For the holidays, my dad purchased me a Vitamix blender (I had asked for an older version that was much cheaper, but my dad is a sweetheart and opted for more power!). You might've seen them in action -- they're the same blenders that you see at Starbucks, Jamba Juice, or Smoothie King, making smoothies and crappuchinos frappucinos. A Vitamix isn't like a normal blender--it's a blender on steroids. There are things that a Vitamix can do that a normal blender cannot. (Side note: Vitamix cannot do your taxes...)
But now that I had one in my house, I was going to put my Vitamix to better use. What do I mean by "better use"? Let me use my favorite smoothie from Jamba Juice to illustrate:
In the meantime, I prep the rest of my fruits and veggies -- coring the apple (leave the peel on), peeling the banana, peeling the cucumber (I do this b/c cucumber skins make me gassy, but feel free to leave the skins on -- just wash them thoroughly) -- and then add them to the blender for another whirl around on the "Smoothie" function.
But now that I had one in my house, I was going to put my Vitamix to better use. What do I mean by "better use"? Let me use my favorite smoothie from Jamba Juice to illustrate:
Look in the list of ingredients -- it looks pretty healthy with all the fruits and veggies listed -- but the proportions are totally off in terms of making it healthy. There are way too many fruits and juices and not enough low-calorie greens. This is basically a sugar bomb.
And maybe instead of a Jamba Juice, you're drinking a V8 Splash, thinking it's healthy:
High fructose corn syrup is the second ingredient -- and tucked in at the very end is sucralose (Splenda). So sure it might be low in calories, but it's piss poor when it comes to actual nutriton.
Surely I could do better than what was available at the grocery store and in the local smoothie shops. I started with the Mean Green Juice/Smoothie as popularized by the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead":
Ingredients
6-8 leaves kale
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
2 apples
1 banana (optional)
I start with the 2 cups of cold water in the blender and 1 cup of ice. Then I add in the ginger, kale, and lemon. I put the Vitamix on the "Smoothie" pre-programmed function and let it whirl. I do this to give the kale a head start on getting blended down into a pulp (I don't know if a regular blender could handle this).
In the meantime, I prep the rest of my fruits and veggies -- coring the apple (leave the peel on), peeling the banana, peeling the cucumber (I do this b/c cucumber skins make me gassy, but feel free to leave the skins on -- just wash them thoroughly) -- and then add them to the blender for another whirl around on the "Smoothie" function.
I store my smoothie in the fridge and add ice/water to my glass as necessary. Depending on how much water I added at the start, and/or the composition of the mix (i.e. if I have a large cucumber that adds a lot of water) -- the mix can be a little "flurpy" (just say the word "flurp" and you know what I'm talking about). One whole pitcher (showing everything above) is between 350-375 calories. In other words, one 64 ounce Mean Green juice contains about the same number of calories as one 24-ounce Jamba Juice.
Right now, I'm using this to supplement my daily intake of calories and nutrients. I'm seeing the benefits of drinking my Mean Green and other home-made smoothies: I'm taking in less sugar, more fruits/veggies, more water, and I feel great. My skin looks and feels great, I am *raises an eyebrow* very regular, and I feel good about putting healthy fuel in my body.
I know that some of you also like making fresh/homemade smoothies (i.e., not from a pre-packaged mix) -- what are some of your favorite recipes?
