Smoothies

Discussion in Food & Drink started by cocolgooh • May 8, 2016.

  1. cocolgooh

    cocolgoohActive Member

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    Do you buy smoothies from the store or do you make your own?

    I make my own from the fruit (and sometimes veg too) we have left over. I usually put it into bags and freeze it, then just throw it in the blender when I want a smoothie. I've also done this and added a little coconut cream and frozen bananas specifically to make icecream as well.

    If you do, what sorts of fruits and vegetables do you normally add to yours?

    Here you can often get grocery bags full of bananas for around £0.20 so I often put those in. I'll add things like raspberries often in the summer as I grow my own and we always seem to end up with hundreds of them. I'll also add apples and pears as we get those from neighbours. Other than that, I just throw in whatever else I have left sitting around that needs using up such as blueberries, strawberries and spinach.
     
  2. surlaw

    surlawMember

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    I never buy store-bought smoothies. It's so much less expensive to make your own, and you can add whatever you want! My favorite smoothie is one with about a cup of kale, a cup of frozen pineapple, one small banana, a cup of frozen mango and a third cup of orange juice. It's very fruity, and you get a lot of protein and iron from the kale! Every now and then I'll add hemp seeds or chia seeds for antioxidant goodness.

    I only ever grow veggies, so I can't use homegrown fruit in my smoothies. I only ever buy frozen fruit for smoothies, and fresh fruit for snacking on its own. It's kind of a benefit, since if you use frozen fruit you don't have to add ice. More fruit, less water! :)

    Isn't it cool how you can add things like spinach and kale into a smoothie and not even taste them?
     
  3. steph84

    steph84Active Member

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    I will sometimes splurge on some Jamba Juice to treat myself if I am in the area. Most times I will just make it myself because I like to keep frozen berries in my fridge. It is too pricey to always go to Jamba Juice.
     
  4. gata montes

    gata montesActive Member

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    I've always made own and having been a smoothie addict for decades and also someone who grows all their own produce - have to admit that as my mind is currently full of so many different combinations it would be extremely easy to get carried away here - especially as not a day goes by without me having at least one - so to try and keep it simple

    For fruit smoothies which I usually have for breakfast - using a standard base of either greek yoghurt, home-made almond milk and or fruit juice plus at least one banana - I normally add in at least two to three different kinds of fruit - which can be a mix of any 3 of the following - apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches or cherries - to various kinds of melon, pears, strawberries, figs or mangoes - plus a few fresh herbs like basil or mint and particularly chocolate or pineapple mint - along with either some ground oatmeal and or coconut flakes, a few spoonfuls of different types of honey and a pinch or two of cinnamon, vanilla, ginger or carob/cocoa powder - which always - not only makes a quick deliciously irresistible drink/snack - but is extremely filling and very healthy too.

    My favorite vegetable smoothie which I often have for lunch when the weather is extremely hot - as apart from being very refreshing - its a quick and easy highly nutritious snack - is a gazpacho type smoothie which although the base of tomatoes, rainbow peppers, cucumber, celery, chives, italian parsley, basil, paprika and a touch of olive oil generally remains the same - its easily changed if wanting something a little more substantial - just by adding in either some avocado, zucchini or chickpeas with some crushed garlic.

    I would just add - that apart from smoothies being quick and easy to make - they're also really inexpensive too - even if you don't grow all your own produce - especially as they're a great way of using those misshapen or slightly over ripe fruits - which are more often that not - sold at considerably reduced prices in the stores and on the fresh produce markets.
     
  5. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I just buy it from the store when I am only going to drink once in a while. If I'm in the phase where I think I'm going to be drinking regularly then I'd start stocking up on ingredients at home and I'd bring out my mini blender again. I it's just going to be once in a while though I usually just go for store bought since I don't really drink it much for health anyway and instead just for the taste and refreshment. Whenever I'm trying to be healthy and substituting meals for fruit shakes I'd definitely just make it at home.
     
  6. Lisa Davis

    Lisa DavisActive Member

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    Very rarely do I buy smoothies. This is for two reasons. First, store-bought smoothies are expensive. Secondly, they usually have lots of added stuff that really makes them way less healthy (unless you buy them at one of those high-end, super health conscious juice bars where they are even MORE expensive than normal).

