I'm pretty proud of myself, hee hee!
#1 8th continent LIGHT soymilk, vanilla flavor. This is only 1 point per cup! And loaded with calcium. I usually start my smoothies with approximately 1/2 c. of this lovely stuff.
#2 Fat free vanilla yogurt-- seems like for some reason, the texture of a smoothie is improved by having some yogurt and it blends a little better. I use a 1/4 to 1/2 c. in each batch. This gives you between .5 and 1.5 points total. And, in combination with the the soymilk, you've got a dairy serving AND some acidophilus! (BTW, consider adding a little acidophilus powder to your smoothies)
#3 Diet V-8 splash-- 0 points, baby! I like the mixed berry flavor best as it compliments most fruits. Also good is Raspberry Lime. This stuff is perfect because you can add a cup or as much as you need to get the smoothie flowing and you haven't added any points (assuming you don't add like 12 cups.)
#4 Frozen peach slices! A medium peach's worth is 0 points! On a really desperate day, use some ice, some V-8 splash, and some peach slices to make a 0 point smoothie that is really quite tasty and refreshing. If you can spare a point, add 1/3 c. yogurt.
#5 Frozen cherries, frozen pineapple chunks, frozen berries of any kind (be aware that with blackberries & raspberries, you'll chew some seeds, but I don't mind)... these (to me) make the best smoothies. Better and much cheaper than fresh, way better than canned. You won't need to add ice (though you can if you like), and your smoothie will be ice cold, rich in flavor, rich in antioxidants, a gorgeous color, and will only have 1 point per cup of fruit added (at most you'd need 2 cups, and that would probably blend up to 2 servings by the time you'd added your liquids). Also keep in mind that frozen veggies and fruits are often more nutritionally dense than "fresh" because they were frozen immediately after being picked, whereas fresh are leaking nutrients while waiting to be bought.
#6 Beware the seize up. If you can hear the motor running, but your smoothie hasn't formed a little whirlpool in the center of the blender, you've got too many solids and not enough liquid. It's time to add some more V-8 Splash. Put it in about 1/4 c at a time and stir it or let it sink down to the blades before pulsing. If still no whirlpool of smoothie goodness, add a bit more. Once you get your whirlpool flowing, let that sucker go until you no longer hear the occasional "blup!" of a fruit or ice chunk hitting the blades and no longer see any sudden jerky, splashy movements of the liquid (also a solid hitting the blade).
Using these admittedly obvious smoothie secrets, I have concocted smoothies that put Smoothie King to shame. And my health-hating husband is sucking down all my leftovers (and usually about 1/2 the total points). The best part of all? Since making these discoveries, I don't think I've ever made a batch that had more than 3 points (usually less) a serving or less than one serving of fruit (usually more), and every one of them has felt like a total indulgence.
Happy Blending!
#1 8th continent LIGHT soymilk, vanilla flavor. This is only 1 point per cup! And loaded with calcium. I usually start my smoothies with approximately 1/2 c. of this lovely stuff.
#2 Fat free vanilla yogurt-- seems like for some reason, the texture of a smoothie is improved by having some yogurt and it blends a little better. I use a 1/4 to 1/2 c. in each batch. This gives you between .5 and 1.5 points total. And, in combination with the the soymilk, you've got a dairy serving AND some acidophilus! (BTW, consider adding a little acidophilus powder to your smoothies)
#3 Diet V-8 splash-- 0 points, baby! I like the mixed berry flavor best as it compliments most fruits. Also good is Raspberry Lime. This stuff is perfect because you can add a cup or as much as you need to get the smoothie flowing and you haven't added any points (assuming you don't add like 12 cups.)
#4 Frozen peach slices! A medium peach's worth is 0 points! On a really desperate day, use some ice, some V-8 splash, and some peach slices to make a 0 point smoothie that is really quite tasty and refreshing. If you can spare a point, add 1/3 c. yogurt.
#5 Frozen cherries, frozen pineapple chunks, frozen berries of any kind (be aware that with blackberries & raspberries, you'll chew some seeds, but I don't mind)... these (to me) make the best smoothies. Better and much cheaper than fresh, way better than canned. You won't need to add ice (though you can if you like), and your smoothie will be ice cold, rich in flavor, rich in antioxidants, a gorgeous color, and will only have 1 point per cup of fruit added (at most you'd need 2 cups, and that would probably blend up to 2 servings by the time you'd added your liquids). Also keep in mind that frozen veggies and fruits are often more nutritionally dense than "fresh" because they were frozen immediately after being picked, whereas fresh are leaking nutrients while waiting to be bought.
#6 Beware the seize up. If you can hear the motor running, but your smoothie hasn't formed a little whirlpool in the center of the blender, you've got too many solids and not enough liquid. It's time to add some more V-8 Splash. Put it in about 1/4 c at a time and stir it or let it sink down to the blades before pulsing. If still no whirlpool of smoothie goodness, add a bit more. Once you get your whirlpool flowing, let that sucker go until you no longer hear the occasional "blup!" of a fruit or ice chunk hitting the blades and no longer see any sudden jerky, splashy movements of the liquid (also a solid hitting the blade).
Using these admittedly obvious smoothie secrets, I have concocted smoothies that put Smoothie King to shame. And my health-hating husband is sucking down all my leftovers (and usually about 1/2 the total points). The best part of all? Since making these discoveries, I don't think I've ever made a batch that had more than 3 points (usually less) a serving or less than one serving of fruit (usually more), and every one of them has felt like a total indulgence.
Happy Blending!