    I used to be an avid juicer, but have gotten away from it. However, I'm considering going back. I used to use mostly vegetables in my juice, but then would add some fruit for flavor. It was so delicious and after a few days of juicing or going on a juice cleanse, I could feel a definite difference in my mood, energy level, and the appearance of my skin. I know a lot of people try it to lose weight. It helped in that area a little, particularly when I was on a cleanse, but it wasn't anything really significant by itself. However, it did provide me with more energy to exercise and when I started being more active, that produced dramatic results.
     
  7. maxen57

    maxen57Active Member

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    I love smoothies! I would buy ingredients from the farmers market to make my own recipes. I often look to the Internet for new concoctions but they mostly call for ingredients that we don't have, like almond milk, which is only available in limited stores. I've read a blog that smoothies don't really need to have too many ingredients because they might pack on calories more than we thought if the aim of the consumer is to mask the flavor of the fruit or vegetable that they don't like. I follow only the rule of one to two different kinds of fruits or vegetables and water or coconut water.
     
  8. Ke Gordon

    Ke GordonWell-Known Member

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    I am not really into smoothies, but when I was on the 20/20 diet I found a smoothie that I really loved, and it it is super easy to make as long as you have whey powder, green grapes, and spinach, and a bit of yogurt, and avocado. It is really a very good drink. It is probably only about 300 calories and it is filling as well.
     
  9. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I have always bought smoothies, since they're quite cheap anyway, and I think it would be a hassle to make one since I don't even own a blender.
     
  10. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    I love smoothies, and much prefer to make my own. Where I used to live in England, there was a great smoothie place that made the yummiest smoothies. But here in my current city there's this healthy food and smoothie place that makes some of the weirdest smoothies, I guess all in the name of healthy eating? -and their smoothies are not the cheapest. So I recently invested in a smoothie maker, and tend to make my own. My favourite fruit to use include bananas, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries and kiwis. I also love frozen yoghurt, natural yoghurt and peanut butter. I often throw in stuff like flaxseeds too. I'm not so big on veggie based smoothies. I do have them sometimes, but mainly for their health benefits.
     
  11. Sealpikachu

    SealpikachuMember

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    I buy store made chais but make all my fruit smoothies myself. I will dice the fruit amd freeze it so I only have to blend them with almond milk and vanilla later. I love banana mango and strawberry smoothies.
     
  12. PennyPincher

    PennyPincherMember

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    I never buy smoothies from a store. I prefer to make my own at home using my blender. I use ice, orange juice, fresh strawberries, a banana and a little vanilla yogurt. This is a scrumptious recipe and it makes enough for two people.
     
  13. purplepen88

    purplepen88Active Member

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    I make my own smoothies as well. It's so easy and inexpensive compared to buying a smoothie from Booster Juice or even the grocery store. I buy frozen berries on sale and freeze old bananas. I usually make a mixed berry smoothie with coconut water, yogurt and a bit of juice. I also like mango, pineapple smoothies for a change. I have hard time getting my kids to eat fruit but they will drink smoothies so I make them almost every morning. I've tried adding protein powder to them and it changes the texture to the point where my kids won't eat them. My husband will do kale, pineapple smoothies too for the fibre.
     
  14. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    We have smoothies almost every day.. if not, "ice cream" which is pretty much the same, minus the liquids (frozen banana base). The only thing I won't do is juice my fruits and vegetables as it strips the food of their fiber etc and that's the most important part. My favourite is banana cherry.. but I also love my mangoes and even oranges. Pineapple is awesome for smoothies.. those ones remind me of pina coladas; never a bad thing lol. I don't know, I pretty much eat every fruit and veg out there so they all go in at some point. Add some oats, some plant milk if you want (I usually just splash in some water though; until I'm making my own milks), some greens.. such an easy way to get nutrition into you. Especially those who don't prefer healthy.
     
  15. rosemoon

    rosemoonActive Member

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    I prefer to make my own smoothies at home; I pretty much have one everyday. However, I typically use fresh fruit instead of frozen fruit. I love using fresh strawberries during the summer for a delicious smoothie. I also like banana smoothies even though I don't like to eat bananas. Though I enjoy making smoothies at home, I do sometimes visit Smoothie King when I'm out running errands.
     
  16. Captain_Snowfall

    Captain_SnowfallNew Member

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    I used to make a lot of my own smoothies, but i guess over time I just got lazy. Also, it always required a lot of fruit in order to make something that would satisfy my hunger for about 30 minutes, so eventually I just stopped doing it altogether. Now if i am craving a smoothie, I just go to Jamba Juice or somewhere that makes smoothies. Especially now since I don't have much time in the day to do too much extra, this is the best option for me right now.